LA Phil Opens CAMA Centennial Season Oct. 28

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, under the baton of celebrated British conductor Daniel Harding, will open the Community Arts Music Association (CAMA) of Santa Barbara's highly anticipated 100th concert season with a performance of Anton Bruckner's monumental Symphony No. 4 at The Granada Theatre on Sunday, October 28. Also featuring Masaot/Clocks without Hands by contemporary Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth, the concert will begin at 4 pm. Single tickets will be available for purchase at the Granada box office starting at 10 am on Friday, September 28. Prices range from $39 to $119.

"It's entirely fitting that our 100th season will open with a performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the orchestra for which we were founded and which has been the cornerstone of each CAMA concert season for a century," said CAMA Executive Director Mark Trueblood. "We've watched with admiration and pleasure as our partner orchestra has steadily risen in stature over the decades and is now universally acknowledged as not only one of America's, but one of the world's finest orchestras."

"Our season begins with some fanfare and red carpet. We will open the doors an hour before the performance for all ticket holders to enjoy food and wine, a display of historic posters, and the unveiling of our centennial video, as well as a few other special touches. We hope concertgoers will come early and enjoy the party!" said CAMA Board member Deborah Bertling, who chairs the organization's Centennial Celebration Committee.

Known by the sobriquet "Romantic," Bruckner's ambitious Fourth Symphony is by turns lyrical, elegiac, and dramatic. It remains among his most frequently performed works. The New York Times has described Neuwirth's Masaot/Clocks without Hands as a "big, brash, brilliant showpiece, continuing in the raucous line of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring."

A former prodigy, Maestro Harding serves as music director of both Orchestre de Paris and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He began his career assisting Simon Rattle at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and went on to assist Claudio Abbado at the Berlin Philharmonic, debuting with that orchestra when he was not yet 21 years old. Maestro Harding is principal guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and music partner of the New Japan Philharmonic, and was recently given the lifetime title of conductor laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, and Toronto symphony orchestras, among many others. His operatic engagements this season include Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci at La Scala. For Deutsche Grammophon, Maestro Harding has recorded Mahler's Symphony No. 10 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Orff's Carmina Burana with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2002, he was awarded the title Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. According to Gramophone, Maestro Harding "has a true sense for phrasing, architecture, orchestral balance and - well, that little but so important 'extra' that distinguishes him from the others."

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, which also will be celebrating its centennial season in 2018-19, has figured prominently in CAMA's history, having performed more than 250 concerts in Santa Barbara for organization over the last 100 years. In the words of The New York Times: "It should be chiseled above the doors of every symphony hall: What an orchestra plays matters as much as how it plays, if not more so. By that measure a strong case can be made that the Los Angeles Philharmonic ... is the most important orchestra in the country."

CAMA will present a total of 12 concerts featuring some of the world's finest instrumentalists in 2018-19. International Series performances will take place at The Granada Theatre; Masterseries performances will be presented at The Lobero Theatre. The season continues November 9 with a performance by acclaimed pianist Richard Goode at The Lobero Theatre. Additional highlights include appearances by iconic violinist Itzhak Perlman (January 15, Granada Theatre); the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, under the direction of Nicholas McGegan (February 5, Granada Theatre); the Russian National Orchestra (February 27, Granada Theatre); the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (March 9, Lobero Theatre); London's Philharmonia Orchestra, under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen (March 20, Granada Theatre); renowned pianist Garrick Ohlsson (March 30, Lobero Theatre); the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (April 5, Granada Theatre); award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich (April 17, Lobero Theatre); and legendary cellist Mischa Maisky (May 6, Lobero Theatre).

In addition, CAMA's Board of Directors will sponsor a free community concert at The Granada Theatre on Tuesday, December 11, featuring the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and celebrated mandolin soloist Avi Avital performing an all-Vivaldi program, including the Baroque master's Concerto for Two Violins in G Minor, his Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor, and "The Four Seasons," his beloved collection of violin concerti.

Complete season information is available online at http://camasb.org.

Subscription prices start at $150 for the Masterseries and $175 for the International Series. To order, go to http://camasb.org/subscriptions/. Masterseries single tickets cost $49 and $39.

For more information, call (805) 966-4324 or email info@camasb.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.