Santa Barbara Chamber Players Announce 2024-25 Offerings

The Santa Barbara Chamber Players has announced the launch of its 2024-2025 season, featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, and soloist Pascal Salomon performing Schumann’s Piano Concerto.

The Santa Barbara Chamber Players (SBCP) started during the pandemic in 2022, and acted as a way for local musicians to perform for and with one another despite concerts being canceled throughout Santa Barbara. Drawing on the talent of local musicians, SBCP aims to introduce more people to the world of chamber and orchestral music by providing affordable and professional performances in Santa Barbara County. All performances are offered at a low cost to appeal to a wide audience. SBCP offers free tickets to K-12 students, and student musicians are invited to perform with the orchestra.

The 2024-25 season will kick off with its first concert on October 12 at 7:30 p.m., at First United Methodist Church. The program includes Béla Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, Zoltán Kodály’s Summer Evening, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, The Emperor. The performance will be conducted by Mary Beth Rhodes-Woodruff, founder and director of the Santa Barbara Strings.

The next concert is on February 8, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in Hahn Hall at Music Academy of the West. Conducted by Emmanuel Fratianni, the orchestra will be performing Claude Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque, Joseph Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne (Songs of the Auvergne) featuring soprano soloist April Amante, and Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, Unfinished.

The final concert will be on April 12, 2025, at 7:30 p.m., also at Hahn Hall. The program includes Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto, in A minor (featuring soloist Pascal Salomon on the piano), and Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, Scottish. April’s concert will be conducted by Zig Reichwald, the Adams Professor of Music and Worship at Westmont College.

SBCP accepts donations to help the group continue providing low-cost and complimentary tickets to concerts. Donations are accepted via PayPal. Additional information can be found here.