"Music Behind the Music" is the Santa Barbara Symphony's free pre-concert experience, offering a fascinating insight into the music you are about to hear.

New for the 2006-2007 concert season, presented by
musician and music scholar, Ramón Araiza, whose
extensive musical background, insights, presentation skills and humor will take you on a journey of discovery about each spectacular concert, bringing each work and its composer to life in a whole new way. This isn't a college lecture. You'll leave the preview energized, excited and ready to enjoy the concert more than ever. Mr. Araiza's enthusiasm for this music is simply contagious!
 
Ramón will be joined by special guests - and you'll never know who might show up - we know this half-hour will be one of those events where you'll be telling your friends "you just have to come!"
      
                                     These lively, interactive, informal, talks are open to all
  ticket holders, last for approximately 30 minutes and are held one hour before the
  Symphony concert begins. Get to the concert early and join us in the historic
  Arlington Theatre and let us give you all there is to the "music behind the music."

Mr. Ramón Araiza
 
Beginning at the age of ten, Ramón Araiza taught himself to play the piano and read and write music by studying scores, music theory texts, improvising and listening to classical music recordings after school. Throughout his school years, he arranged and composed music for various school bands, choruses and even jazz ensembles, culminating in the creation of an original Senior Class Musical - while he was still a junior. As a pianist, Mr. Araiza gave his first solo recital at sixteen years of age. 

Mr. Araiza received his first formal music lessons at the University of Redlands, where he majored in music composition. Upon graduation he was invited to play and write music for the Dance Department at the University of Michigan School of Music at Ann Arbor.  An opportunity to perform at the acclaimed Interlochen Summer Music camp led to his subsequent appointment as Resident Accompanist at The Interlochen Center for the Arts, a position which he held for five years. 

Returning to his native San Diego in 1987, Mr. Araiza was engaged by The National Theatre for Children and toured the continental U.S. three times as its Music Director.

In 1990 he joined the staff at the Osteopathic Center for Children in La Jolla, where he worked as a Therapeutic Musician and Lecturer under the auspices of Dr.Viola Frymann DO, FAAO, FCA until 1998. 

In addition to composing and arranging a variety of music for his own chamber ensemble, Mr. Araiza has been commissioned to compose original scores for various theatre, dance, vocal and instrumental groups, including The Interlochen Faculty Chamber Players, The Interlochen Shakespeare Theatre, The Ensemble Arts Theatre, The AVOCE Ensemble, The Bill Evans Dance Company, The Lenna De Marco Dance Company and The SGI-USA American Victory Symphony.  

As pianist, Mr. Araiza has performed in a variety of recital programs under the auspices of the La Jolla Chamber Music Society, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Denver Friends of Chamber Music, the Frances Parker School of San Diego, the Diegueno Country School of Rancho Santa Fe and the Garrison School of Oceanside among many others. Internationally, Mr. Araiza has given solo recitals in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Geneva and Paris as well as lectures on Music and Medicine in Montreal, Kassel and Zurich.

Ramón Araiza comenzo su carrera musical a la edad de l0 anos. Fue entonces que aprendio a tocar el piano por medio de improvisacion, haciendo estudios de teoria musical y escuchando discos de musica clasica.  Estudio composicion musical en la Universidad de Redlands en California, graduando en 1980.  Posteriormente ha tenido empleos a tiempo completo como pianista/compositor en el departamento de baile de la Universidad de Michigan en Ann Arbor; en la Academia de Artes en Interlochen, Michigan, como Director Musical para el Teatro Nacional para Ninos y, finalmente, en el Centro Osteopatico para Ninos, en La Jolla, California, donde trabajo siete anos como Musico Terapeuto.  Internacionalmente no solo ha ejecutado recitales de piano en Europa sino tambien ha sido conferenciante, hablando sobre temas musicales y de medicina.

Photo of Mr. Araiza courtesy Ray Lucero