SBCO to Welcome Italian Pianist Alessio Bax for Season Finale, 5/17

Dazzling Italian pianist Alessio Bax, who has headlined a succession of memorable concerts with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra in recent years, will rejoin the ensemble for a season-ending performance of Beethoven's monumental "Emperor" Piano Concerto No. 5 at the Lobero Theatre on Tuesday, May 17. Also featuring Mendelssohn's satisfying "Reformation" Symphony No. 5, the concert will begin at 7:30 pm, following the orchestra's final "Supper Club" dinner of the season. Ticket sales are underway.

Hailed for his lyrical playing, insightful interpretations, and extraordinary technique, Alessio Bax has appeared as a soloist with more than 100 orchestras, including the London and Royal philharmonic orchestras, the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic with Yuri Temirkanov, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle. This season he embarked on tours of South America and Asia, and returned to the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for engagements in New York and on tour, among other highlights. A 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, Mr. Bax has performed with violinist Joshua Bell on four continents. In 2013, he received the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award and Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award, which recognizes young artists of exceptional accomplishment. Mr. Bax's critically acclaimed discography includes recordings of works by Beethoven, Brahms, and Rachmaninov. According to Gramophone magazine, "His playing quivers with an almost hypnotic intensity."

Once again this season, the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra is led by the peerless Heiichiro Ohyama, now in 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 concert on May 17 will be preceded by the Chamber Orchestra's final "Supper Club" dinner of the 2015-16 season. Featuring Refugio 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. Supper Club sponsors include Touring & Tasting magazine.

The Lobero Theatre is located at 33 East Canon Perdido Street in Santa Barbara. Concert tickets 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.

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.

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