In Harmony With the Community

Over the last two years, Santa Barbara Symphony President & CEO Kathryn R. Martin has noticed a marked change in how concertgoers relate with the venerable local institution. And it wasn’t just that for several months, most of the symphony events had gone virtual.

“What’s been different is that people bought tickets not just because they wanted to hear the concerts, but because they wanted to support us,” Martin says.

The support from the community not only helped Santa Barbara Symphony outlast a crisis, but also strengthened its bond with its audience by continuing its potent combination of ticketing, education, fundraising, and partnerships.

“The virtual format had a silver lining, as we created ways for the community to get to know the extraordinary musicians ‘up-close-and-personal.’” Martin says . “People want to feel a connection to the music and the people making it happen.”

That bodes well as the 2021-22 season launched with in-person events anchored by an impactful calendar of critically acclaimed and internationally renowned musicians, with Maestro Nir Kabaretti as always at the helm as the Symphony’s music and artistic director.

Season highlights include Beethoven in Bloom, presented in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. There’s the annual New Year’s Eve With the Symphony, where conductor Bob Bernhardt returns to host an evening of Gershwin and other symphonic celebration favorites. In the spring of 2022, there is also Romance in a New Key, presented in collaboration with “Through Vincent’s Eyes and His Sources,” an exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

The heart and soul of the organization remains music education. The Symphony starts working with kids as young as third grade and it has programs that take them all the way to college, serving nearly 10,000 students every year.

“We provide the bulk of music education for Santa Barbara students,” says Vice President of Patron & Community Engagement Rebecca Roling. “We know that music education creates tomorrow’s performers, fans, and community leaders.”