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SANTA BARBARA, CA — (Nov. 6, 2026) — The UC Santa Barbara Department of Music presents its Fall Concert Series lineup, kicking off with the UCSB Jazz Ensemble, followed by performances by the UCSB Wind Ensemble, UCSB Chamber & Concert Choir, UCSB Middle East Ensemble, and more!
The Fall 2026 Concert Series Lineup
The UCSB Jazz Ensemble, directed by Jon Nathan, will present its fall concert on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at 7:30 PM in Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall in the UCSB Music Building on the UCSB campus.
Join the UCSB Jazz Ensemble as they celebrate the Count Basie Orchestra, one of the most iconic and swinging bands in jazz history! The band will perform instrumental and vocal selections from the Basie repertoire, including The Kid from Red Bank, Flight of the Foo Birds, In a Mellow Tone, Alright, Okay, You Win, I Loves You, Porgy, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and an epic drum feature originally written for Buddy Rich, Ol’ Man River. Don’t miss this exciting concert featuring our fantastic UCSB Jazz Ensemble students!
The UCSB Wind Ensemble, directed by Andy Radford, will present “When the Storm Falls Silent” for its fall concert on Thursday, November 19, 2026.
The concert features five pieces by composers William Schuman, Paul Hindemith, Eric Whitacre, Adrienne Albert, and Václav Nelhybel. Hindemith’s Symphony in B-flat and Schuman’s Chester are classics of the wind ensemble repertoire. Albert’s Courage is a recent piece reflecting on the composer’s personal experience with breast cancer. Cloudburst, a well-known piece by Whitacre, paints a musical portrait of extreme weather. The UCSB Wind Ensemble consists of 45 musicians from the campus and from the community.
The UCSB Chamber & Concert Choir, directed by Brent Wilson, will present “With Clear Eyes,” a concert named after a profound line of defiance from Francis Poulenc’s wartime masterpiece Figure humaine.
With Clear Eyes juxtaposes the raw, intense emotional storm of French surrealism with the warm, pastoral lyricism of Randall Thompson’s beloved Frostiana. Together, these monumental works explore the depth of human endurance, from the shadows of conflict to the quiet clarity of nature’s landscapes. Join us for an unforgettable musical journey from darkness into luminous starlight.
The Fall concert will take place on Friday, November 20, 2026, at 7:30 PM at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Santa Barbara.
The UCSB Middle East Ensemble, directed by Scott Marcus, will present its Fall concert on Sat., Nov. 21, 2026, at 7:30 pm at the Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall located in the UCSB Music building.
The concert will feature special guest performers, renowned Palestinian singer/oud virtuoso Naser Musa, and solo dancer Kalila. The program will include a variety of Arab, Armenian, and Persian music and dance.
The UCSB Chamber Players, directed by Jonathan Moerschel, will present their fall concert on Sunday, November 22, 2026, at 7:30 PM in Karl Geiringer Hall located in the UCSB Music Building on campus.
Enjoy an evening of music featuring works by Brahms, Glière, Mozart, Ravel, and Schumann.
The UCSB Chamber Orchestra, directed by Andy Radford, will present its fall concert, “With Love, P.S. It’s gonna be great! (Prokofiev and Sibelius),” on Monday, November 30, 2026, at 7:30 PM in Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, in the UCSB Music Building on the UCSB campus.
The Fall Concert of the UCSB Chamber Orchestra features two amazing symphonies from the early 20th Century. The Second Symphony of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is a romantic work of incredible beauty, which also hints at Finland’s struggle for independence from Russia. The Classical Symphony of Russian composer Serge Prokofiev, looks back through musical history to the music of Haydn and Schubert for classical forms. This sparkling music is written in the tonal language of Prokofiev.
The UCSB Ensemble for Contemporary Music, directed by Jonathan Moerschel, will present its fall concert on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, at 7:30 PM in Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, in the UCSB Music Building on the UCSB campus.
The program will feature contemporary works by Timo Andres, Alice Hong, Nico Muhly, Andrew Poppy, Elena Ruehr, Nevada Summerly, and Paul Wiancko.
The UCSB Gospel Choir, directed by Pastor Victor Bell, will close out the Department of Music’s Fall Concert Series with a program of traditional and contemporary songs drawn from African American religious traditions on Friday, December 4, 2026, at 7:30 PM in Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, in the UCSB Music Building on the UCSB campus.
UCSB DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC FALL CONCERT SERIES
UCSB Jazz Ensemble | Wed, Nov 18, 2026 | 7:30 PM | Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, UCSB campus
UCSB Wind Ensemble | Thu, Nov 19, 2026 | 7:30 PM | Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, UCSB campus
UCSB Chamber & Concert Choir | Fri, Nov 20, 2026 | 7:30 PM | Trinity Episcopal Church
UCSB Middle East Ensemble | Sat, Nov 21, 2026 | 7:30 PM | Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, UCSB campus
UCSB Chamber Players | Sun, Nov 22, 2026 | 7:30 PM | Karl Geiringer Hall, UCSB campus
UCSB Chamber Orchestra | Mon, Nov 30, 2026 | 7:30 PM | Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, UCSB campus
UCSB Ensemble for Contemporary Music | Wed, Dec 2, 2026 | 7:30 PM | Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, UCSB campus
UCSB Gospel Choir | Fri, December 4, 2026 | 7:30 PM | Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, UCSB campus
TICKETS
$13.25 General admission
$10.00 Seniors, military, non-UCSB students with ID
FREE for UCSB students with ID and children under 12
Tickets are available to purchase at: music.ucsb.edu/events/
Youth and UCSB student tickets may be reserved in advance by contacting the UCSB Associated Students Ticket Office at (805) 893-2064 or ticketoffice@as.ucsb.edu.
Explore UCSB Music events: music.ucsb.edu/events
ABOUT THE UC SANTA BARBARA DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
From an institution that began life dedicated to training the next generation of music educators, to what is now a multifaceted department with a fully established research and professional graduate program with degrees in composition, ethnomusicology, musicology, music theory, and performance, the UC Santa Barbara Department of Music has produced many hundreds of graduates who have distinguished themselves both nationally and internationally. Many have gone on to teaching, either privately or in outstanding secondary school positions, and in more recent years, graduates have joined the faculties of major colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. A number have become widely recognized and published scholars; some are now prize-winning and frequently performed composers, while others are writing for television and film. Alumni are also establishing fine reputations as conductors of orchestras, opera, and choruses. Graduates of the instrumental programs have pursued solo and orchestral careers with leading orchestras, and our singers can be heard in opera companies around the world.
With over 150 events presented annually, the UC Santa Barbara Department of Music offers something for every music lover. The department boasts 26 unique performing ensembles, each with a quarterly concert calendar. Chamber music, large ensembles, opera, contemporary groups, world music, and jazz ensembles make up the department’s rich performance calendar, along with lectures, master classes, and presentations from the ethnomusicology, musicology, theory, and composition programs. For a complete listing of performances and lectures for the quarter, please visit the UC Santa Barbara Department of Music website at http://www.music.ucsb.edu.
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