Music Acadmdy of the West Women’s Auxiliary Members Judy Astbury, Co-Chair, Evie Vesper Auxiliary Chair and Co-Chair, Mahri Kerley, Owner, Chaucer’s Books, Kaye Willette, Co-Chair at the inaugural Music in the Gardens fundraiser 
Women’s Auxiliary Members Caroline Rutledge, Nancy Schultz, and Christina Leveque 
Nancy Schlosser and Women’s Auxiliary Member Pat Yzurdiaga 
UCSB Middle East Ensemble dancer
The Women’s Auxiliary of the Music Academy of the West held the inaugural Music in the Gardens events within the iconic gardens of the beautiful Miraflores campus in Montecito.
The new fundraiser, with a World Rhythms theme, featured an eclectic program of musicians and dance artists from the Central and South Coast, performing international genres of music including Island Rhythms by the Island Rhythms Steel Drum Band, Middle Eastern by the UCSB Middle Eastern Ensemble, Celtic by the Shepherd's Pie Celtic Band, French and Italian by the French/Italian Folk Group, Latin American and Spanish by Kimera, and Indonesian by Gamelan Sinar Surya.
Women’s Auxiliary co-chair Evie Vesper welcomed the community to a, “new event offering a unique opportunity to experience different styles of music outdoors in an incredibly beautiful space.”
Music Academy of the West offers full scholarships to select groups of fellows, including tuition, room and board, and the unique opportunity to train, study and perform live on campus and at multiple venues across Santa Barbara – all under the guidance of internationally renowned guest conductors, facility artists, and soloists.
Alumni of the Music Academy include prominent solo artists and members of major ensembles, opera companies, chamber and symphony orchestras, and university and conservatory faculties.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy is a full scholarship training program for the world’s most talented classical musicians. All proceeds benefited the full-scholarship program, where 140 fellows from across the country and around the world study with world-class faculty and guest artists in Santa Barbara during the eight-week Summer School and Festival.
The Music Academy presents more than 200 public events annually with performances by fellows, visiting artists and faculty, who display a variety of instrumental and vocal talents as showcased at the signature gala.
Music in the Gardens is organized by the Women’s Auxiliary of the Music Academy of the West, one of the largest and most successful supporting volunteer organizations in Santa Barbara. The Auxiliary’s fundraising efforts generate net proceeds exceeding $200,000 annually to help support programs at the Academy, including scholarships that enable 140 outstanding fellows from around the world to study in Santa Barbara each summer.
Judy Astbury co-chaired the event with Vesper, who shared that, “our goal was to get the community to the Music Academy campus and we were successful.”
Patrons strolled the campus gardens enjoying various performances while sampling intercontinental cuisine and wines from the Central Coast and Europe.
Rincon Events provided delicacies within five gardens with a menu curated to complement the music being played in each location, including lamb empanadas, corned beef sliders, margherita pizza, duck confit crepes, beef kebabs, chicken roti rolls, and delicious vegetarian dishes, among others.
Click here for more information on the Music Academy, or call 805.969.4726.
— Noozhawk iSociety columnist Melissa Walker can be reached at mwalker@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.
