Academy of St Martin in the Fields & Conrad Tao
**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Sun, Mar 14 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
Address (map)
1214 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Venue (website)
The Granada Theatre
CAMA 2026/2027 INTERNATIONAL SERIES — The Granada Theatre
SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2027, 7:30 PM
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Conrad Tao, piano
Program:
– RUTH CRAWFORD SEEGER (1901–1953)
Music for Small Orchestra
(c. 8 minutes)
– WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791)
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
(c. 28 minutes)
– CONRAD TAO (b. 1994)
A new work for strings (to be announced)
(c. 8–10 minutes)
– AARON COPLAND (1900–1990)
Appalachian Spring (from the ballet)
(c. 24–30 minutes)
Few orchestras have a sound as instantly recognizable as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields—a signature blend of precision, elegance, and buoyant musical conversation. Formed by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958, and giving its first performance in November 1959, the Academy became a global reference point for chamber-orchestra playing: transparent textures, immaculate ensemble, and an expressive freedom that never loses its refinement.
Partnering with the Academy is pianist‑composer Conrad Tao, an artist of exhilarating range—equally compelling as a soloist, collaborator, and creator. Tao came to national attention early as a musical “triple threat” on PBS’s From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall, and he has gone on to earn both an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Gilmore Young Artist Award. With him at the piano, a concerto becomes more than spotlight and accompaniment; it becomes dialogue—quick, alert, and richly alive.
This is a concert built on style, character, and personality: a storied London ensemble whose craft is all about clarity, and a 21st‑century artist whose musicianship turns clarity into something electric.
