Santa Barbara Symphony to Premiere Leshnoff Clarinet Concerto for West Coast

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of Maestro Nir Kabaretti, will present the West Coast premiere of acclaimed composer Jonathan Leshnoff's Clarinet Concerto - a work co-commissioned by the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra - at the Granada Theatre on Saturday, February 11. Featuring Santa Barbara Symphony Principal Clarinetist Donald Foster, the performance will take place at 8 pm, followed by an encore concert at 3 pm on Sunday, February 12. Tickets are now available.

The program also will include Schubert's beloved "Unfinished" Symphony No. 8 and Aaron Copland's powerful Symphony No. 3, with its famed Fanfare for the Common Man theme.

"This concert program is truly remarkable. Not only will we be performing contemporary American music by one of today's most sought-after composers, but the work itself is the product of our first-ever co-commission with the Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the world's top orchestras. It's very much a milestone for us," said Maestro Kabaretti, now in his 11th season as the Santa Barbara Symphony's music director. "The Leshnoff and Copland compositions are in some ways similar, which makes for an especially good pairing. (As it happens, Copland composed one of the finest clarinet concertos in the repertoire.) And Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony, with its famous melody, is an audience favorite."

Named one of his generation's most "gifted young composers" by The Washington Post, Jonathan Leshnoff is widely hailed as a leader of contemporary American lyricism. His compositions have earned international acclaim for their accessible melodies, structural complexity, and weighty themes. The New Jersey-born, Baltimore-based composer's works have been performed by Marin Alsop, Robert Spano, Gil and Orli Shaham, and Manuel Barrueco, among other celebrated classical music stars. Last season saw four Leshnoff compositions receive world premieres, including Zohar, an oratorio co-commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Hall, and his Symphony No. 3, a piece commissioned by the Kansas City Symphony commemorating the 100th anniversary of America's entrance into World War I and featuring excerpts from soldiers' letters home. The Philadelphia Orchestra premiered his Clarinet Concerto last April. Mr. Leshnoff's catalogue includes four string quartets, two oratorios, seven concerti, trios, a string sextet, three symphonies, and numerous solo and chamber works. He is a professor of music at Towson University and a composer-in-residence with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. The Baltimore Sun has described his music as "remarkably assured, cohesively constructed, and radiantly lyrical."

The Santa Barbara Symphony's 2016-17 season will continue with a pairing of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and Piazzolla's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, featuring guest violinist Philippe Quint (March 18 and 19); Sibelius' Symphony No. 5 and Grieg's famed Piano Concerto, featuring guest soloist Lilya Zilberstein (April 15 and 16); and a celebration of Paris, including Mozart's Symphony No. 31, Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto (with guest artist Zuill Bailey), Liszt's Les préludes, and Gershwin's An American in Paris (May 13 and 14).

The Granada Theatre is located at 1214 State Street in Santa Barbara. Complete season program information is available online at www.thesymphony.org.

The Santa Barbara Symphony is led by the charismatic Nir Kabaretti, who was named the orchestra's music director in 2006 and its artistic director in 2008. 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 concerts on February 11 and 12 are generously supported by the Samarkand, Patricia Gregory for the Baker Foundation, and John and Ruth Matuszeski.

Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at www.granadasb.org or by calling 805-899-2222. Group sales discounts of as much as 20 percent are available. Patrons ages 20-29 can purchase $20 tickets; students with valid ID can purchase $10 tickets. Seating in both cases is confined to selected sections of the Granada Theatre.

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 more than 8,000 students throughout Santa Barbara County each year. Charismatic Israeli conductor Nir Kabaretti was appointed music director of the Santa Barbara Symphony in 2006. For additional information, visit www.thesymphony.org.

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