Nir Kabaretti

Conductor, Music and artistic director

The conductor who has led Santa Barbara Symphony's stage for nearly two decades

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In short

Nir Kabaretti is a conductor serving as music and artistic director of the Santa Barbara Symphony. Across the coming season he leads a wide range of programs there, from Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto and Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony to Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Holst's The Planets, and a Hollywood-themed evening of John Williams. Listeners can expect a conductor equally comfortable with big Romantic showpieces and lighter crossover programming.

What to listen for

Kabaretti's Santa Barbara programs mix core orchestral repertoire with theatrical or crossover evenings. The season includes Rachmaninoff's lush, virtuosic Second Piano Concerto paired with Shostakovich's tautly dramatic Fifth Symphony, and a French-flavored program joining Debussy's hazy Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune with the crashing hallucinations of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique. Holst's The Planets brings large orchestral color and a wordless female chorus, while a "Hollywood Valentine" concert turns to John Williams's film scores. A program billed "Heavenly Opera" pairs Boito's grand Mefistofele prologue with an homage to soprano Maria Callas, and a season-closer sets Brahms's autumnal Third Symphony against Barber's string writing and a Rodgers ballet score. Expect programs built around contrast, pairing weighty symphonic works with shorter, colorful or theatrical companion pieces.

Written by OrchestraFinder, reviewed September 2026.