Single-Ticket Sales Begin for 2016-17 SBCO Season

Single tickets are on sale now for the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra's 2016-17 season, which will open October 8 at the Lobero Theatre with a performance of Dvo?ák's "New World" Symphony and Gershwin's Concerto in F featuring acclaimed pianist Wendy Chen. The ensemble will present eight concerts overall during its 38th season, including appearances by noted soloists Paul Huang (violin) and Alessio Bax (piano). Ticket prices start at $50. Tickets for the opening night party at the Lobero on October 8, including wine, hors d'oeuvres, and a performance by State Street Ballet, must be purchased separately.

The SBCO's 2016-17 season will continue on November 15 with an intimate chamber music concert in the Santa Barbara Courthouse's newly restored Mural Room featuring compositions by Astor Piazzolla, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Luigi Boccherini. (There is a waiting list to purchase tickets for this performance.) The Chamber Orchestra will next present a holiday program of works by Baroque masters Purcell, Vivaldi, and Corelli at All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara on December 13. Mr. Huang will take on Beethoven's expansive and groundbreaking Violin Concerto in D, and the full ensemble will perform Schubert's much-loved and majestic "Great" Symphony at the Lobero Theatre onJanuary 24. The SBCO also will present Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe on Valentine's Day (Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History), 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 Mr. Bax closes out the season with Schumann's intensely expressive Piano Concerto in A Minor at the Lobero.

Complete season program information is available online at http://sbco.org/concerts/season.

Once again, the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will be led by the peerless Heiichiro Ohyama, about to embark on his 34thyear as the ensemble's music director and conductor. Over the course of his distinguished career Maestro Ohyama also has 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.

To purchase subscriptions or tickets, go to http://sbco.org/concerts/tickets or call (805) 966-2441. Series prices start at $186, and for the first time subscribers can customize their ticket packages.

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 musicians of uncommon achievement. 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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