The Santa Barbara Symphony hosts its 2nd International Guitar Festival beginning March 21st – 29th. The festival showcases the Grammy Award-winning magic of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and many other outstanding performers. For tickets to the Santa Barbara Symphony concerts on March 28th and 29th, call the Granada Box Office at (805) 899-2222. For all other Festival tickets, call the Lobero Box Office at (805) 963-0761. Please visit www.thesymphony.org for more information.

Saturday, March 21, 3pm Festival Kick-Off Event at Borders Bookstore (free)

Join the Santa Barbara Symphony at Borders Bookstore in downtown Santa Barbara to help launch the 2nd International Guitar Festival – with free performances and surprises. For more information, call the Santa Barbara Symphony at (805) 898-9626.

Sunday, March 22, 3pm Santa Barbara Youth Symphony at the Lobero Theatre

Led by Music Director Andy Radford, The Santa Barbara Youth Symphony accompanies 16-year old “wunderkind” guitarist Tim Callobre in Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and 13-year old Santa Barbara Youth Symphony violinist Sofiya Prykhitko at the Lobero Theatre. Callobre is an award-winning classical guitarist, composer and pianist who was recently named a semifinalist in Classical Instrumentation for the 2009 Spotlight Awards. He has performed at Carnegie Hall for the PBS Series, “From the Top, Live at Carnegie Hall.” Prykhitko has been performing with the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony for 3 years and was selected to perform at the Youth Symphony's annual competition held in November. She is a scholarship winner in the 2008 Santa Barbara Music Club competition and has performed in local recitals. For tickets and more information, call the Lobero Box Office at (805) 963-0761.

"…this kid [Callobre] is the next Mozart." – A-J Charron, GuitarNoise.com

Sunday, March 22, 8pm Goran Krivokapic in candlelit Recital at the historic Presidio Chapel

Winner of an unprecedented eighteen First Prizes in International Competitions including the Andres Segovia International Guitar Competition, the sultry Montenegrin guitarist, Goran Krivokapic, will share his artistry in an intimate recital at the Presidio Chapel of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation. For tickets and more information, call the Lobero Box Office at (805) 963-0761.

"...an impressive level of accomplishment...in total control of his huge talent, his difficult material, his platform persona, his life, you might say...a fully-fledged artist..." – Classical Guitar Magazine (United Kingdom)

Monday, March 23 LIVE at SOhO with Laurence Juber

The former lead guitarist of the Paul McCartney’s Wings, virtuoso guitarist Laurence Juber struts his stuff when he plays on stage at SOhO for a musically, up-close encounter. For tickets and more information, call the Lobero Box Office at (805) 963-0761.

"Juber is a master of acoustic finger style, but with less of the trick-guitar mishmash that seems obligatory among the high-octane pickers. He has a fluid style that shifts gears through simultaneous jazzy chording, lead, and bass lines, while weaving in and out of musical thoughts faster than a Formula One racer." - San Diego Reader

Tuesday, March 24, 8pm Guitar Hero: An Evening with the Legendary Leo Kottke at the Marjorie Luke Theatre
Sponsored by Seymour Duncan.
The “King of Fingerpicking” and a true guitar hero, Leo Kottke brings his magic for one night only to the Marjorie Luke Theatre. Kottke gained an international cult following with his series of albums on Capitol and Chyrsalis labels, and unforgettable appearances at folk festivals the world over. Kottke has made guest appearances on The Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and has performed at Radio City Music Hall. For tickets and more information, call the Lobero Box Office at (805) 963-0761.

"…an American legend in the guitar world, and a king of his own private musical world." – Los Angeles Times

Wednesday, March 25, 8pm John Cleese in Don Quixote with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) at the Lobero Theatre – World Premiere

Sponsored by Chris Lancashire The LAGQ, the 2nd International Guitar’s Festival’s Artistic Ambassadors, will be joined by Academy-award nominated actor, comedian, writer, producer and singer, John Cleese (Monty Python, A Fish Called Wanda, Harry Potter),for a side-splitting, world premiere performance of the of Don Quixote and the music of Cervantes featuring an original score by LAGQ’s Bill Kanengiser. The Grammy Award-winning LAGQ will fill out the evening with familiar and new musical favorites from their extensive repertoire. For tickets and more information, call the Lobero Box Office at (805) 963-0761.

“…the group has set an enviable standard for the range of repertoire, the craftsmanship of the playing and the entertainment potential of a four-acoustic-guitar ensemble”. –Los Angeles Times

“…revelatory…this is a repertory in which barriers between classical, jazz and pop have long been abandoned.”—The New York Times

Thursday, March 26, 8pm Ron Carter Trio with Russell Malone at the Lobero Theatre

Russell Malone joins the Ron Carter Trio for an unforgettable night of solid jazz at the Lobero. One of the most commanding and versatile guitarists performing today, Russell Malone can move from blues to gospel to pop to R&B and jazz without hesitation, a rare facility that has prompted some of the highest profile artists in the world to call upon him: Diana Krall, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Natalie Cole, Wynton Marsalis, David Sanborn, Shirley Horn, Christina Aguilera and Harry Connick, Jr.. Two-time Grammy Award winner, upright bass player Ron Carter has played and recorded with many of music’s greats including recorded with many of music's greats including Lena Horne, Bill Evans, B.B. King, the Kronos Quartet, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, and Bobby Timmons, Randy Weston and Thelonious Monk., and was a member of the Miles Davis Quintet for five years. Carter was named Most Valuable Player by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. For tickets and more information, call the Lobero Box Office at (805) 963-0761.

“…a renowned figure of jazz…Carter…is consistently hailed as a master artisan.” –AllAboutJazz.com

“A dazzling sense of fluency and imagination…” –Variety

Friday, March 27, 8pm Brasil Guitar Duo in recital at Hahn Hall at The Music Academy of the West

Sponsored by Classic Guitars International. Winners of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and YouTube celebrities, Brasil Guitar Duo’s João Luiz and Douglas Lora will spice up Hahn Hall on the campus of the Music Academy of the West in an elaborate program ranging in works from Bach, Debussy and Piazzolla to waltzes and other Brazilian dances. For tickets and more information, call the Lobero Box Office at (805) 963-0761.

“As performers, these two play like the close brothers they are. They pick up instantly on the other’s cues, respond as if intuitively and seem to be wired in to the same operating system. What’s projected is a sort of ‘über-guitar,’ two instruments and one brain.”—Washington Post

“…a stunning display of the music of the Western Hemisphere.” – Los Angeles Times

Saturday, March 28, 12 noon Family Concert with Santa Barbara Symphony featuring the Brasil Guitar Duo at The Granada

The Brasil Guitar Duo presents an entertaining and educational program designed for kids of all ages. For tickets and more information, call the Granada Box Office at (805) 899-2222.

Saturday, 8pm & Sunday, 3pm March 28 & 29 Festival Grande Finale “Return of the Guitars” featuring the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet with the Santa Barbara Symphony at The Granada, West Coast Premiere

Sponsored by the Samarkand Retirement Community. The LAGQ will give the West Coast premiere of the newly commissioned concerto Interchange for four guitars and orchestra composed by acclaimed Brazilian guitarist and San Francisco Conservatory of Music faculty member, Sergio Assad. Guest conductor Rossen Milanov (Philadelphia Orchestra, Associate Conductor) will open the program with Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite #1 (recognizable to many from the British science-fiction television series “The Prisoner”) and round out the concert by taking musicians and audience alike through The Fairy Garden in Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite. For tickets and more information, call the Granada Box Office at (805) 899-2222.

Tuesday, March 24 through Friday, March 27 Lunchtime Guitar Recitals in front of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Free)

The Santa Barbara Symphony’s 2nd International Guitar Fest will present free lunchtime guitar recitals, Tuesday March 24 through Friday, March 27 on the steps in front of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art at 1130 State Street. For more information, call the Santa Barbara Symphony at (805) 898-9626.