Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra to Present Violinist Paul Huang

Paul Huang, whose intensely eloquent interpretations and effortless virtuosity have enthralled audiences and critics the world over, will join the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra for a performance of Beethoven's expansive and groundbreaking Violin Concerto in D at the Lobero Theatre on Tuesday, January 24. Also featuring Franz Schubert's much-loved and majestic "Great" Symphony, the concert will begin at 7:30 pm, following the orchestra's first "Supper Club" dinner of the season. Ticket sales are underway.

Recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Huang has been lauded by The Strad magazine for his "stylish and polished playing." Following his Kennedy Center debut, The Washington Post proclaimed him "an artist with the goods for a significant career." In 2013, The New York Times applauded his "masterly account of Barber's Violin Concerto" with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Alice Tully Hall. Mr. Huang's appearances with locally based Camerata Pacifica have met with similar critical effusions, at one point prompting the Santa Barbara Independent to note his "commanding tone and confident diction."

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 January 24 concert will be preceded by the Chamber Orchestra's first "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 take place at 6 pm in the Lobero courtyard. Wine service will begin at 5:30 pm. 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 SBCO's 2016-17 season will continue on Valentine's Day with a performance of Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The Chamber Orchestra also will present a woodwind showcase on March 21 (Lobero Theatre) and a chamber music and dialogue event featuring KUSC host Alan Chapman on April 4 (University Club) before the electrifying Alessio Bax closes out the season May 16 with Schumann's intensely expressive Piano Concerto in A Minor at the Lobero.

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 musicians of uncommon achievement. 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.