C ALENDAR OF Note to readers: This entertainment calendar is a subjective sampling of arts and other events taking place in the Santa Barbara area for the next week. It is by no means comprehensive. Be sure to read feature stories in each issue that complement the calendar. In order to be considered for inclusion in this calendar, information must be submitted no later than noon on the Wednesday eight days prior to publication date. Please send all news releases and digital artwork to slibowitz@yahoo.com)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21 Piano Prof Plays – Natasha Kislenko, keyboard instructor at UCSB and 15-year veteran of Music Academy of the West, presents a solo piano recital on campus tonight. Kislenko, a prizewinner of several international piano competitions who has performed extensively in Russia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Turkey and across the Americas, also has served as a resident pianist of the Santa Barbara Symphony since 2010, where she has been a featured soloist for the Shostakovich, Grieg, Clara Schumann, de Falla, and Mozart piano concerti. Tonight’s program will include Mozart’s Six Variations in F Major on “Salve tu, Domine” by G. Paisiello, K.398; Chopin’s Souvenir de Paganini; Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Corelli, Op. 42; and Schnittke’s Variations on One Chord; plus a duo-piano work by Witold Lutosławski (Variations on the GH theme by Paganini, for two pianos) featuring fellow UCSB teaching professor Sarah Gibson. WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Karl Geiringer Hall, UCSB campus COST: $10 general admission, $5 students, free for children under 12 INFO: (805) 893-2064 or www.music.ucsb.edu SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Listening at the Library – After
a succession of largely solo or small combo works, the Santa Barbara Music Club goes big for the latest episode of its free bi-weekly concerts downtown. Flutist Sherylle Englander, clarinetist Per Elmfors, horn player Johann Trujillo, and harpist Laurie Rasmussen kick things off with Debussy’s well-known and much-beloved Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune followed by Livewire! by American composer Christopher Lowry – which the then-21 year old composer said was inspired by “electrical issues” that “sparked” the idea for the piece – and French composer and horn player Georges Barboteu’s Esquisse. Then violinist Nicole McKenzie and pianist Betty Oberacker team up to perform Strauss Sonata for Violin and Piano in Eb Major, Op. 18, to close out the afternoon of sumptuous music from local players. WHEN: 3 pm WHERE: Faulkner Gallery in the downtown Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu St. COST: free INFO: www. sbmusicclub.org SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Grand Granada Get-together – The Granada Theatre and more than half of its resident companies are all partnering up for a special benefit performance of Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev’s enchanting musical tale of adventure and bravery that has been a young person’s orchestral favorite
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21 Harvard Historian on Healing – Jill Lepore, the author of several bestselling books including The Secret History of Wonder Woman and Joe Gould’s Teeth, is coming to town to talk about bridging the divide in our polarized nation. The Harvard historian and New Yorker magazine staff writer’s most recent sweeping narratives, These Truths: A History of the United States and This America: The Case for the Nation explore our past, particularly the history of America’s polarization, in order to understand the present and prepare for our future. In her public lecture titled after the second book, Lepore will offer a magisterial account of the rise of America and an urgent reckoning with the tragedy and beauty of our divided nation. Lepore, whose scholarship largely explores absences and asymmetries in the historical record, is the recipient of many honors, awards and honorary degrees and has been a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Magazine Award, and the Pulitzer Prize – twice. The Washington Post has been suitably impressed, calling Lepore “the most prolific, nimble, and interesting writer of American history today, vigorously kicking at the past until she dislodges it from the ossifying grip of received wisdom.” WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Campbell Hall, UCSB campus COST: $20-$35, students $10 INFO: (805) 893-3535 www. ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu?
50 MONTECITO JOURNAL
EVENTS by Steven Libowitz
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21 Simon Says – Ladysmith Black Mambazo had already been performing in South Africa for nearly two decades when Paul Simon put the a cappella group front and center on his seminal Graceland album back in 1986. Since then, the outfit founded by Joseph Shabalala has surely made the most of that exposure, taking their shows featuring uplifting and exquisitely timed vocal harmonies that reveal “undulating rhythmic phrases that push and pull”, as one critic noted, plus a series of signature dance moves and charming onstage banter to venues all around the world. With a deep respect for both their cultural and personal history, Ladysmith Black Mambazo continues to both evolve and keep contact with their long musical legacy as the original members have welcomed a younger generation in their mission, passing along the tradition of storytelling and spreading a message of peace, love, and harmony to millions of people the world over. Now led by Shabalala’s four sons, Ladysmith continues to serve as “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world,” so designated by Nelson Mandela. Five-time Grammywinners, Ladysmith won its most recent award in 2017 for Shaka Zulu Revisited, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of their first award-winning album. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $36 & $46 INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com
for more than 70 years. Community Arts Music Association (CAMA) of Santa Barbara, Opera Santa Barbara, State Street Ballet, and the Santa Barbara Symphony are teaming up for the production, which features the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony – comprised of musicians ages 12-18 from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties – playing under the baton of the Santa Barbara Symphony’s music and artistic director, maestro Nir Kabaretti. Simon Williams, the UCSB emeritus professor and prolific author whose publications include editing the prestigious Cambridge Encyclopedia of Stage Actors and Acting, not only directs the show but will also serve as narrator, while brief programs featuring Santa Barbara Youth Opera singers and Gustafson Dance Students from State Street Ballet will open the event. Peter and the Wolf, a story about a boy and his animal friends, has become a family favorite for its distinctive instrumentation as each character is represented by a particular instrument and musical theme. Though generally considered a children’s tale – the work was commissioned by the Central Children’s Theatre in Moscow – it was composed during Stalin’s Great Purge, and barely survived Soviet censorship before finding an unlikely champion in the person of Walt Disney, who produced an animated version in 1946. Today’s pre-concert activities include a demonstration of orchestral instruments used
“God forbid I should live long enough to ferment and rot and fall to the ground in a squash.” – Josh Billings
in Peter and the Wolf, a children’s activity area in the downstairs lobby and a photo booth with animal imagery. Tours of the Granada Theatre will be offered following the performance while a post-concert reception in the Granada Theatre Founders Room for sponsors and VIP guests will include notable local philanthropists donning attire corresponding to the characters in Peter and the Wolf. Proceeds benefit the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts. WHEN: 2 pm WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: Free for children ages 17 and under, $10 for adults ($100 VIP includes the reception) INFO: (805) 899-2222 or www.granadasb.org Armchair Travel Lecture – Mara Papatheodorou, a culinary expert and former travel editor at Bon Appétit, takes the audience on a virtual journey to French Polynesia to learn about Tahitian culture and cuisine, tastes and traditions, fact and folklore. A popular guest lecturer, commentator, panelist/judge, and presenter about food, travel and entertaining, Papatheodorou lectures regularly about the history of cuisine and culture and consults for and travels on a number of cruise lines. She contributes to National Geographic Traveler magazine and is the author of the coffee table book, Moments in Time, The Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. Today’s talk promises to transport guests across the Pacific Ocean to the islands of French Polynesia to 20 – 27 February 2020
