SANTA BARBARA — The Music Academy of the West, 2024 Summer Music Festival, which kicked off June 12 and runs through August 3 at the Music Academy’s idyllic campus — and throughout the stunning setting of the American Riviera in Santa Barbara, California — has featured nearly 130 live events including the Academy Festival Orchestra, Bizet’s opera Carmen, public masterclasses, and world-renowned competitions in solo piano, duo, and song.
Congrats to Shengyu Meng, Yoshino Toi, and all of our fellow finalists on their amazing performances!
Thank you to our adjudicators, Gabriel Campos Zamora, Jeremy Geffen, and Rita Sloan.
Shengyu and Yoshino will each receive the Grand Prize of a $5,000 cash award and digital assets for career promotion.
SANTA BARBARA— The Music Academy of the West recently elected two distinguished community leaders to its Board of Directors: Montecito residents Andrea Hein, a retired entertainment industry executive, and Harrison M. (Mac) Bains, Jr., a retired banking and finance executive.
SANTA BARBARA — The Music Academy of the West, now in its 77th Summer Music Festival season which runs through August 3, has awarded Music Academy alum Corin Lee the 2024 Alumni Enterprise Award (AEA) for his innovative endeavor VR Practice.
The AEA, among the Music Academy’s robust alumni efforts, supports and funds innovative projects in artistic expression, audience development, education, community engagement, social justice, and technology.
The Gala raised $325,000 which supports the Music Academy’s full-scholarship program that brings 137 fellows from across the country and around the world to study and perform with world-class teaching artists in Santa Barbara during the annual eight week Summer Festival, benefits the Academy’s Sing! Children’s Chorus of Santa Barbara County youth, and subsidizes 3,000 Community Access Tickets for the Santa Barbara community to attend live performances.
Open to all alumni, the annual award will support an emerging Music Academy alum in their professional pursuits as a performing artist.
The inaugural recipient of the award is solo piano alum Evan Shinners (‘09), who is slated to perform in the galleries on Feb 24 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
Music Academy of the West is delighted to announce the appointment of Nate Bachhuber to the position of Chief Artistic Officer. Nate is recognized for his collaborative and strategic approach to artistic planning with prestigious performing arts organizations including the LA Phil, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. He takes up this new post on February 26, and looks forward to engaging Santa Barbara’s vibrant communities through music and, with his colleagues, expanding the Music Academy’s future artistic impact.
SANTA BARBARA — The Music Academy of the West, 2024 Summer Music Festival, which kicked off June 12 and runs through August 3 at the Music Academy’s idyllic campus — and throughout the stunning setting of the American Riviera in Santa Barbara, California — features nearly 130 live events including special performances by Lawrence Brownlee, Sasha Cooke, Jeremy Denk, Steven Isserlis, Leila Josefowicz, Richard O’Neill, as well as Bizet’s Carmen and a stunning Teaching Artists Showcase.
SANTA BARBARA — The Music Academy of the West, now in its 77th season, inspires artists and concert-goers alike with the 2024 Summer Music Festival themed “The Magic of Music.” The Festival showcases talented young musicians and outstanding teaching and guest artists in a wide array of one-of-a-kind performances, chamber concerts, public masterclasses, and competitions.
SANTA BARBARA —The Music Academy of the West’s 2024-25 Mariposa Concert Series, a collection of concerts and experiences held in the intimate Hahn Hall, on the Music Academy’s lush Miraflores campus kicked off on October 5 with “African Queens,” celebrating the legacy of seven revered African Queens, featuring soprano Karen Slack and pianist Kevin Miller. The series continues on December 7, with one of contemporary music’s indispensable ensembles, JACK Quartet.
The Mariposa Concert Series, which debuted in 2022, furthers the Music Academy of the West’s mission to bring exceptional music to the community throughout the year. The series showcases the artistry of world-renowned musicians, including esteemed Music Academy alums, in unique musical experiences and events this fall through spring 2025. Featuring visionary artists, these performances offer fresh context and perspective on music spanning more than 700 years — from 1390 to 2025!
CENTRAL COAST — Celebrating the gorgeous Gaviota Coast and the philanthropists who have led the way in preserving it, the Gaviota Coast Conservancy (GCC) is planning a most elegant fête that will be the group’s first public fundraiser titled, “Coastal…
