Santa Barbara Symphony Season Finale Weekend Will Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

The Santa Barbara Symphony will conclude its 2023/24 Season with Rhapsody in Blue @ 100: Jazz Comes to The Symphony on Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 19 at 3 p.m. at The Granada Theatre. This centennial celebration of George Gershwin's defining contribution to the Jazz Age features returning fan favorite The Marcus Roberts Trio and is part of an artist residency collaboration with the Lobero Theatre.

Marcus Roberts will also perform his Gershwin-inspired composition for piano and orchestra Rhapsody in D. And Nir Kabaretti will conduct Charles Ives' joyous Symphony No. 2, melding America's folk tunes, hymns, and patriotic marches into its raucous, uproarious finale.

"Audiences will be humming, clapping and in awe as the Marcus Roberts Trio & The Symphony join forces for the final concerts of the 2023/2024 Season," said Kathryn R Martin, President & CEO of The Santa Barbara Symphony. "Collaborations on and off the stage continue to be a hallmark of The Symphony and we thank the community for supporting these initiatives through donations."

The Marcus Roberts Trio is a musical partnership between pianist Marcus Roberts, the phenomenal drummer Jason Marsalis, and gifted bassist Rodney Jordan. The Marcus Roberts Trio is known for its virtuosic style and entirely new approach to jazz trio performance. While most jazz trios have the piano front and center, all members of the Marcus Roberts Trio share equally in shaping the direction of the music by changing its tempo, mood, texture, or form at any time.

"Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue became an iconic and familiar masterpiece but was billed as an 'Experiment in Modern Music' when it was premiered back in 1924," noted Symphony Music & Artistic Director Nir Kabaretti. "Today Marcus Roberts continues this experiment, playing his own version of the Rhapsody in Blue with additional Jazz Combo and improvisations in different jazz styles. I am also thrilled to perform Marcus Roberts' exciting Rhapsody in D, written by him as a homage to Gershwin's work," he added.

Marcus Roberts created his unique Rhapsody composition at the request of the late Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, who premiered it with Marcus Roberts and his trio in Matsumoto, Japan, at the annual festival Ozawa founded in 1992. It is Roberts' second piano concerto, following Spirit of the Blues (2013), which also incorporated a jazz trio. The composer included the following dedication in the score: "Through music, we share in the beliefs and achievements of all cultures by the simple act of listening and allowing the music to influence and change us into our better selves. To Seiji, with deepest gratitude."

The Artist Residency with the Marcus Roberts Trio, created in partnership with The Lobero Theatre, includes Rhythm in Blue, a Jazz at the Lobero series performance on Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m., and a Masterclass for local high school students with the Trio.

Tickets for this 2023/24 season finale performance on May 18 and 19, 2024, are on sale now and can be purchased in-person, online, or by calling the Granada Theatre box office at (805) 899-2222 or visiting TheSymphony.org. Important Note: Subscriptions are now available for the 2024/25 Season and if purchased on or before May 18, 2024, patrons will receive a pair of FREE tickets for Rhapsody in Blue @ 100: Jazz Comes to The Symphony.

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