Community Calendar

Santa Barbara Symphony- An American in Paris
Saturday, April 18, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Sunday, April 19, 2025 | 3:00 PM
The Granada Theatre

Attend "Conversations with KUSC" with on-air personality Jennifer Miller Hammel
Saturday Pre-Concert Chat | 6:30-7:00 PM
Sunday Pre-Concert Chat | 2:00-2:30 PM

Gershwin’s jazzy musical postcard, An American in Paris, highlights this program of America’s masters as the nation turns 250. Alexi Kenny, acclaimed by The New York Times for virtuosity that is “breathless and often daring” plays Barber’s haunting Violin Concerto. Charles Ives’ vibrant Three Places in New England presents portraits of patriotism. And the inner glow of Jennifer Higdon’s Blue Cathedral will soothe long after its sumptuous sound fades to silence.

The Artists
Nir Kabaretti, Conductor
Alexi Kenney, Violin

Repertoire
IVES | Three Places in New England
BARBER | Violin Concerto
JENNIFER HIGDON | Blue Cathedral
GERSHWIN | An American in Paris

For more info and tickets, visit: https://thesymphony.org/concerts-events/orchestra-concerts/an-american-in-paris/

Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps are on quite a roll.

Her persuasive pipes slathered in honey and soaked in Texas-bred sass, keyboardist Teresa James and her band, the Rhythm Tramps, have long reigned as one of Los Angeles’ leading contemporary blues outfits, even though their uncommonly imaginative repertoire, much of it supplied by Terry Wilson, James’ husband, producer, and bassist, is by no means strictly limited to the 12-bar form. Their 2019 CD Here in Babylon was nominated for a Grammy in the Contemporary Blues Album category.

Rose-Colored Glasses, the band’s new release on Blue Heart Records, continues that proud tradition. It’s their 12th album and once again showcases Teresa’s enticing way with a lyric and Terry’s prolific songwriting talent, poured over grooves that’ll grab listeners and refuse to let go until the very last notes have rung. A coterie of Texas guitar greats guest on the set, including Anson Funderburgh, Lee Roy Parnell, Johnny Lee Schell, Snuffy Walden, and Dean Parks. “This new album is kind of veering a little bit more into soul,” says Teresa. “But to me, blues is more of a state of mind. It’s where you’re coming from. It’s the attitude and the heart that you bring to it.”

Soon to have a full dozen albums under their collective belt spanning 23 exciting years, Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps remain a staple of the Los Angeles-area blues scene in addition to an international touring artist, with a sound all their own. Moving easily from Texas-style grease and blues into Memphis soul or New Orleans-flavored grooves and all points in between with fun and abandonment, as one critic said, “there are no clichés in this band.”

Santa Barbara Symphony- Mahler's Resurrection (SEASON FINALE)
Saturday, May 16, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Sunday, May 17, 2026 | 3:00 PM
The Granada Theatre

Attend "Conversations with KUSC" with on-air personality Jennifer Miller Hammel
Saturday Pre-Concert Chat | 6:30-7:00 PM
Sunday Pre-Concert Chat | 2:00-2:30 PM

A concert experience unlike any other. Nir Kabaretti leads the Santa Barbara Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony Chorus, and soloists in Mahler’s monumental Symphony Number Two. The awe-inspiring “Resurrection” Symphony is a must-see concert event that will bring the 2025-26 season to a triumphant, roaring close!

The Artists
Nir Kabaretti, Conductor
Johanna Will, Soprano
Felicia Gavilanes, Mezzo-Soprano
Santa Barbara Symphony Chorus

Repertoire
MAHLER | Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”

For more info and tickets, visit: https://thesymphony.org/concerts-events/orchestra-concerts/mahlers-resurrection/