Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites - Travel Adventures

The Santa Barbara Symphony’s 70^th Anniversary season continued with an amazing evening of musical entertainment featuring Plains, Trains & Violins: The Journey of a Lifetime on Saturday, January 21, 2023, at 7:30 pm, and also Sunday, January 22, 2023, at 3 pm, which was preceded by a very informative pre-concert “Conversation with Kabaretti” at 2:00 pm.

Conductor Nir Kabaretti has crafted a symphonic journey that speaks to the themes of migration, multi-culturalism and discovery spurred on worldwide by the Industrial Revolution (1750 - 1914) that continue to this day.

Rapid advances in public transportation - trains in particular – fuel the concert’s narrative backstory and inspiration for the first piece: Peter Bernstein’s new arrangement for the Santa Barbara Symphony (world concert premiere) of his father Elmer Bernstein’s charming score to the 1950s stop-action animated film, Toccata for Toy Trains. Violinist Guillermo Figueroa joins Maestro Kabaretti to explore Miguel Del Águila’s evocative Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, El viaje de una vida (The Journey of a Lifetime) with its own unique migration story to tell. Rounding out the concert’s message of discovery, one of the greatest musical insights into American multiculturalism ever penned by a visiting foreigner, is Dvořák's New World Symphony.

“This concert celebrates our commitment to showcasing symphonic programming inspired by both a vast range of cultures and musical genres and the treasures of our own city,” shared Nir Kabaretti, Artistic Director of the Santa Barbara Symphony. “I’m pleased to share a wonderful work by my long-time friend and incredibly talented composer, Miguel Del Águila. We are also honored to premiere Peter Bernstein’s new concert arrangement of his father’s piece: Toccata for Toy Trains! Elmer Bernstein is beloved and celebrated all over the world, and we were so lucky to have him in our community and collaborate with the Santa Barbara Symphony. We are very proud to be able to carry on his legacy in our programming. This is a concert not to be missed!”

Long-time Santa Barbara resident and American composer Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004) was one of the most highly regarded film composers of his era, composing scores for over 150 major movies including blockbusters like The Ten Commandments, The Great Escape, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ghostbusters, and The Magnificent Seven. A graduate of New York University and The Juilliard School, Elmer Bernstein was blacklisted during the McCarthy era in the early 1950s. During those blacklist years he collaborated with Charles and Ray Eames, the world-famous mid-century husband and wife furniture and architecture design team. The Eames’ produced around 125 short art films focused on their many passions, including antique toy trains. Bernstein wrote the music for several of their shorts, including Toccata for Toy Trains (1957) is a stop-action animation fantasy of about 14 minutes shot from a toys-eye-view, with a whimsical opening narrative by Charles Eames.

Elmer Bernstein’s son, Peter, a professional jazz guitarist and film composer, brought his father’s original Toccata for Toy Trains score written in 1957 from the film of the same name to its first concert version in a new arrangement.

It was thrilling to experience the renowned musician Guillermo Figueroa who joined the orchestra to play Uruguayan-born and three-time Grammy© nominated American composer Miguel del Águila’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 94, El viaje de una vida (The Journey of a Lifetime). Aguila has more than 130 compositions to his credit, and his music has been performed by major orchestras and ensembles throughout the United States and abroad, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Welsh BBC Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Ciudad de México Philharmonic, among many others. He has also just released Miguel Del Aguila: Orchestral Works, performed by the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, featuring Guillermo Figueroa playing the very same violin concerto on the recording.

Guillermo Figueroa is one of the most versatile and respected musical artists of his generation – renowned as a conductor, violinist, violist and concertmaster. He is the Principal Conductor of the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, the Music Director of the Music in the Mountains Festival in Colorado, and the Music Director of the Lynn Philharmonia. A renowned violinist as well, he has given the world premieres of four violin concertos written for him, including the Concertino by Mario Davidovsky, at Carnegie Hall with Orpheus Figueroa. His performance at the Granada had the entire audience spellbound. He is so amazingly talented!

Having the opportunity to share a wine and talk with Guillermo

Figueroa and Conductor Nir Kabaretti standing next to the beautiful collector antique train that had been assembled in the Founders Room following their performance was simply delightful. They were all magnificent, and everyone seemed to enjoy the entire program. I am a Dvorak devotee and just adored this portion of the evening entertainment.Visit: www.TheSymphony.org. for upcoming program information.

The view of the Oslo Opera House while sailing into Oslo, Norway harbor is one awesome experience. This exquisite glistening structure, located next to the Oslo Library, is one very special example of the exciting and futuristic architecture being developed along this historic Norway harbor.

The “She Lies” steel and glass structure, floating on a concrete platform tied to the harbor floor, allowing it to turn and changed based on the Baltic Sea tides and currents is a fascinating sculpture which evokes the power of ice and water ever-present in the high north. It is a reminder of nature’s constantly changing intention. The captivating structure is permanently installed in Oslo’s Bjorvika harbor near the Oslo Opera House and can best be viewed from the Opera House rooftop.

The “She Lies” was designed and created by Italian artist Monica Bonvicini, and was based on Das Eismeer (The Sea of Ice) a painting by Caspar David Freidrich. The name refers to the constant changes of nature, and project an image of the power of mother nature over human endeavor. For Opera House information please visit: www.oslooperahouse.com.

VIKING’S NEWEST OCEAN SHIP NAMED IN LOS ANGELES
BY NASA ASTRONAUT & AQUANAUT NICOLE STOTT

Viking named its newest ocean ship, the Viking Neptune®, with a celebration in Los Angeles. As part of the event, the ship’s ceremonial godmother, Nicole Stott, retired NASA astronaut, aquanaut and artist, offered a blessing of good fortune and safe sailing for the ship—a maritime tradition that dates back thousands of years. The Viking Neptune arrived in Los Angeles early in the morning on January 8 and departed for Honolulu following the naming ceremony. The ship is currently sailing the 2022-2023 Viking World Cruise, an epic voyage from Fort Lauderdale to London that spans 138-days, 28 countries and 57 ports, with overnight stays in 11 cities. The naming of the Viking Neptune also comes at a time of record sales for Viking, with the launch of Viking’s new 25^th Anniversary Sale on January 1 resulting in the highest number of bookings in one week in the company’s history.

“Today is a proud day for the entire Viking family as we name our newest ocean ship in Los Angeles, the home of Viking’s U.S. office for more than 20 years,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “The Viking Neptune is a ship named for both the furthest planet in our solar system and the god of the sea—and our newest Viking godmother, Nicole Stott, as a NASA astronaut and aquanaut, also has connections to space and the sea. We are grateful for her many contributions to the scientific community and are proud to have her as part of the Viking family.”

“It is an honor and privilege to be the godmother of the new Viking Neptune. As someone who has been blessed to explore space, the ocean, and some of the otherworldly places on our planet, I understand the importance of broadening one’s horizons through travel. I am very excited for all those who journey around the world on this elegant vessel,” said Nicole Stott.

A veteran NASA astronaut, Nicole Stott’s experience includes two spaceflights and 104 days spent living and working in space on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). She has performed one space walk and was the first person to fly the robotic arm to capture the free-flying HTV cargo vehicle, the last crew member to fly to and from their ISS mission on a Space Shuttle, and a member of the final flight crew of Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-133. Nicole is also a NASA aquanaut who lived and worked on the Aquarius Undersea Habitat for 18 days.

She is the author of Back to Earth: What Life In Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission To Protect It. Also an artist, Nicole painted the first watercolor painting in space—and is a co-founder of the Space for Art Foundation, which unites a planetary community of children through the awe and wonder of space exploration and the healing power of art. Through her work, Nicole inspires everyone’s appreciation of our role as crewmates here on “spaceship” Earth.

The Viking Neptune is the newest ship in Viking’s award-winning ocean fleet of identical sister ships, which also includes the Viking Star®, the Viking Sea®, the Viking Sky®, the Viking Orion®, the Viking Jupiter®, the Viking Venus®, and the Viking Mars®. In April, Viking will also welcome another new ocean ship, the Viking Saturn®. Classified by Cruise Critic as “small ships,” Viking’s ocean vessels have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, with 465 staterooms that can host 930 guests; the ships feature all veranda staterooms, Scandinavian design, light-filled public spaces and abundant al fresco dining options.

Although identical to Viking’s other ocean ships, the Viking Neptune is uniquely equipped with a small hydrogen fuel system, making it the cruise industry’s first ship to test the use of hydrogen power for on board operations. Viking is using the small system as a test to determine how hydrogen fuel could be used at a larger scale in future newbuilds.

From now through January 31, 2023, Viking is offering a 25^th Anniversary Sale, with a $25 deposit, special savings, and up to free international airfare on river, ocean and expedition voyages. Call Viking toll free at 1-855-8-VIKING (1-855-884-5464) or contact a travel agent for details.

About Viking Viking was founded in 1997 and provides destination-focused journeys on rivers, oceans, and lakes around the world. Designed for experienced travelers with interests in science, history, culture and cuisine, Chairman Torstein Hagen often says Viking offers experiences for The Thinking Person™. Viking has more than 250 awards to its name, including being the first cruise line to ever be named both the #1 Ocean Line and the #1 River Line in a single year in Travel + Leisure’s 2022 “World’s Best” Awards. Viking has also been rated the #1 River Line and #1 Ocean Line by Condé Nast Traveler in the publication’s 2022 and 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards. For additional information, contact Viking at 1-800-2-VIKING (1-800-284-5464) or visit www.viking.com. For Viking’s award-winning enrichment channel, visit www.viking.tv.