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Jazz is Alive
“Jazz is restless. It won’t stay put and it never will.” – J.J. Johnson Along with baseball and barbecue, jazz is considered one of America’s greatest cultural exports, and one of its most adaptable. Since its inception in New Orleans in the early 20th century jazz has spread around the world, drawing on different regional, […]
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Roll over, Tennessee Williams, and tell Erskine Caldwell the news.
Yes, it’s true: as a general rule we video types will happily shoot anything that moves. That said, I believe there are few things as satisfying as shooting and editing dance, and if comes in the form of dance theatre, so much the better. “Dance theatre,” much in vogue in the dance world these days, […]
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Fourth Season of Script to Screen a Big Success
The UCSB Script to Screen series just completed its fourth and most successful season to date. We hosted three special Academy screenings (Whiplash, The Theory of Everything, and The Grand Budapest Hotel) where we connected Oscar nominees with students and the Santa Barbara Academy/Guild community. We also expanded our series to include a focus on […]
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What Happened to Klimt’s Golden Lady?
Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds tell the story Hollywood-style in “Woman in Gold,” but if you want to know what it really took to get Klimt’s masterpiece back to its rightful owner, watch this! The real Randol Schoenberg gives a riveting account of his work on behalf of Maria Altmann that makes their eventual triumph […]
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The Rhythm of the 20th Century
It’s been said that jazz is one of America’s most significant and lasting cultural exports. The style that became known as jazz originated in New Orleans in the late 19th century, and grew rapidly in popularity and influence. By the beginning of the 20th century this musical genre had firmly established itself in Memphis, Kansas […]
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Nixon in China: The Opera
John Adams’ Nixon in China has attained the status of modern classic since its premiere in 1987, but the opera is not performed frequently and is still unfamiliar to many audiences. Nonetheless there is great curiosity about the piece, as I discovered when I began work on the Spotlight program; I think I’ve gotten more […]
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La Jolla Symphony and Chorus Brings the Magic of Classical Music to a Young Audience
“One of the things I love most about music is how it helps us remember our lives.” – Conductor, Steven Schick So begins the second annual Young People’s Concert as Schick guides an audience of children and their families through a presentation of selections from Gustav Mahler’s celebrated Fifth Symphony. “Gustav Mahler’s symphony number five […]
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Confessions of a Motion Addict – Stephen Petronio
Like a written story that starts one word at a time and builds, Stephen Petronio choreographs a story that begins one step at a time, set in motion until a dance appears. He understands that to some, modern dance is a beautiful interpretation of thoughts set to music. To others, it is an enigma, requiring […]
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A Good Tune – SummerFest 2014
In past seasons the SummerFest programs aired on UCSD-TV tended to the eclectic, mixing different styles, eras and composers broadly representative of the chamber music genre. This year, we’re focusing on four great masters of the Classical style: Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Johannes Brahms. Some definitions are useful here. We […]