Rosand Headlines Montecito Music Festival

Virtuoso violinist Aaron Rosand performs Saturday, July 24, at the third annual Montecito Summer Music Festival hosted by the Westmont Conference Center. The festival, which brings world-class musicians together with advanced students of classical piano and strings for three weeks of instruction and performance, continues through Friday, Aug. 6. Rosand will perform “Bach Partita No. 2 in D Minor” July 24 at a lecture recital at 8 p.m. in Westmont’s Porter Theatre. Tickets, $15 for adults and $7.50 for children and senior citizens, can be purchased by calling (213) 300-9585. All fellowship recitals and student concerts are free.

Rosand, 83, is a legendary international concert violinist who has recorded more than 150 individual compositions. He has been trained in the classical 19th-century style of romantic violin music, studying and performing with such musical greats as Efrem Zimbalist, William Steinberg, Leonard Slatkin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Lorin Maazel, Fritz Reiner, Leonard Bernstein and Erich Leinsdorf.

Pianist Leon Fleisher, who was scheduled to perform July 29-31, has been forced to cancel his trip to Montecito following hand surgery.

Other greats such as cellist János Starker will be part of the featured faculty lineup. Starker performs two master classes Wednesday, Aug. 4, and Thursday, Aug. 5, both at 4 p.m. in Porter Theatre. Starker, 86, is one of the supreme musicians and teachers of the 20th century. In 1948, he earned the Grand Prix du Disque, the premier French award for musical recordings, and in 1997, a Grammy Award.

For more information and a complete schedule, please visit http://montecitomusicfestival.com/.