Santa Barbara Music Free Concert

The Santa Barbara Music Club will present a program of beautiful classical music on Saturday, May 21 at First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu at Garden Street. Renowned pianist Pascal Salomon will perform beloved works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Schubert. Free admission. www.SBMusicClub.org

The Santa Barbara Music Club presents a program of beautiful classical music performed by noted artists on Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 3 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu.  Renowned pianist Pascal Salomon will perform a concert of beloved masterworks:  John Sebastian Bach’s elegant Fantasy in C minor, BWV 906, Ludwig van Beethoven’s monumental Sonata in F minor, Op. 57 (“Appassionata”), Frédéric Chopin’s romantic Nocturnes in B-flat minor, Op. 9, No. 1 and C minor, Op. 48, No. 1, and Franz Schubert’s exquisite Impromptus in E-flat major and G-flat major, Op. 90.  Admission is free.

Pascal Salomon, pianist, was born in Israel, grew up in France, and has concertized as recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber music pianist to great acclaim in China, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Moldova, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S. He has been featured soloist with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Sinfonietta of Lausanne, La Sinfonietta de Genève, Orchestre du Capital-Toulouse, and the National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova, and has performed in major concert venues including Toulouse Capitole (France), Iasi Philharmonic Hall (Romania), Ernest Ansermet Concert Hall-Geneva and Stravinski Auditorium-Montreux (Switzerland), and Forbidden City Concert Hall-Beijing (China).

He studied at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris, earned the Virtuosity Degree at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Genève, Switzerland, and was selected for master classes with Paul Badura-Skoda, Jeremy Denk, Murray Perahia, Andras Schiff, and György Sebök. In 2017 he completed his DMA Degree at UCSB, under the mentorship of Paul Berkowitz and Dr. Lee Rothfarb; his research lecture was an in-depth study of music phenomenology from a performer’s standpoint.

Awarded “Best French Pianist” at the Senigalia International Competition in Italy, he was winner of the Maria Canals International Competition in Barcelona, and received the Young Performers Scholarship from the “Société de Musique d’Yverdon-les-Bains” (Switzerland). UCSB honors included the Martin Kamen Fellowship, Ernö Daniel Memorial Prize for Distinguished Performance in Piano, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant, and Graduate Division Dissertation Fellowship.

Dr. Salomon taught piano at the Geneva Conservatory for nine years and presented master classes in Romania (University of Art and College of Music in Iasi), in Hungary (Crescendo Summer Institute of Art), and in China (Yunnan Institute of Arts).

His CD recordings include Pascal Salomon Plays Schumann, by ART Records, Czech Portraits, with violist Jacob Adams, by Centaur Records, and a live concert recording, Chopin, Ravel, Schubert, by the National Radio in Iasi, Romania.

Santa Barbara Music Club concerts display a wonderful diversity of historical musical periods and compositional styles, including beloved masterworks and exciting new and seldom-heard repertoire.  Of the series, the Santa Barbara Independent exclaimed:  “A beautiful day, a beautiful room, beautiful music … who could ask for more?” and Gerald Carpenter in Noozhawk.com declared, “Every Santa Barbara Music Club concert that I have ever attended has been a sensory joy as well as a consciousness expansion.”

A valued cultural resource in the community since 1969, the Music Club’s mission is threefold:

(1) Presentation of an annual series of concerts, free to the public.

(2) Aiding and encouraging musical education by the disbursement of scholarships to talented local music students.

(3) Presentation of community outreach activities, including bringing great music to residents of area retirement homes.

For information on this or other Santa Barbara Music Club programs and performing artists, visit SBMusicClub.org.

For the health and safety of our audience and performers: 

In accordance with public health guidelines, all patrons, including children under the age of 12, must show proof of full vaccination (final COVID-19 vaccine dose administered at least 14 days prior to the concert date) or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arrival.  Masks are required, and must cover both nose and mouth.  Social distancing is required.