Garden Tour 2009 PHOTOS!

Last month's 11th annual Music in the Gardens Tour was a great success. Here are some photos from Garden 3, in the Seabright area in Santa Cruz with mandolin and guitar music by Irene Herrmann and Paul Rangell (also known as The Seabright Serenaders. . .). Click on the photos below to view the complete gallery for this garden.

Lux Musica at the Smithsonian this week!

SCBF's resident period-instrument ensemble, Lux Musica (Lars Johannesson, flute; David Wilson, violin; Linda Burman-Hall, harpsichord; Amy Brodo, viola da gamba) along with guitarist Mesut Özgen have been invited to perform a concert of their 2000 production "Cantemir: Music in Istanbul and Ottoman Europe around 1700" at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

This performance was originally staged together with Turkish musician Ihsan Özgen (kemençe, tanbur, co-director) on November 12, 2000 under the auspices of the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, in co-production with Arts & Lectures, and the released on CD through Golden Horn records in 2004. The program presents some of the finest works of the Prince Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723) in the varied contexts of his cultural world -- a world which arises in the crossroads of Western and Eastern thought, in the collision of Europe with the Ottoman Empire, and at the junction of Byzantine culture with Islamic theology.

Cantemir was a royal Moldavian linguist-encyclopaedist-composer who through curious fate spent 22 years as a diplomatic guest of the Ottoman Court. But Cantemir clearly preferred music to politics, and was sufficiently gifted to play his way to fame as the greatest of classical Turkish musicians. Lux Musica performs Cantemir's Classical Ottoman compositions preceded by taksim preludes, a new improvisational genre in his time; and where appropriate modal relationships are explored in collective taksim improvisations as well, a contemporary experiment in preluding pioneered by Ihsan Özgen. In addition to Cantemir's compositions, the concert also includes traditional Moldavian tunes such as he might have heard back home at his wedding, and European alla Turca reflections of Ottoman music played in Baroque style.

Finally, works by Yalçin Tura and Lou Harrison show Cantemir's continuing impact on Eurasian composition and performance in our time. Linda Burman-Hall and Lux Musica look forward to reviving this unique production in Washington, D.C.

An article about this unique collaboration and Lux Musica's upcoming travel to the nation's capitol has appeared on the UC Santa Cruz News website:
http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/text.asp?pid=3011

Caterina Lichtenberg Interview at Mandolin Cafe

For those of you that attended either our Season Concert II: "The Natural Mandolin" or the preceding artist dinner with virtuoso mandolinist Caterina Lichtenberg, you might enjoy reading this article that was recently published on the Mandolin Cafe website. It is an interview with Ms. Lichtenberg by Bill Graham:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/news/publish/mandolins_001066.shtml

A few quick news updates from SCBF

(1) Dropping names. . . . An article has been published in the SC Sentinel on our recent Concert II fundraiser dinner. Follow this link to view it (and scroll down past the beauty pageant. . .):
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_12177966

(2) Our 11th annual Music in the Gardens Tour (fundraiser) is fast approaching, and our Garden Tour postcards have arrived. They are beautiful. If you would like to be on our mailing list, contact us, or if you would like to have some cards for distribution at choice locations, let us know as well. All of our ticket outlets sell GT tickets, and as of early May they will be available in select garden and music stores as well.












(Photo by Lars Johannesson, card design by Judy Foreman.)

(3) Our final season concert takes place on May 9. More information here:
http://www.scbaroque.org/concerts.html#concert5
A closing reception for donors and subscribers (Season & Flex Pass holders) follows the music.

Concert I photos!

We opened our 2009 season with Concert I, 'Musical Ecology' and here are some pictures taken at the event.

Concert photos (by Lars Johannesson Photography)

Von SCBF 2009 - Season Concert I

Instrument Exhibit photos

Von SCBF 2009 - Instrument Exhibit

Yes, we are adding some extra features to our season concerts. This year's Concert I goers were offered an early instrument exhibit during intermission, curated by Board Member and luthier Charles Sutton. Viols, lutes, flutes, and more were on display with explanatory descriptions. We plan to repeat this feature annually at our opening concert with some seasonally-inspired surprises in store.

Artist dinner with Caterina Lichtenberg, March 13

SCBF is hosting an exclusive artist dinner with Caterina Lichtenberg and her duet partner Mirko Schrader on Friday, March 13, 2009, preceding our Season Concert II (Saturday, March 14). Join us for dinner, desserts, and wine, as well as a musical interlude by our guests. Limited seating and advance reservations only ($50/person). This event is a fundraiser for the SCBF and a fabulous opportunity to get to know our international guest artist and mandolin virtuoso. For more information view the invitation and reservation form. RSVP by March 9.

HELP! Finances Update

Happy New Year to you! As several other arts organizations, SC Baroque Festival too is facing considerable funding shortages. Our annual budget has always been break-even, and we operate as cost-effectively as we can. But now we are facing a shortage of 10-15% of our budget with no equivalent amount of cuts that can be made without disrupting the season. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! Our private donors have been remarkable this year (thank you) and thus I can present the following good news on private donations (contributions made by individuals):

• 100% of our required (private) donation INCOME has been pledged/paid (Treasurer's favorite number :-)

• 80% of our desired NUMBER of donors have pledged/paid (Artistic Director's favorite number :-)

BUT we have considerable shortfalls in foundation and corporate sponsorship income, as well as season booklet advertisements. HERE IS HOW YOU CAN HELP:

• Individuals: If you CAN, please pledge or make a donation of any amount (payments can be sent later).
• Private, Foundation & Corporate Sponsors: We seek 2 more concert sponsors ($1,000-$2,000).
• Businesses: We seek 10 more advertisers for our season booklet.

For contributions that are to be acknowledged in our season booklet, as well as any advertisements, we need to hear from you by Friday, 01/23/09. To pledge your support, email us or call at 831-457-9693.