GOINGS ON / SANTA BARBARA : Portrayals to Pay Tribute to Famous Men

Actor Phillip Walker will evoke the words and wisdom of nine historically prominent African-Americans in his solo tribute performance “Can I Speak for You Brother?” Friday at UC Santa Barbara.

Walker’s portrayals reach back 300 years through speeches, song, drama, storytelling and poetry. At the 8 p.m. performance, held in Campbell Hall, attendees will meet the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass. Tickets are $12, students $8. Call 893-3535.

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The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s visit to the Arlington Theater on Saturday will conclude the 74th season of classical music concerts presented by the Community Arts Music Assn. of Santa Barbara.

Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, the symphony’s program includes Sibelius’ “The Swan of Tuonela” and “Lemminkainen’s Return” (from “Four Legends From the Kalevala”), plus Haydn’s Symphony No. 53 and Stravinsky’s “Petrouchka.”

A free concert preview discussion, presented by the philharmonic’s artistic administrator, Ara Guzelimian, will be held at 6 p.m. at the American Savings Bank across from the Arlington. Tickets: $48, $36, $24 or $18. The theater is at 1317 State St. Call 963-4408.

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Ahem. Ready? Hit it-- Sweeeet Ad-e-line. Sorry. Here’s the real thing: The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America will present its 36th Annual Spring Show on Saturday at the Lobero Theatre. The production, featuring a number of local quartets and nationally recognized troupes, will be staged at 2 and 8 p.m. with proceeds pegged for the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara.

Featured harmonizers: the Acoustix, 1990’s International Barbershop Quartet champions, plus the 40-member Channel City Chorus and A Tonic Explosion. Tickets are $17 and $30.

More music of a different genre at the Lobero:

The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will assume the stage for two concerts, 4 p.m. Sunday and 8 p.m. May 18. The program will open with Stravinsky’s Suite No. 2 for Small Orchestra. Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 in A Major follows, and rounding out the performance is “Voices From the Gallery,” written by contemporary American composer Stephen Paulus and narrated by Janet Bookspan. Tickets are $16, $14 and $12; students and senior citizens $10.

The Lobero is at 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara. Call 963-0761.

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Access Theatre’s touring production, “In-Sight,” opens this weekend at Center Stage Theater before hitting the road for Santa Barbara-area schools. The one-act play, performed by children, attempts to address issues of education, arts, self-esteem and disability awareness. Produced in conjunction with Access Theatre’s Young Performers Workshop, the production hopes to enlighten theater-goers not to judge others by physical differences, nor place low expectations on a person because he or she has a perceived disability. Show times: 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $5.50, children $3.50. Center Stage Theatre is in the Paseo Nuevo shopping center at the corner of Chapala and De La Guerra streets. Call 963-0408.

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Perhaps Hollywood’s biggest unsung heroes are cinematographers. Though largely responsible for creating the way movies look, these off-screen visual magicians receive little or no acknowledgment for the critical role they play in filmmaking.

The anonymous bunch will receive their due, however--at least for 90 minutes--during UC Santa Barbara’s Arts & Lectures showing of the documentary “Visions of Light.” The film will play 7 p.m. Wednesday in the campus’ Campbell Hall.

The documentary provides an introduction to the art of cinematography, focusing on the function of cinematographers and the impact their artistic decisions have on the filmmaking process.

Co-directors Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy and Stuart Samuels trace the history of cinematography from the early days of simple black-and-white imagery in silent movies to the big screen color of contemporary films. The 1992 documentary also provides decade-by-decade commentaries on the leading cinematographers of each film era. Featured are Vilmos Zsigmond, Vittorio Storaro, James Wong Howe and Laszlo Kovacs. Tickets are $5, students $4. Call 893-3535.

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In the mood for a little celluloid abstraction? The West Coast premiere of Amy Halpern’s experimental film, “Falling Lessons,” shows 7 p.m. Monday at the Center Stage Theater. While the 64-minute film has no traditional story line, it does follow a dramatic progression, leading movie-goers through an emotional labyrinth that begins with terror and ends with ecstasy. Thirteen years in the making, the film features a cast of nearly 200 adults, children and animals. A complimentary wine and cheese reception, attended by Halpern, will be held after the movie. Tickets are $10, $7 senior citizens and students. Call 963-0408.