UCSB brings prodigy to town

Pianist Jonathan Biss will make his Santa Barbara debut on April 4 in the Marjorie Luke Theatre, under the auspices of UCSB’s Arts & Lectures.

The internationally recognized artist, 27, will play a program consisting of the sonata “From the Street” by Leos Janacek, Six Little Pieces by Arnold Schoenberg, the Sonata in D Major, Op. 28, “Pastoral” by Ludwig van Beethoven and Sonata in A Major, D 959 by Franz Schubert.

Biss hails from a musical family, including his grandmother, cellist Raya Garbousova, for whom Samuel Barber wrote his Cello Concerto, and his parents, violinist Miriam Fried and violist/violinist Paul Biss. The younger Biss began piano studies at age 6, and studied at Indiana University with Evelyne Brancart and Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute with Leon Fleisher.

Biss will conduct a master class for students of the Music Academy of the West on April 3 at 7 p.m. in UCSB’s Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall. At 10 a.m. on April 4, he will take part in a Meet-the-Artist Conversation with Prof. Derek Katz in the university’s Geiringer Hall. Admission to these events is free.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. concert are available from UCSB Arts & Lectures, 893-3535, or online at www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.

 

Anne Lamott comes to UCSB

Author and spiritual seeker Anne Lamott will appear at UCSB on April 6 at 4 p.m. to read from her newest collection of essays, “Grace (Eventually) – Thoughts on Faith.”

Her 1994 non-fiction work “Bird by Bird” not only recounts her struggle to renew her religious faith, it is considered a masterful guide to becoming a published writer.

Tickets for her appearance are available at Arts & Lectures, 893-3535, or online at www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.

 

La La La Human Steps

visits Granada

Canadian dance troupe La La La Human Steps will make its Santa Barbara debut on April 8 at 8 p.m. at the newly-refurbished Granada.

Choreographer Edouard Lock’s new creation, “Amjad,” will present nine dancers and four musicians. The company, in cooperation with Santa Barbara Dance Alliance, will present a community dance class at 7:30 p.m. on April 7 at the Santa Barbara Ballet Center, 1019 Chapala Street.

Information about the class is available by calling 966-6950. Tickets for the main performance are available from UCSB Arts & Lectures, 893-3535, or online at www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.