Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra to Present ROMANCE AT THE MUSEUM

Heiichiro Ohyama, music director and conductor of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, will be the featured violist in a unique performance of Robert Schumann's famed Dichterliebe ("A Poet's Love") at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History's Fleischmann Auditorium on Tuesday, February 14.

Schumann's eminently lyrical song cycle, often cited as the most popular in Western art music, will be arranged for viola and piano. Simon Williams, chair of UC Santa Barbara's Department of Theater and Dance, will serve as narrator, and guest artist Yi Dong will be the featured pianist. Also including Mendelssohn's delightful Piano Quartet No. 2 in F Minor, the concert will begin at 7:30 pm, following a wine and chocolate reception. Ticket sales are underway.

Now in his 34th year as the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra's music director and conductor, Heiichiro Ohyama first made a name for himself as a violist of extraordinary grace and finesse. Over the course of his distinguished career he has also 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 February 14 concert will be preceded by a complimentary chocolate and wine tasting featuring Jessica Foster Confections and Fox Wine Company beginning at 6:30 pm. Tickets for the performance and tasting cost $64 and 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. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is located at 2559 Puesta Del Sol in Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will next present a woodwind showcase on March 21 (Lobero Theatre) and a chamber music and dialogue event featuring KUSC host Alan Chapman on April 4 (University Club) before the electrifying Alessio Bax closes out the 2016-17 season on May 16 with Schumann's intensely expressive Piano Concerto in A Minor at the Lobero. Season program information is available online at 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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