Monday’s concert to feature two musicians with past ties to Santa Barbara area
The Juilliard String Quartet features two members with past local connections: Molly Carr, far left, who’s an alumna of the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, and Ron Copes, a former UCSB faculty member.
Former UCSB music faculty member Ronald Copes is back in Santa Barbara as a violinist in the prestigious Juilliard String Quartet.
The ensemble, which actually has two local connections, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.
The program is among the Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara’s concerts.
“It’s like a homecoming for Ron, and we’re always thrilled to have them,” CAMA board member Stephen Cloud told the News-Press. “They will be playing the last Beethoven string quartet, one that Beethoven composed but never heard performed.”
The quartet will perform Beethoven’s Quartet No. 16, Opus 135 during the program, which is part of CAMA’s Masterseries.
Mr. Copes has played with the quartet since 1997.
In addition to Mr. Copes, the quartet is composed of violinist Areta Zhulla, cellist Astrid Schween and violist Molly Carr, an alumna of the Music Academy of the West in Montecito. Ms. Carr, who joined the quartet in May, is part of the award-winning Carr-Petrova Duo and the Iris Trio. She is the former violist of the Solera Quartet, which received Chamber Music America’s 2018 Guarneri Quartet Residency Award.
The Juilliard Quartet was started in 1946 and has been praised for its focus on the classics as well as championing new works.
Another local connection will be seen and heard on Dec. 7 when French pianist Helene Grimaud, who lives in Santa Ynez, performs at 7:30 p.m. at the Lobero for a CAMA concert. Mr. Cloud said she is among the finest master musicians in today’s international music scene.
Mr. Cloud is also excited about the Chicago Symphony returning to The Granada for a concert at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25. It’s directed by Riccardo Muti, and Mr. Cloud explained how the acclaimed orchestra fell into CAMA’s lap.
“We had a couple other concerts lined up for the upcoming season, each of which fell apart. One was a Russian orchestra, and it’s obvious why that went away,” Mr. Cloud said, referring to the tension resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Out of nowhere, we got a call from the Chicago Symphony, asking if we wanted them to play. We said, ‘Yes!’
“Every year, critics pick them as one of the top two, three or five orchestras in the world,” Mr. Cloud said. “Last time, they played here was five years ago. The time before that was in the 1960s.
“Riccardo Muti is arguably one of the last of the legendary conductors,” Mr. Cloud said.
The International Series continues at The Granada with the Filharmonie Brno, an orchestra from the Czech Republic, performing at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13.
The Masterseries will resume March 4 with Los Romeros, the Romero family’s guitar quartet, whose concert is part of the celebration of the Lobero Theatre’s 150th anniversary. (The theater was founded on Feb. 22, 1873.) The concert will take place there at 7:30 p.m.
Acclaimed violin soloist Augustin Hadelich will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 24 at the Lobero.
And the International Series at The Granada will feature the Curtis Symphony Orchestra (Curtis Institute of Music/Philadelphia) at 7:30 p.m. May 18.
The season will conclude with the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing at 7:30 p.m. May 28 at The Granada.
The concert will feature two L.A. Phil-commissioned world premiere works — Ellen Reid’s “West Coast Sky Eternal” and Gabriella Smith’s “Lost Coast” Cello Concerto, as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Opus 92.
email: dmason@newspress.com
FYI
The Juilliard String Quartet will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday as part of the Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara series. For tickets, see lobero.org.
