This virtual event is available for ticket holders to replay for one week
SUMMARY
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Songs of Comfort and Hope
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Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott have a 35-year musical relationship
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Their recent collaborative album Songs of Comfort and Hope was conceived in April 2020
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Ranging from fresh arrangements of traditional folk tunes, pop songs and jazz standards to mainstays from the western classical repertoire, the album encourages a sense of community, identity and purpose, crossing boundaries and binding us together in thanks, consolation and encouragement
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This performance will be followed by a moderated Q&A with Yo-Yo Ma
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Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week. Running time: approx. 100 min
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Wednesday, May 5 / 5:00 p.m. Pacific / Virtual
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$10 General Public and FREE for UCSB Students (registration required)
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Tickets/Info: (805) 893-3535, www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu
? ? ? Editors/Reviewers: Please include the full name of UCSB Arts & Lectures in all media coverage, including reviews.
“Gorgeously played serene favourites from a masterful duo.”
The Strad
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents classical music treasures Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott performing Songs of Comfort and Hope on Wednesday, May 5 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific. Over their 35-year musical relationship, beloved cellist Yo-Yo Ma and acclaimed pianist Kathryn Stott have “developed a wonderfully warm and mutually responsive musical partnership that has blossomed in performances that are both generous and incisive” (NPR). Their recent collaborative album Songs of Comfort and Hope was conceived in April 2020 when people everywhere were entering a dramatic new world. Ranging from fresh arrangements of traditional folk tunes, pop songs and jazz standards to mainstays from the western classical repertoire, the album encourages a sense of community, identity and purpose, crossing boundaries and binding us together in thanks, consolation and encouragement. Performing songs from the album selected specifically for this event, Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott hope that the familiarity and reinvention contained in this music offers everyone some comfort and hope.
This performance will be followed by a moderated Q&A with Yo-Yo Ma.
ABOUT
YO-YO MA
Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, collaborating with communities and institutions to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity. In August 2018, Yo-Yo began a new journey, setting out to perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s six suites for solo cello in one sitting in 36 locations around the world, iconic venues that encompass our cultural heritage, our current creativity and the challenges of peace and understanding that will shape our future.
In addition to his work as a performing artist, Yo-Yo partners with communities and institutions from Chicago to Guangzhou to develop programs that champion culture’s power to transform lives and forge a more connected world. Among his many roles, he is the artistic director of the annual Youth Music Culture Guangdong festival and a UN Messenger of Peace and is the first artist ever appointed to the World Economic Forum’s board of trustees.
Yo-Yo’s discography of more than 100 albums (including 18 Grammy Award winners) reflects his wide-ranging interests. In addition to his many iconic renditions of the Western classical canon, he has made several recordings that defy categorization, among them Appalachia Waltz and Appalachian Journey with Mark O’Connor and Edgar Meyer and two Grammy-winning tributes to the music of Brazil, Obrigado Brazil and Obrigado Brazil — Live in Concert.
KATHRYN STOTT
At the age of five, Kathryn Stott made friends with the upright piano in her living room. That was the beginning of her musical journey. Stott’s initial progress was rapid and by the age of eight, she found herself at a boarding school for young musicians, the Yehudi Menuhin School. During her studies there, it became clear to her that she was heavily influenced by two occasional visitors to the school; Nadia Boulanger and Vlado Perlmuter. From them, her great passion for French music was ignited and Fauré in particular has remained the musical love of her life. Further studies at the Royal College of Music in London then led Stott very abruptly into the life of a professional musician via the Leeds International Piano Competition.
After facing a few rollercoaster years, Stott realized that she needed to re-connect with chamber music in a bid to feel more connected to other musicians and after all, this had played an important part of her musical existence since being a child. When, quite by chance, she met Yo-Yo Ma in 1978, it turned out to be one of the most fortuitous moments of her life. Since 1985, together they have enjoyed a collaboration which has taken them to many fascinating parts of the world and led to musical adventures with musicians who shared so much from their own traditions.
Presently, she enjoys the challenge of creativity in a different way by bringing many musicians together once a year in her role as Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.
UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred events, from critically-acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.
Supporting Sponsors: Bettina and Glenn Duval.
House Calls Media Sponsors: Santa Barbara Independent, KCRW, Voice Magazine, Noozhawk.
Most House Calls events are hour-long programs. Running time: approx. 100 min. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week.
Tickets are $10 for the general public and FREE for UCSB students(registration required).
For tickets and more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or visit www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners theNatalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2020-2021 season.
