GOINGS ON : Sound of Banjos to Ring Out as Top Players Perform at UCSB : Concert will dispel many of the stereotypes and myths that have surrounded the instruments.

Get ready for some serious picking.

The Masters of the Banjo tour, featuring seven top musicians trained in the gamut of banjo styles, will hit the UC Santa Barbara campus Tuesday evening.

Performers include Seleshe Dameassae (on the African krar), Ralph Stanley (bluegrass), Will Keys (old-time, two-finger style), Kirk Sutphin (on the claw hammer) and Seamus Egan (on the Irish tenor banjo).

“The show definitely goes to dispelling the (negative) stereotype myths of the banjo,” said the 24-year-old Egan. “It gives a broad view of what banjo playing is capable of and where it comes from, and an indication of where it’s going.”

The concert, produced by the National Council for the Traditional Arts, will begin at 8 p.m. at Campbell Hall. General admission is $18, $15 and $12. Call 893-3535.

*

Classic numbers by the song-writing team of Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart will be featured when the Pasadena Playhouse premiers its musical revue “Sweet, Smart, Rogers & Hart!” beginning tonight at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre. The show will run through Feb. 13. Show times are Thursdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $24.50 for this weekend’s preview shows, $28.50 for the remaining performances. Call 963-0761. The Lobero is located at 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

*

UC Santa Barbara’s Opera Theatre group, combining the talents of two casts of students and guest artists, will kick off a six-show run of Mozart’s classic “The Magic Flute,” Friday at the university’s Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall.

Lead performers include soprano Kerry Walsh, a Santa Barbara resident who has performed with the Santa Fe Opera; tenor George De Mott-Bovenzi, whose credits include work with the Santa Barbara Oratorio Chorale and the Santa Barbara Choral Society, and soprano Janet Thibodeau, an assistant professor of music at Westmont College.

Shows will be presented Friday, Saturday, Feb. 4 and Feb. 5 at 8 p.m., Sunday and Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 (orchestra seating) and $13 (general). Call 893-3535.

*

If you’re looking to get away from the tube while everyone else is in front of it on Super Bowl Sunday, you might consider checking out the White Winds Studio in Montecito. This new performing arts spot will play host to a 3 p.m. concert by the Santa Barbara “neo-jazz” ensemble Headless Household. Tickets are $10. The studio is located at 113 Middle Road. Call 969-5718.

The performance is the first arts event at White Winds Studio which, up until now, has been strictly used for yoga classes. Future plans for the studio include visits by authors, artists and musicians, art exhibits and film screenings, in addition to the yoga classes.

“It will be 50% yoga, 50% art,” said Leslie Westbrook, who is handling the art side of things. “This will be a place for people to congregate in Montecito. If you want to do something cultural you have to go to Santa Barbara. There really isn’t a place to see experimental films or go to lectures in Montecito.”

Westbrook said she will tie the films, lectures, and exhibits to central themes each month. Coming up Feb. 20: A tribute to jazz cornetist Wild Bill Davison, featuring music, a documentary, and a visit by his widow. Appearances by Jonathan Winters and Laura Huxley (author and wife of the late Aldous Huxley) are in the planning stages.

*

What time is it? That’s a pretty easy question to answer.

What is time? Now that’s a bit more tricky. But it’s a question that a dozen artists are trying to tackle in the “In Terms of Time,” exhibit at Santa Barbara’s Contemporary Arts Forum.

Organized by guest curators Rabbi Laura Geller and artists Ruth Weisberg, the exhibit features artists’ perceptions of the passage of time--through references to the life cycle, to ancestors, to birth and to death. The artists use paintings, etchings, videos and mixed media to share their ideas.

“In Terms of Time” will continue through Feb. 26. CAF is located on the second level of the Paseo Nuevo shopping center, at Chapala and De La Guerra streets. Call 966-5373 for more information.

*

Tickets here. Get your tickets: The time is ripe to order tickets for the 12th Annual Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Festival scheduled for April 23-24 at Flag is Up Farm in Solvang. Highlights for both days include the tasting of wines from Santa Barbara County’s 30 wineries, food from more than 30 restaurants and area caterers, live entertainment and exhibits. Admission is $50. Call 688-0881 for a ticket order form. Tickets are sold by random drawing of forms received by Jan. 31. After that date, any remaining tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

While you’re planning ahead, tickets are now on sale for the Santa Barbara Civic Light Opera’s production of the Tony Award-winning musical “No, No, Nanette,” opening at the Granada Theatre Feb. 18. Prices range from $18 to $29.50 (general) and $9 to $13.75 (children). Call 966-2324 or (800) 366-6064.

Leo Smith is a regular contributor to Ventura County Life. Write to him at 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura 93003, or send faxes to 658-5576.