Music Academy Board Member to Present Summer Festival Preview
For Immediate Release May 17, 2007
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA-Music Academy of the West Board member Robert W. Weinman will present a multimedia preview of the Music Academy's upcoming Summer Festival at 5:30 pm Thursday, June 7, in Lehmann Hall, located at 1070 Fairway Road in Santa Barbara. Admission and campus parking are free.
Featuring slides, video, and discussion, the presentation will highlight notable Summer Festival events and programming, and include insights into the composers whose work will be performed throughout the eight-week Festival. The preview, which will last approximately an hour and 15 minutes, is geared to both first-time Festival-goers and seasoned patrons who want to know what is particularly exciting about this year's musical offerings. The Academy Ticket Office will remain open until 7:30 pm on June 7 to assist those who attend the preview.
"I've presented a Festival preview each of the last three years, but this one is shaping up to be the most dynamic by far. It's a testament to how special this year's Festival promises to be," said Mr. Weinman, who has presented Festival previews at Santa Barbara City College and local retirement communities in years past.
The Music Academy will celebrate its 60th anniversary with this year's Summer Festival, which begins June 18 and concludes on August 11. All told, the Academy will present more than 190 events, including a special community concert featuring famed composer John Williams conducting the Academy Festival Orchestra and violin virtuoso Gil Shaham at the Santa Barbara Bowl on June 23. Additional highlights will include an ambitious mounting of La Bohème, performances by violinist Gilles Apap, pianist Orli Shaham, baritone Thomas Hampson, and the Takács Quartet, and conducting turns by Alexander Lazarev, Edwin Outwater, and David Robertson. Featuring the Academy's exceptionally talented young artists, together with illustrious guest performers, conductors, and faculty, the events will be presented at the Academy's scenic Miraflores campus and in venues throughout Santa Barbara.
For more information, call 969-4726.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, as well as guest conductors and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and students receive full scholarships. Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many have established themselves as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 175 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and students; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
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