Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra to Launch Season with FIREBIRD SUITE, Today

Santa Barbara, CA - The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will open its 37th season with a compelling program of works by Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Stravinsky, including the latter's incandescent Firebird Suite (1919 version), at Santa Barbara's historic Lobero Theatre on October 3. Also featuring Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D Minor and Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, the concert will begin at 7:30 pm. Subscription and single-ticket sales are underway.

Stravinsky's great early masterpiece originated as accompaniment for a ballet based on Russian folktales about a magical glowing bird that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor. The enthusiastic reception that greeted the ballet's premiere in 1910 effectively catapulted the young composer to international prominence. Over the succeeding years Stravinsky drew three different orchestral suites from his ballet score (in 1911, 1919, and 1945). Of these, the five-movement 1919 suite has become the most popular. Almost a century later, this vibrant work has lost none of its power to mesmerize and enchant.

Written when he was just 17 years old, Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture exemplifies the composer's gift for extraordinarily imaginative and atmospheric music. One needn't be familiar with Shakespeare's comedy to enjoy this composition's delicacy and rich instrumental colors. Widely regarded as one of his most original and inventive works, Schumann's innovative Symphony No. 4 in D Minor paved the way for the great late romantic symphonies of Brahms and Dvo?ák.

Once again this season, the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will be led by the peerless Heiichiro Ohyama, about to start his 33rd 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 October 3 concert will be preceded by a "Fire & Ice" party at 5:30 pm featuring a performance by State Street Ballet dancer Kate Kadow. Call 805-966-2441 for details and tickets.

The Lobero Theatre is located at 33 East Canon Perdido Street in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra season subscription orders can be placed through the Lobero Theatre website at https://checkout.lobero.com/subscription/packages.aspx or by calling 805-966-2441. Single tickets can be purchased at the Lobero Theatre Ticket Office, 805-963-0761. Additional SBCO ticketing details are available at sbco.org/concerts/tickets.

The SBCO season will continue with concerts at The Lobero on December 8 (including a lecture by KUSC Executive Producer Gail Eichenthal), March 22 (featuring violinist Martin Beaver), and May 17(featuring pianist Alessio Bax); a chamber music performance at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History's Fleischmann Auditorium on February 9; and "A Musical Conversation" featuring KUSC host Alan Chapman, SBCO Maestro Heiichiro Ohyama, and select players from the orchestra at the University Club of Santa Barbara on April 5. Complete program information is available at sbco.org/concerts/season.

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