Local Author Will Discuss New Book On The History Of Community Arts Music Association In Free Talk

Local author and researcher Hattie Beresford will discuss her engaging new history of the Community Arts Music Association (CAMA) of Santa Barbara in a free public talk at Santa Barbara Central Library's Faulkner Gallery on Saturday, January 19. Presented by CAMA, in partnership with the library, the presentation will begin at 2 pm. Seating is limited.

Titled Celebrating CAMA's Centennial: Bringing the World's Finest Classical Music to Santa Barbara, Ms. Beresford's book limns the organization's extraordinary history, from its earliest antecedent as a community initiative in the fall of 1919 to its present-day iteration as the region's premier presenter of classical music concerts. Along the way, CAMA has brought an astonishing succession of legendary performers to local stages, including such towering figures of 20th century music as Pablo Casals, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vladimir Horowitz, Jascha Heifetz, and Igor Stravinsky. Richly illustrated with historical imagery and concert ephemera, Celebrating CAMA's Centennial captures the wonder of the organization's accelerating artistic triumphs and its improbable journey to becoming a beloved cultural institution, establishing Santa Barbara as a classical music capital.

"CAMA's enduring success is a tribute to the beautiful city we have called home for 100 years, and we thought it especially fitting to share this remarkable history with our community and beyond in book form," said CAMA Executive Director Mark Trueblood. "We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. Hattie Beresford has done justice to our story and then some, revealing in compelling detail the pluck and artistic vision that have long characterized this organization's efforts. Her expertise as a researcher proved invaluable in the gathering of historical photographs as well."

"The book was supported from concept to creation by the generosity of Sara Miller McCune, founder and executive chairman of SAGE Publishing, who championed the project in every way," said CAMA Director of Operations Justin Rizzo-Weaver. "A long list of additional supporters includes SAGE Publishing President Blaise R. Simqu and CAMA's board of directors and Centennial Celebration Committee. We are also grateful to publisher Cathy Feldman and her team at Blue Point Books for their thorough attention to so many aspects of the editing and layout."

A retired teacher of English and American history, Ms. Beresford writes regular columns on local history for the Montecito Journal and Montecito Journal Magazine, and has contributed to the Santa Barbara Historical Museum journal Noticias. She is also the author of The Way It Was: Santa Barbara Comes of Age and co-edited the book My Santa Barbara Scrap Book: A Portrait of the Artist Elizabeth Eaton Burton.

Celebrating CAMA's Centennial sells for $30 (softcover), and will be available for purchase at the January 19 talk.

Santa Barbara Central Library is located at 40 East Anapamu Street.

CAMA's centennial concert season continues January 15 with a performance by iconic violinist Itzhak Perlman at The Granada Theatre. Additional highlights include appearances by 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).

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

Single ticket prices for concerts range from $39 to $119.

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

CAMA is Santa Barbara's oldest arts organization, and is presenting its 100th concert season in 2018-19. CAMA's mission is to enrich the city's cultural life by bringing live performances by world-renowned classical artists and orchestras of the highest artistic excellence to our community and by providing creative, focused music education programs for individuals of all ages.

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