Santa Barbara Symphony Announces New Year's Eve Concert

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of Maestro Nir Kabaretti, will usher in the year 2016 with a rousing New Year's Eve pops concert at the historic Granada Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara. Featuring a guest appearance by award-winning soprano Lisa Vroman, and a program of popular classics and favorites from stage and screen, the performance will begin at 8:30 pm. Tickets are now available.

In addition to works by Gershwin, Berlin, and Strauss, musical selections will include well-known passages from The Phantom of the Opera, Back to the Future, and Star Wars.

"It'll be a musical celebration spanning several traditions, from Viennese New Year's concerts up to and including some of the most iconic and beloved tunes from Broadway and Hollywood," said Maestro Kabaretti, now in his 10th season as the Santa Barbara Symphony's music and artistic director. "Several of our great musicians have performed on the soundtrack for the new Star Wars movie, and we'll conclude our concert with excerpts from John Williams' memorable scores for those films and discuss what it's like to participate in such a project."

Hailed as "an accomplished, imaginative artist" by Opera News, Lisa Vroman starred for several years on Broadway as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera, garnering theatre critics' awards for the role during an extended run in San Francisco. She has performed with New York City Opera, Utah Opera, and Opera New Jersey, among many others, and has appeared as guest soloist with orchestras throughout the United States and Asia. Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman has described her as a "musical and theatrical marvel."

Named music and artistic director of the Santa Barbara Symphony in 2006, Nir Kabaretti has established an outstanding international career as a dynamic and innovative conductor with vast experience in both the symphonic and operatic repertoire. He continues to collaborate with many of the world's most renowned musicians, orchestras, and opera houses. Maestro Kabaretti has conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, to name just a few. His extensive operatic experience includes productions at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Teatro Real in Madrid, Switzerland's Opéra de Lausanne, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Winner of the 1993 Forum Junger Kunstler Conducting Competition in Vienna, he was named the music director of the Southwest Florida Symphony in 2014.

The Santa Barbara Symphony's 2015-16 season will continue with the U.S. premiere of Italian composer Cristian Carrara's Machpelah featuring guest artists Francesca Dego (violin) and Robert deMaine (principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) on January 16 and 17. That program will also include Gabrielli's stirring brass fanfare Canzona Septimi Toni, Handel's Water Music, and Bartók's ever-popular Concerto for Orchestra. Additional upcoming highlights include a program of Rachmaninoff featuring guest artists James Judd (conductor) and Ian Parker (piano) on February 13 and 14, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto featuring guest soloist Timothy Chooi on April 9 and 10, and guest artist Pablo Sainz-Villegas performing Elmer Bernstein's Guitar Concerto in the season's final concerts on May 14 and 15. All performances will take place at the Granada Theatre, located at 1214 State Street in Santa Barbara. Complete season information is available at www.thesymphony.org/performances/season_2015-16.

The New Year's Eve concert is generously supported by the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts, Patricia Gregory for the Baker Foundation, Robin and Kay Frost, the city of Santa Barbara, and the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission.

Tickets start at $38 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222.

The Santa Barbara Symphony was founded in 1953 on the belief that a special city deserves a special orchestra. Consistently lauded for its unique ability to present brilliant concerts, engage the community, and deliver dynamic music education programs, the organization prizes both innovation and artistic excellence, and is widely recognized as one of the region's premier cultural institutions. Its award-winning Music Education Center serves some 5,000 students throughout Santa Barbara County each year. Charismatic Israeli conductor Nir Kabaretti was appointed music and artistic director of the Santa Barbara Symphony in 2006. For additional information, visit www.thesymphony.org.

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