Santa Barbara Symphony to Open Season with Ballet Premiere

The Santa Barbara Symphony, under the baton of Maestro Nir Kabaretti, will assemble singers and dancers from throughout the region for an extraordinary all-Mozart concert - including a ballet world premiere - to open its 2017-18 season on Saturday, October 14. Featuring Mozart's miraculous final symphony and his famed Requiem, the latter augmented with a new work by renowned choreographer William Soleau, the concert will take place at 8 pm, followed by an encore performance at 3 pm on Sunday, October 15. Performances will take place at the Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street in Santa Barbara. Priced from $29, tickets can be purchased at thesymphony.org or through the Granada box office, (805) 899-2222.

"Pairing dancing with a Catholic mass is highly original to say the least," said Maestro Kabaretti, entering his 12th season as the Santa Barbara Symphony's music director. "There are cultures in which dance is an accepted, even integral, part of funeral rites, and inspired by that I thought it would be fascinating to have dancers join us for Mozart's Requiem. The Requiem is Mozart's last piece of music, and combined with his final symphony (the "Jupiter") represents Mozart at his best. And for the first time ever, we have auditioned and selected chorus members specifically for this project."

Commissioned by the Santa Barbara Symphony, Mr. Soleau's new choreography will be performed by State Street Ballet. Featured vocal soloists will include soprano Jeanette Vecchione-Donatti, mezzo Nina Yoshida Nelsen, tenor Benjamin Bliss, and bass DeAndre Simmons. Approximately 80 singers from Los Angeles to San Francisco auditioned for the professional chorus that will be assembled for the program. Both concerts will be presented in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts and State Street Ballet.

Mr. Soleau first gained international recognition in 1987 for his work "Universe," which was performed by the Shanghai Ballet during the inaugural International Shanghai Arts Festival. His earliest work as a resident choreographer and principal dancer for both Finis Jhung's Chamber Ballet U.S.A. and "Dennis Wayne's Dancers" in New York City during the 1980s prompted critic Allan Charlet of Back Stage to declare him "destined to become one of our most prolific dance creators." Vindicating that prediction, Mr. Soleau has created more than 100 ballets for companies around the world, including Ballet British Columbia, Richmond Ballet, Ballet de Montreal, the Icelandic Ballet, and Ballet Florida, among many others. He has also created choreography for film, theater, and opera. A recipient of the Choo San-Goh Award for Choreography, Mr. Soleau serves as resident choreographer for State Street Ballet.

Additional highlights of the Santa Barbara Symphony's 2017-18 season include an electrifying Spanish guitar program featuring virtuoso Pablo Sáinz Villegas, who will serve as the Symphony's first-ever Artist-in-Residence throughout 2017-18 (November 18 and 19); performances of John Corigliano's Academy Award-winning score for The Red Violin, accompanied by François Girard's engrossing film in its entirety and featuring Canadian violinist Lara St. John as soloist (January 20 and 21); a tribute to Leonard Bernstein, including selections from the ballet Fancy Free and his timeless West Side Story, with guest soprano Lisa Vroman and singers from the Santa Barbara Choral Society (February 17 and 18); celebrated Ukrainian pianist Alexander Romanovsky performing Liszt's innovative first Piano Concerto, followed by Tchaikovsky's affecting Symphony No. 5 (March 24 and 25); Mahler's monumental Symphony No. 6 (April 21 and 22); and a season-ending program uniting Santa Barbara Symphony Concertmaster Jessica Guideri with acclaimed soloist Anne Akiko Meyers for Vivaldi's Double Violin Concerto (May 19 and 20).

Complete season program information is available online at thesymphony.org.

Priced from $62, subscriptions remain available and provide the best value. Subscribers save as much as 40 percent off single-ticket prices and receive special benefits throughout the season. To order subscriptions, visit thesymphony.org or call (805) 898-9386.

The Santa Barbara Symphony is led by Nir Kabaretti, who was named the orchestra's music director in 2006 and its artistic director in 2008. Maestro Kabaretti has conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, to name just a few. His extensive operatic experience includes productions at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Teatro Real in Madrid, Switzerland's Opéra de Lausanne, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Winner of the 1993 Forum Junger Kunstler Conducting Competition in Vienna, he was named the music director of the Southwest Florida Symphony in 2014.

The Santa Barbara Symphony was founded in 1953 on the belief that a special city deserves a special orchestra. Consistently lauded for its unique ability to present brilliant concerts, engage the community, and deliver dynamic music education programs, the organization prizes both innovation and artistic excellence, and is widely recognized as one of the region's premier cultural institutions. Its award-winning Music Education Center serves more than 8,000 students throughout Santa Barbara County each year. Charismatic Israeli conductor Nir Kabaretti was appointed music director of the Santa Barbara Symphony in 2006. For additional information, visit www.thesymphony.org.

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