Lisa Vroman News

The Ojai Playwrights Conference launches its 21st season with the Annual Gala Benefit, a farm-to-stable celebration at a stunning ranch in upper Ojai. Festivities begin on Saturday, May 19 at 4:00 pm with a special show, featuring dramatic scenes and sensational songs performed by special guest artists. The evening continues with cocktails al frescofeaturing fine wines, craft cocktails, tasty appetizers, and a farm-to-stable dinner showcasing local ingredients and chefs. All proceeds from the Benefit support the development of new plays for the American theatre during the company's acclaimed annual Summer Conference and New Works Festival in Ojai.

Following the international success of I Am Harvey Milk, the acclaimed and celebrated composer and lyricist Andrew Lippa returns to San Francisco's Nourse Theater with another world premiere of an entirely new work: Unbreakable.

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus(SFGMC)-under the leadership of Dr. Tim Seelig, Artistic Director andChristopher Verdugo, Executive Director-concludes Season 40: Unstoppablewith UNBREAKABLE, a groundbreaking world premiere work by Tony Award-nominated composer Andrew Lippa (I Am Harvey Milk, The Addams Family, Big Fish, The Wild Party), on Friday, June 22 (8 p.m.) and Saturday, June 23 (2:30 p.m. & 8 p.m.) at San Francisco's Nourse Theater (275 Hayes Street).

The Ojai Playwrights Conference launches its 21st season with the Annual Gala Benefit, a farm-to-stable celebration at a stunning ranch in upper Ojai. Festivities begin at 4:00 pm with a special show, featuring dramatic scenes and sensational songs performed by special guest artists.

Subscription sales are underway for the Santa Barbara Symphony's 65th anniversary season, which will open October 20 with compelling works by Dohnanyi, Gershwin, and Berlioz. The orchestra will present a total of nine deeply satisfying programs at the Granada Theatre over the course of the season, including three non-subscription concerts. Series packages start at $163.

Kim H. Kowalke, President of the Kurt Weill Foundation, has announced the finalists for the 2018 annual Lotte Lenya Competition, its twentieth anniversary year. Fifteen performers from Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, and the United States will compete for top prizes of $20,000, $15,000, and $10,000.

Kim H. Kowalke, President of the Kurt Weill Foundation, has announced the semifinalists for the 2018 annual Lotte Lenya Competition, its twentieth anniversary year. The Foundation received 235 audition videos, from singer/actors ages 19-32, hailing from thirty-one US states and Puerto Rico, and sixteen countries on five continents. From that pool, fourteen men and fourteen women from the US, Canada, Austria, Germany, Israel, Italy, and Slovenia have been selected to perform at the semifinals at the Manhattan School of Music on 8 and 9 March.

The Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus (FTLGMC) will present 'Our Time With Sondheim,' an inspiring evening of music from Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, with special guest performances by Broadway and opera superstars Lisa Vroman and Martha Bartz. Performances will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church located at 333 Tarpon Drive in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, March 16 at 8 pm and Sunday, March 18 at 4 pm.

The Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus (FTLGMC) will present 'Our Time With Sondheim,' an inspiring evening of music from Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, with special guest performances by Broadway and opera superstars Lisa Vroman and Martha Bartz. Performances will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church located at 333 Tarpon Drive in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, March 16 at 8 pm and Sunday, March 18 at 4 pm.

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of Maestro Nir Kabaretti, will pay tribute to the musical genius of Leonard Bernstein with performances that highlight the breadth of his legacy on Saturday, February 17, and Sunday, February 18. Featuring award-winning soprano Lisa Vroman and singers from the Santa Barbara Choral Society, the concerts will take place at 8 pm on February 17 and at 3 pm on February 18 at the Granada Theatre. The program will include some of Bernstein's best-known works, including melodies from the ballet Fancy Free and his timeless West Side Story, as well as Aaron Copland's Quiet City and the world premiere of a piano concerto by acclaimed Santa Barbara-based composer Robin Frost. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222.

The Philly POPS will join in a city-and-nationwide tribute to composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein to mark 100 years after his birth. Lenny's Revolution runs February 2-4, 2018 at the Kimmel Center.

Kim H. Kowalke, President and CEO of the Kurt Weill Foundation, has announced the judges for the 20th Anniversary Lotte Lenya Competition. A distinguished panel will preside over the finals on 14 April in Rochester, NY: Tony Award-winning actress and singer Victoria Clark, renowned opera and musical theater conductor James Holmes, and Jack Viertel, Broadway producer, author, and Artistic Director of New York City Center Encores!

The Philly POPS will join in a city-and-nationwide tribute to composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein to mark 100 years after his birth. Lenny's Revolution runs February 2-4, 2018 at the Kimmel Center. Bernstein, who studied at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music, revolutionized music forever by blurring the lines between classical and popular, most famously with his iconic hits West Side Story, Candide, and On the Town.

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of guest conductor Carolyn Kuan, will perform John Corigliano's Academy Award-winning score for The Red Violin, accompanied by Fran ois Girard's engrossing film in its entirety, at the Granada Theatre on Saturday, January 20, and Sunday, January 21. Featuring Canadian violinist Lara St. John as soloist, the concerts will take place at 8 pm on January 20 and at 3 pm on January 21. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222.

Pasadena Symphony's annual Holiday Candlelight concert returns to All Saints Church today, December 16, 2017. Having sold out for the past six years, the symphony will offer two performances to meet community demand at 4:00pm & 7:00pm.

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of guest conductor Bob Bernhardt, will usher in the year 2018 with a rousing New Year's Eve pops concert at the Granada Theatre. Featuring a program of movie soundtrack classics and an appearance by the spellbinding theatrical circus company Troupe Vertigo, the performance will begin at 8:30 pm. Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222.

Pasadena Symphony's annual Holiday Candlelight concert returns to All Saints Church on Saturday, December 16, 2017. Having sold out for the past six years, the symphony will offer two performances to meet community demand at 4:00pm & 7:00pm.

The Santa Barbara Symphony, in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts, will present a special family performance of The Carnival of the Animals, Camille Saint-Sa ns' delightful musical suite, at 3 pm on Saturday, November 25, in the Granada Theatre. Conducted by special guest Lara Webber and featuring pianists Robert Cassidy and Santa Barbara Symphony Principal Natasha Kislenko, the 45-minute performance will be preceded by interactive musical activities in the Granada lobby organized by the Santa Barbara Zoo, the Symphony's own Music Van, and the Santa Barbara Public Library. Ticket prices start at $10; family 4-packs are available for $25. Premium loge seating costs $50. Tickets can be purchased at thesymphony.org or through the Granada box office, (805) 899-2222.

Classical guitar master Pablo S inz Villegas, hailed by The New York Times for his virtuosic playing characterized by irresistible exuberance, will perform Joaqu n Rodrigo's sensuous Concierto de Aranjuez and Isaac Alb niz's evocative Souvenirs of Spain with the Santa Barbara Symphony at 8 pm on Saturday, November 18, and at 3 pm on Sunday, November 19.

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of Maestro Nir Kabaretti, will assemble singers and dancers from throughout the region for an extraordinary all-Mozart concert including a ballet world premiere to open its 2017-18 season on Saturday, October 14.