February 26, 2022 Santa Barbara Music Club Free Concert

The Santa Barbara Music Club presents a program of beautiful classical music on Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 3 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu. Renowned artists violinist Nicole McKenzie, clarinetist David Singer, and pianist Betty Oberacker will perform Johannes Brahms’ sublime Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 120, No. 2, for Clarinet and Piano, Serge Prokofiev’s captivating Sonata in D major, Op. 94 for Violin and Piano, and Darius Milhaud’s rollicking Suite for Violin, Clarinet, & Piano, Op. 157b. Admission is free.
Nicole McKenzie, violinist, has concertized widely as soloist and chamber musician, and her performances of classical, contemporary, and ethnic repertoire (the latter including the Klezmer/Jazz group Kalinka) have earned her lavish critical praise. The Santa Barbara Independent declared, “McKenzie made a splash in the luscious and exciting music – she performed with gorgeous musicality.” Winner of the Sutton Chamber Music Award, she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy, earned her BM Degree from Oberlin Conservatory, her MM Degree from Florida State University, and studied with Dr. Gary Kosloski at the Music Academy of the West. With a background in dance, she teaches the course, Music For Dancers, as a UCSB faculty member, and was founding member of the Nicole McKenzie Improv Group, an improvising group of dancers and musicians. Concertmaster of the Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara, she coaches chamber music for Santa Barbara Strings, co-directs and teaches for Sandcastle Music together, and maintains a private violin studio. Ms. McKenzie’s violin was created for her by Michel Eggimann of Rome, Italy.

Betty Oberacker, pianist, is internationally renowned as soloist and chamber musician and has concertized throughout Europe, Israel, Asia, Australia, Mexico, and the U.S. Rome’s Corriere della Sera asserted, “An artist of the highest order! She is a fascinating interpreter. Her playing, imbued with an intense lyricism yet fervent and impassioned, earned for her a glowing success,” and Berlin’s Der Tagesspiegel observed, “She performs with profound comprehension of the music’s essence and with intuitive certainty of its effect, with conquering energy and sensuously sonorous interpretations.” Her musical gifts were evidenced at age three, when she began to play the piano, accompany, and improvise entirely by ear; piano lessons started at seven, and at nine she was accepted on scholarship as the only child student of the noted pianist and composer Beryl Rubinstein. She earned her DMA Degree from The Ohio State University while concurrently a piano faculty member, and her honors include three invitations to tour China – the first American solo pianist to be so honored. UCSB Professor Emeritus, she enjoys an active performing, teaching, and chamber music coaching schedule.
David Singer, clarinetist, enjoys a career as one of the most highly respected clarinetist in the United States. The New York Times proclaimed, “To describe Singer’s playing would be to enumerate a catalogue of virtues.” Principal clarinetist, Emeritus, of the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, his performances include the White House for Presidents Carter and Clinton, guest artist with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, and chamber music concerts with Yehudi Menuhin, Yo Yo Ma, Rudolf Serkin, and members of the Guarneri and Emerson String Quartets. Gramophone Magazine affirmed, ”His playing is exceptional … sensitive and expressive, technically brilliant.” “Singer’s Copland performance is one of the finest accounts around.” Of his West Coast premiere of the Aldridge Concerto with the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Times noted, “… teeming with energy, rowdy, ethnic and fun.” The Max Reger Institute in Karlsruhe, Germany selected Singer’s recording with Rudolf Serkin of Reger’s Clarinet Sonata Op. 107 to be reissued internationally in 2023, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

Santa Barbara Music Club concerts display a wonderful diversity of historical musical periods and compositional styles, including beloved masterworks and exciting new and seldom-heard repertoire. Of the series, the Santa Barbara Independent exclaimed: “A beautiful day, a beautiful room, beautiful music … who could ask for more?” and Gerald Carpenter in Noozhawk.com declared, “Every Santa Barbara Music Club concert that I have ever attended has been a sensory joy as well as a consciousness expansion.”

A valued cultural resource in the community since 1969, the Music Club’s mission is threefold:

(1) Presentation of an annual series of concerts, free to the public.

(2) Aiding and encouraging musical education by the disbursement of scholarships to talented local music students.

(3) Presentation of community outreach activities, including bringing great music to residents of area retirement homes.

For information on this or other Santa Barbara Music Club programs and performing artists, visit SBMusicClub.org.

FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR AUDIENCE AND PERFORMERS

In accordance with public health guidelines, all patrons, including children, must show proof of being fully vaccinated or supply a professionally administered negative COVID‑19 test result, taken within 1 day for antigen tests and 2 days for PCR tests. Results of self‑administered at‑home tests are not accepted.

All patrons 18 years and older must present identification that matches their vaccination or test records.

IDENTIFICATION ACCEPTED: Driver’s License, State ID, school photo ID, or passport. Other photo ID may be considered on case‑by-case basis.

PROOF OF VACCINATION: CDC vaccination card, photo or copy of card, or California digital verification from www.MyVaccineRecord.cdph.Ca.gov. Out‑of‑state guests must present similarly verified records.

Masks are required, and must cover both nose and mouth. Bandanas, neck gaiters, masks with exhalation valves and shield‑like face coverings are not allowed.

Social distancing is required.