Tag: UCSB Arts & Lectures

Jan. 24 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato’s new groundbreaking tour de force EDEN

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents Joyce DiDonato in EDEN, Tuesday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Granada Theatre. Fusing music, movement and theater, EDEN is a breathtaking, through-performed tour de force from the multi-award-winning Joyce DiDonato. EDEN explores our individual connection to nature and its impact on our world. By traveling seamlessly through four centuries of music, including a new commission from Academy Award-winning composer Rachel Portman, a searing and singular experience of hope unfolds. To ensure that the EDEN experience continues to grow outside of the concert hall, each audience member receives seeds to plant as DiDonato asks: “In this time of upheaval, which seed wIll you plant today?”

Jan. 27 — UCSB A&L presents Emanuel Ax – Leonidas Kavakos – Yo-Yo Ma at the Granada Theatre

Praised for its remarkable ensemble cohesion and immaculately refined interpretations, this musical dream team reunites in Santa Barbara for an unforgettable evening of chamber music. Get tickets for Emanuel Ax – Leonidas Kavakos – Yo-Yo Ma on Jan 27, 2023 at The Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara. Presented by UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures.

Jan. 28 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Ensemble Intercontemporain at the Lobero Theatre

Regarded as the world’s leading contemporary music group, Ensemble Intercontemporain make a rare appearance to present Olga Neuwirth’s score for the 1924 satirical silent filmDie Stadt ohne Juden (The City Without Jews). Under music director Matthias Pintscher, the French musicians will accompany the movie directed by Hans Karl Breslauer for which Neuwirth wrote music “both touching and harsh, warm-hearted and open, amusing and furious, involved and distanced, humorous and sad all at once.”

Feb. 2 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Amor Towles at Campbell Hall

Amor Towles is heir to the American literary tradition of thrilling narratives that follow memorable young men on intricate journeys of risk, discovery and redemption. Through his evocative, absorbing novels including Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway, Towles has become a critical favorite and a popular success.

Feb. 23 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Dr. Ainissa Ramirez at Campbell Hall

An award-winning scientist, science communicator and author, Ramirez promotes a love of exploration, making complex scientific processes clear and mesmerizing to just about everyone. In her recent book The Alchemy of Us, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors – particularly people of color and women – who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias and convention. Doing so shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also reveals that innovation is universal – whether it’s splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.

Feb. 25, 26 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Ballet Preljocaj’s Swan Lake at the Granada Theatre

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents Preljocaj’s Swan Lake, Saturday, February 25 at 8:00 p.m and Sunday, February 26 at 3:00 p.m. at the Granada Theatre. France’s contemporary dance superstar Angelin Preljocaj tackles the Mount Everest of the ballet world, Swan Lake. Combining Tchaikovsky’s musical masterpiece with new arrangements, Preljocaj reinvents the timeless tale of love, betrayal, seduction and remorse into a modern ecological tragedy. With 26 dancers, this beautiful tribute takes flight as an ingenious adaptation in which “the excellent performers… move with nuanced, fragile physical poetry, and a sense of the wounded souls they have become” (The New York Times).

March 1 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour on Tuesday, Feb. 28 and Wednesday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlington Theatre. A Santa Barbara institution, the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is a perennial fan favorite. Featuring the world’s best films and videos on mountain subjects, the tour awes viewers with thrills and grandeur captured in exotic locations the world over. The show’s wide variety of film subjects – from extreme sports to mountain culture and environment – will amaze audiences. An entirely different program of films screens each night.

March 3 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Dr. Thema Bryant in a FREE Justice for All Event

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Dr. Thema Bryant on Friday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Hall. One of the foundational scholars on the topic of the trauma of racism, Dr. Thema Bryant provides tools to meaningfully connect with a larger community, even in the face of racism, sexism, heartbreak, grief and trauma. As a survivor of sexual assault, racism and evacuation from a civil war in Liberia, she knows intimately the work involved in healing. Having made the journey herself, in addition to guiding others as a clinical psychologist and ordained minister, Dr. Thema shows how to reconnect with your authentic self and reclaim your time, your voice and your life.

March 14 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Tracy Kidder in conversation with Pico Iyer at the New Vic (limited availability)

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents Tracy Kidder in conversation with Pico Iyer Tuesday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m at The New Vic. Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Kidder stands at the forefront of American letters as a champion of the heroism of everyday life. With a reputation for faultless prose and profound insights, his mesmerizing profiles include Mountains Beyond Mountains, which brought the world’s attention to Dr. Paul Farmer, and the Pulitzer Prize-winner The Soul of a New Machine. In his newest work, Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People, Kidder continues to amplify the efforts of unique individuals who transcend cynicism and create hope. 

March 19 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the Winter 2023 Thematic Learning Initiative

The Thematic Learning Initiative provides opportunities for anyone interested in delving deeper into the issues raised by A&L artists and speakers. Connect with others at intimate salon-style discussions, film screenings and added special public events. Receive online educational resources, sign up for book giveaways and more!

April 4 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the Wynton Marsalis Septet

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents the Wynton Marsalis Septet Tuesday, April 4 at 7 p.m at the Granada Theatre. In this intimate performance, Wynton Marsalis will lead an exciting new edition of the Wynton Marsalis Septet as they present his latest original compositions as well as standards spanning the vast historical landscape of jazz music. Originally formed in the spring of 1989, the Wynton Marsalis Septet has featured such acclaimed musicians as Wycliffe Gordon and Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson. 34 years later, this special group has taken new form, garnering some of jazz’s biggest rising stars. As Douglas Hall of Glide Magazine describes it, the Wynton Marsalis Septet “combines familiar musical friendships and his passion for discovering new talent.”

April 12 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Danny Trejo at Campbell Hall

On screen, Danny Trejo is a baddie who has been killed at least a hundred times. Off screen, the actor, producer and entrepreneur is a hero beloved by recovery communities and obsessed fans alike. But the real Danny Trejo is much more complicated than the legend. With more than 400 film credits including Heat, From Dusk Till Dawnand the Spy Kids and Machete franchises, along with his burgeoning Trejo’s Tacos empire, Danny Trejo’s story is “enough to make you believe in the possibility of a Hollywood ending” (The New York Times). Discover the full, fascinating and inspirational story of his journey from prison, addiction and loss to artistic expression and personal happiness. 

April 13 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the Danish String Quartet at Campbell Hall

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents the Danish String Quartet on Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at Campbell Hall. “One of the best quartets before the public today” (The Washington Post), the Danish returns with the third concert in its Doppelgänger Project, pairing Schubert’s “Rosamunde” and “Quartettsatz” quartets with a newly commissioned work by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdóttir. One of the most original voices of her generation, Thorvaldsdóttir wields a “seemingly boundless textural imagination” (The New York Times) to create captivating musical landscapes at once grand and personal.

April 21 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents So Percussion with Caroline Shaw at Campbell Hall

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents S? Percussion with Caroline Shaw on Friday, April 21 at 8 p.m. at Campbell Hall. Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw joins S? Percussion as vocalist for ten songs she co-composed with the quartet members. Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part explores soil cultivation as a metaphor for creativity and collaboration. Shaw’s remarkable ear for melody and harmony and S?’s playful sense of rhythmic invention come together in this strikingly original music. Taking inspiration from James Joyce, ABBA, American roots music, plainchant, Christian hymns and stories from the Old Testament, S? Percussion and Caroline Shaw dissolve the boundaries between classical and pop. In the first half of the program, S? Percussion will perform works in its repertoire from a trio of young composers including ensemble member Eric Cha-Beach, Angélica Negrón and Nathalie Joachim.

April 22 — UCSB Arts & Lectures to present Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

Lady Gaga. Wagner. Talking Heads. No repertoire is safe from the artistry and insanity of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. With punk rock sensibilities and restrained British humor, this eight-piece band of expert strummers and singers has charmed audiences the world over. Devilishly irreverent and shockingly eclectic, the orchestra is a bona fide U.K. national treasure, inspiring an international love affair with its humble four-string namesake. 

April 23 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents ARTEMIS at Campbell Hall

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents ARTEMIS on Sunday, April 23 at 7 p.m. at Campbell Hall. ARTEMIS is an international ensemble of modern jazz masters named for the ancient Greek goddess of the hunt. Founded in 2017 under the banner of International Women’s Day, it made a memorable splash at the 2018 Newport Jazz Festival, followed by a debut recording on Blue Note in 2020. Each member is a composer and bandleader in their own right, and the collective’s repertoire draws from new compositions written expressly for them, to classics by Lee Morgan, Thelonious Monk and Wayne Shorter.

April 25 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón at Campbell Hall

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents Ada Limón on Tuesday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Hall. For Ada Limón, poetry is elemental, necessary and deeply human. Known for “clear storytelling, vivid visuals, and a final turn that snaps you like a twig” (Guernica Magazine), Limón is the author of six books of poetry. The Carrying won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Bright Dead Thingswas nominated for the National Book Award. Her newest book of poetry, The Hurting Kind, was named one of The New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2022. The first woman of Mexican ancestry to be named U.S. poet laureate, Limón views identity – and poetry – as an avenue to greater possibilities.

April 27 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Isabella Rossellini in Conversation with Pico Iyer at The New Vic

A storied model and movie star, Isabella Rossellini represents a startling example of self reinvention. Born into European film royalty as the daughter of director Roberto Rossellini and actor Ingrid Bergman, her own performances are some of the definitive images in film. After a successful career in acting and modeling, she earned a master’s degree in animal behavior and now creates unique and humorous works of performance art based on her research. Known for her philanthropic efforts in animal conservation among other areas, Rossellini runs an organic farm in Bellport, New York. As former muse and partner to artists like David Lynch, Martin Scorsese and Gary Oldman, Rossellini has stories to share and ideas of her own about the trials and tribulations of a life lived almost entirely in the public eye. 

May 6 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Mark Morris Dance Group at The Granada Theatre

Mark Morris Dance Group’s evening-length work, The Look of Love, is the newest collaboration from choreographer Mark Morris and arranger Ethan Iverson. An homage to the chart-topping songs of Burt Bacharach – including popular compositions for Dionne Warwick such as “Walk on By” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” – the piece features original choreography, a live musical ensemble and lush new arrangements of more than a dozen legendary hits by the multi-award-winning composer.

May 9 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Woman. Life. Freedom at UCSB’s Art, Design & Architecture Museum

Woman. Life. Freedom. is a public art projection featuring 30 artworks by anonymous international artists. These monumental digital images, which will be projected onto the façade of the UCSB Art, Design & Architecture Museum, respond to systemic gender inequity and discrimination in Iran.

May 10 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Charles Montgomery ‘Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design’ at UCSB’s Campbell Hall

The city you live in has a powerful effect on how you behave. How, then, do we design happy cities? Urban design consultant, award-winning journalist and author of Happy City, Charles Montgomery looks for answers in psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics and cityscapes from Disneyland to Dubai.

July 14 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Alien at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden

SANTA BARBARA — Get ready to explore the galaxy this summer with UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2023 FREE Summer Cinema line-up: “Out of This World.” The series continues with Ridley Scott’s feminist space horror classic, Alien, at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden on Friday, July 14 at 8:30 pm.

July 21 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Mars Attacks! at the Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Garden

SANTA BARBARA — Get ready to explore the galaxy this summer with UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2023 FREE Summer Cinema line-up: “Out of This World.” The series continues with Tim Burton’s send-up of vintage sci-fi invasion flicks, Mars Attacks! at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden on Friday, July 21 at 8:30 pm.

Aug. 11 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Star Trek at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden

Get ready to explore the galaxy this summer with UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2023 FREE Summer Cinema line-up: Out of This World. The series continues with J. J. Abrams’ thrilling 2009 resurrection of the Star Trek franchise. 

Aug. 18 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Guardians of the Galaxy at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden

SANTA BARBARA — Get ready to meet a galaxy of interstellar adventurers this summer with UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2023 FREE Summer Cinema line-up: Out of This World. The series continues with Guardians of the Galaxyon Friday, August 18. 

Costumes are encouraged at this weeks event! Metro Entertainment will be on hand with special rewards for those who dress up. DJ Darla Bea will present an in-person music set. 

Through Aug. 25 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the 2023 FREE Summer Cinema

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the 2023 FREE Summer Cinema line-up: Out of This World, seven nights of space-inspired movies under the stars at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden, Friday nights from July 7 through August 25. (No screening Friday, August 4 due to Fiesta)

Oct. 1 — UCSB Arts & Lectures kicks off its 2023-2024 season with performance by five-time Grammy-winner Jacob Collier

SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents Jacob Collier on Sunday, October 1 at 7 p.m. at Campbell Hall. Moving fluidly across jazz, pop and R&B, Jacob Collier creates mesmerizing soundscapes using layered vocal tracks and sophisticated digital editing techniques. His multi-frame, multi-instrumental viral videos and five Grammy wins have earned him a devoted international following and a roster of collaborators that ranges from Coldplay and SZA to Hans Zimmer. An energetic and engaging live performer, Collier is known for conducting his audiences in multi-part harmonies and beats.

Pre-concert festivities on the plaza in front of Campbell Hall begin at 6 p.m. Enjoy food trucks and a live DJ set by KCRW Program Director Anne Litt. 

Oct. 4 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents iconic Martha Graham Dance Company at the Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) presents the Martha Graham Dance Company’s Graham100 on Wednesday, October 4 at the Granada Theatre. Recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th century, Martha Graham single-handedly defined contemporary dance as a uniquely American art form. In this evening of new and reimagined works framing a Graham classic, the company performs Hofesh Shechter’s high-energy CAVEand Graham’s Dark Meadow Suite, an abstract work about life’s journey and the search for connection with one’s self and one’s community. A reconstruction of Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo rounds out the program, with a reorchestration of Aaron Copland’s score performed by a live bluegrass ensemble led by Punch Brother Gabe Witcher.

Oct. 8 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Nickel Creek at the Granada Theatre

SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Nickel Creek with special guest Hawktail on Sunday, October 8 at 7 p.m. at the Granada Theatre. Nickel Creek is the platinum-selling, internationally renowned roots trio featuring mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins. The Grammy Award-winning band has revolutionized bluegrass and roots music since they captured the world’s attention with their self-titled LP, which showcased their instrumental virtuosity and songwriting prowess. All solo artists in their own right, the beloved trio’s 2023 album Celebrants represents a triumphant return to form after a nine-year break from recording and touring together. Special guest Hawktail are an acoustic instrumental quartet featuring Punch Brothers bassist Paul Kowert, fiddler Brittany Haas, guitarist Jordan Tice and mandolinist Dominick Leslie.

Oct. 10 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lisa Batiashvili and Gautier Capuçon

SANTA BARBARA —  UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano, Lisa Batiashvili, violin and Gautier Capuçon, cello, on Tuesday, October 10 at 7 p.m. at the Granada Theatre.Three friends and award-winning classical stars come together for an evening of chamber music at the highest level of cohesion and artistic insight. Gautier Capuçon’s powerful cello blends with the warm, brilliant tone of violinist Lisa Batiashvili and the finesse of Jean-Yves Thibaudet in a program of masterpieces that showcases their individual and collaborative gifts. “When you have the possibility to play incredible music with great friends onstage, this is just pure luxury,” Capuçon says. “There is nothing better than that.”

Oct. 24 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Jill Lepore delivering a lecture titled Amend: Rewriting the Constitution

SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Jill Lepore delivering a public lecture titled Amend: Rewriting the Constitution on Tuesday, October 24 at 7:30 p.m. at UCSB Campbell Hall. Award-winning historian and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Jill Lepore brings her panoptic range and razor-sharp style to a discussion of the Supreme Court’s role in the U.S. Constitution’s unamendability. The U.S. Constitution was always meant to be added to and improved – amending is what makes the Constitution everyone’s, says Lepore. How has the U.S. Constitution become one of the most difficult in the world to change? And what are the consequences for a society whose constitution is frozen in time?

Oct. 25 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents ‘Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends’

SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Turn it Out with Tiler Peck & Friends on Wednesday, October 25 at 8:00 p.m. at The Granada Theatre. Award-winning New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck embraces the role of director for Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends, turning up the heat with an innovative, handpicked repertoire by some of today’s most exciting choreographers. The virtuosic program includes Thousandth Orange, set to live music composed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw; an electric pas de deux choreographed by Alonzo King; a collaboration with tap star and Santa Barbara favorite Michelle Dorrance; and a dynamic finale reflecting Peck’s creative partnership with choreographer William Forsythe, set to music by James Blake. 

Oct. 26 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Walter Isaacson in conversation with Pico Iyer

SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Walter Isaacson in conversation with Pico Iyer on Thursday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m. at UCSB Campbell Hall. Walter Isaacson occupies a unique position in contemporary American culture. His many bestselling works include biographies of CRISPR’s Jennifer Doudna, Benjamin Franklin and Steve Jobs. His new book on Elon Musk is the astonishingly intimate story of one of the most fascinating and controversial innovators of our era. An immediate bestseller upon its release in September of 2023, Isaacson’s Elon Musk takes its place alongside his other monumental biographies as an essential document of the complex factors that come together in men and women of rare genius. 

Walter Isaacson talks about his new biography of Elon Musk on the Today Show