KUSC Host Alan Chapman, S.B. Chamber Orchestra Team Up for an Evening of Music and Dialogue

Popular radio host Alan Chapman will join several members of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra for an intimate evening of chamber music and related discussion at the University Club of Santa Barbara on Tuesday, April 4. Featuring a performance of Felix Mendelssohn's exquisite String Quartet No. 3, Op. 44, the program will begin at 7:30 pm. Wine and dessert will be served. Tickets cost $64; seating is limited.

Mr. Chapman hosts and produces three regular programs on Classical KUSC, the nation's largest and most-listened-to public radio and nonprofit classical music station. Currently a member of the music theory faculty at Colburn Conservatory, he was a longtime member of the music faculty at Occidental College and has been a visiting professor at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. His analytical work has appeared in the Journal of Music Theory and in The New Orpheus: Essays on Kurt Weill, winner of the Deems Taylor Award for excellence in writing on music. Well known as a pre-concert lecturer, Mr. Chapman has been a regular speaker on the L.A. Philharmonic's Upbeat Live series since its inception in 1984. He also works closely with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Los Angeles Opera, and Pacific Symphony. His lectures have been presented by virtually every major performing organization in Southern California, and he can be heard globally as programmer and host of the inflight classical channel on Delta Airlines. Mr. Chapman also is active as a composer/lyricist and frequently appears in cabaret performances with his wife, soprano Karen Benjamin. They made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2000 and performed at Lincoln Center in 2006.

Representing the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will be Kathleen Sloan and Hwi Eun Kim (violin), Maestro Heiichiro Ohyama (viola), and Catherine Chan Biagini (cello).

Now in his 34th year as the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra's music director and conductor, Maestro Ohyama also has served as principal violist and assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; principal chief conductor of the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra 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 University Club is located at 1332 Santa Barbara Street in Santa Barbara. Concert tickets can be purchased at the Lobero Theatre Ticket Office, 805-963-0761, or by calling 805-966-2441. Tickets can be purchased online at http://checkout.lobero.com/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=8607.

The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will conclude its 2016-17 season on May 16 with Schumann's intensely expressive Piano Concerto in A Minor featuring the electrifying Alessio Bax at the Lobero Theatre. Additional information is available at http://sbco.org/concerts/season.

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 world-class musicians. 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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