Arts & Lectures tickets on sale Saturday

BY BENJAMIN GOTTLIEB
DAILY SOUND CORRESPONDENT

UCSB’s Arts & Lectures has returned for another riveting year of exuberance, as tickets for single performances are scheduled to go on sale this upcoming Saturday.
UCSB expects to showcase nearly 200 different events throughout the series, including scholarly lectures, movie screenings, music and dance performances and conversations with award winning authors and screenwriters. The 2008-2009 season of Arts & Lectures marks the program’s 49th year of performances, films and lectures for Santa Barbara and campus audiences.

UCSB Director of Marketing for Arts & Lectures Collen Debler said this season of performances is expected to be on par with series of the past, highlighting the university’s commitment to offering a variety of shows for viewers.
“Currently, we have 44 different performances scheduled for this year, including classical music, jazz, dance and word of mouth or author discussions,” Debler said. “In addition to these scheduled performances, we add other events throughout the year. At the end of this August, we will list the Fall quarter schedule online, including the quarter’s movies and lectures.”
Jumpstarting this season’s lineup of performers is UCSB alum and global songwriting superstar Jack Johnson, who is scheduled to play August 27 at UCSB’s Harder Stadium. According to the Arlington Ticket Office, tickets to the concert are not expected to sell out given the stadium’s size. Johnson will perform with special guests Rogue Wave and the Culver City Dub Collective featuring Paula Fuga.
Tickets for Jack Johnson are available online at www.ticketmaster.com and at both the Arlington and Arts & Lectures Ticket office located near UCSB’s Campbell Hall for $39.50 regular admission, $29.50 for UCSB students.
In addition to Arts & Lecture’s sale of individual tickets, seats will continue to be available for performance enthusiasts set on purchasing more than one show.
“Series tickets will be available to audience members up until the first show of the series,” Debler said. “In addition to entire series purchases, you are able to create your own series of shows where you can choose which shows you’d like to attend.”
This year’s ‘series tickets’ include the Recital Series, featuring an international collection of classical composers and performers, the Hahn Hall Series, the Jazz Series, which will hold performances by saxophone legend Sonny Rollins and the 70th anniversary celebration of Blue Note Records, the Roots Series and the Word of Mouth Series, which will showcase the wit of four clever wordsmiths including author and world voyager Bill Bryson. According to Debler, the acquisition of five or more tickets yields a discount of 10 percent on the entire purchase — package series offered by Arts & Lectures offer savings of up to 20 percent on entire purchases.
Other notable performances for the 2008-2009 year include Linda Ronstadt, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Cesaria Evora, the Tokyo String Quartet and composer Phillip Glass.
More information about Arts & Lectures performances, ticket information and pricing can be found online at http://artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu.