Reaching Out

Since opening its doors in 1936, the Bowl has championed for its community, so it came as no surprise when the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation launched its Education Outreach Program in the late 1990s. With the hopes of bringing music into the lives and classrooms of Santa Barbara’s youth, the program (led by co-chairs Sandy Stahl and Eric Shiflett, pictured above) has helped facilitate performances, seminars, and artists-in-residence opportunities for students throughout the county. Today, they’re also helping to unify Santa Barbara’s arts education community through all-inclusive seminars and discussions between teachers, principals, and artists. “The most valuable thing we’ve done is become this hub of networking for all the arts education groups in town. We’ve started to be the place that people come to with the programs they want to make happen.”