Striking a Chord
Photographs by David Mendoza
The Music Academy of the West (MAW) hit all the right notes when it held its annual gala at the Montecito Club on July 11, welcoming more than 400 guests to the spectacular open-air ocean-view setting. Chaired this year by board member Mally Chakola and Casey Kallenbach, the event supports the full-tuition scholarships for the 150 fellows who attend the summer festival, now in its 78th year.
“This is about training the next generation of musicians,” said Shauna Quill, MAW’s president and CEO, about the instrumentalists and vocalists who have come from 19 countries around the globe. The funds also further music education in Santa Barbara County, through the year-round Sing! children’s choir, and underwrite community-access tickets to concerts.
After hors d’oeuvres and drinks on the lawn and a seated dinner catered by the Montecito Club, mandolinist Chris Thile headlined the evening’s entertainment, performing the “Allegro” from the Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor by J. S. Bach with violin fellow Angeles Hoyos and members of the Academy Chamber Orchestra led by conductor Daniela Candillari. Thile’s sheer joy in music-making across all genres was evident in the other pieces on the program—Caroline Shaw’ “And So,” and the Punch Brothers’ “Julep” and “My Oh My,” in which the Sing! youngsters joined in.
Along with a silent auction and lively paddle raise conducted by Arietta Wines co-proprietor Fritz Hatton the evening raised more than $750,000. “The Music Academy is a high-intensity experience,” said Thile, who marveled at the fellows’ high level of musicianship he had recognized during rehearsals. “They will populate the world’s great orchestras. I think that the last barriers between ‘learned music’ and ‘intuitive music’ are coming down,” he added. “I believe these musicians will change the way music is happening.” musicacademy.org
