Written by Mary Dan Eades on April 20, 2018
Annual Spring Gala Fundraiser May 19, 2018 at Rockwood Woman’s Club
All Aboard! Tickets available online here.
Conductor JoAnne Wasserman will lead the SBCS chorus in a concert of music from Broadway hits and standards from the 1940s, followed by an evening of wine and retro cocktails, a cornucopia of canapés, dessert, dancing to big band and swing favorites, and live and silent auctions of fabulous vacation stays and themed items. Channel your inner Frank Sinatra or Ava Gardner and join in on the fun!
You’re invited to travel with the Santa Barbara Choral Society back to the year 1948, when the Choral Society was founded.
Our ‘Sentimental Journey’ will revisit a post-war era of economic stability and prosperity that saw the rise of the American Broadway musical tradition and the Big Band sound. The musical vibe will provide plenty of both!
Enjoy a retro evening of Cocktails and Canapés at The Copa! That’s right — we’ll be channeling the ’40s, typified by New York’s iconic Copacabana, where ringside tables will lure you onto the dance floor for a spin to the big band sounds of the fabulous Les Rose Orchestra.
Vintage attire is encouraged, but not required. Rummage grandma’s trunk for 1940s retro dresses, suits, hats, and gloves. And, of course, the ever-present strand of pearls.
Tickets available online here.
Tickets are:
- $125 per person, open ‘club’ seating, includes happy hour libations, silent auction, concert, canapé cornucopia, wine & cocktails, desserts & coffee, dancing, and live auction. (60% tax deductible.)
- $148 per person to enjoy a reserved ‘ringside dance floor’ seat, including happy hour libations, silent auction, concert, canapé cornucopia, wine & cocktails, desserts & coffee dancing, and live auction. (65% tax deductible.)
- RESERVED PATRON TABLES for 8 also available at $1948 and includes all of the above, plus prime observation deck seating, table service, and a wrist corsage or boutonniere for each guest. Table Sponsors will receive program recognition. Please call our office at 805-965-6577 to reserve your table. (79% tax deductible)
American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.