Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra To Perform Woodwind Masterworks, 3/21

The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Heiichiro Ohyama, will perform a compelling program of woodwind masterworks by Stravinsky, Kurt Weill, and other notable composers at the Lobero Theatre on Tuesday, March 21. Featuring Poulenc's charming, dance-based Suite française (d'après Claude Gervaise), Stravinsky's Russian-folk-infused Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Weill's famed "Kleine Dreigroschenmusik" Suite from The Threepenny Opera, and Sacred Women, a sinuous work by contemporary artist Jeff Scott, the concert will begin at 7:30 pm, following the orchestra's second "Supper Club" dinner of the season. Ticket sales are underway.

A French horn player of considerable accomplishment, Mr. Scott is perhaps best known as a founding member of the adventurous, Grammy-nominated quintet Imani Winds, whose dynamic performances The Washington Post has described as "exuding a sultry sophistication." His numerous arranging and composing credits include theatrical production scores as well as original works for solo winds, wind and brass quintet, horn quartet, and jazz ensembles.

The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra is led by the peerless Heiichiro Ohyama, now in his 34th year as the ensemble's music director and conductor. Over the course of his distinguished career Maestro Ohyama also has served as principal violist and assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; principal chief conductor of the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra in Fukuoka, Japan, and the Osaka Symphony Orchestra; artistic director of La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival; and music director of the Nagasaki Music Festival. Also a professor of music at the University of California from 1973 to 2003, he received the 1991 Gruber Award for Excellence in Chamber Music Teaching in Los Angeles.

The March 21 concert will be preceded by the Chamber Orchestra's second "Supper Club" dinner of the 2016-17 season. Featuring Pence Ranch wines and deliciously unique Italian cuisine by Chef Renato Moiso of Santa Barbara's celebrated Via Maestra 42 restaurant, the event will begin with wine service at 5:30 pm in the Lobero courtyard. Dinner tickets cost $50 and seating is limited. Call 805-966-2441 for more information.

The Lobero Theatre is located at 33 East Canon Perdido Street in Santa Barbara. Concert tickets cost $54 and $64, and can be purchased at the Lobero Theatre Ticket Office, 805-963-0761, or by calling 805-966-2441. Additional SBCO ticketing details are available at sbco.org/concerts/tickets.

The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will next present a chamber music and dialogue event featuring KUSC radio host Alan Chapman on April 4 at the University Club, before the electrifying Alessio Bax closes out the 2016-17 season on May 16 with Schumann's intensely expressive Piano Concerto in A Minor at the Lobero Theatre.

Complete season program information is available online at http://sbco.org/concerts/season.

Founded in 1978, the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra is devoted to presenting concerts and programming of exceptional quality, and to fostering engagement with classical music among community members of all ages. The organization's reputation for excellence has long attracted world-class musicians. Current and former SBCO musicians perform with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Opera, Pacific Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. Acclaimed conductor Heiichiro Ohyama has served as music director of the ensemble since 1983. For more information, visit www.sbco.org.