Sept. 28, 2018 — Grammy-award winning musician Chris Botti got his first trumpet at the age of nine after hearing jazz trumpeter Doc Severinsen play, but it wasn’t until the age of 12, when he heard legendary jazz musician Miles Davis play “My Funny Valentine” on the trumpet, that Botti knew where his future lay.
“When Miles played the trumpet in that brooding, heartbreaking, beautiful way, I thought ‘Someday I would love to be able to do this,’” Botti said.
Fans will have a chance to hear Botti, three vocalists and his top-notch instrumental band perform jazz, pop, rhythm and blues and a selection of Botti’s hits at the President’s Dinner & Concert on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018.
Proceeds from “Chris Botti Live in Concert” presented by the CSUCI Foundation and Rabobank go to benefit CSUCI students and academic programs.
“I always look forward to this concert,” said President Erika D. Beck, Ph.D. “It’s wonderful to see the community come out and support CSUCI while also enjoying an evening of music and a delicious chef-prepared selection of food. The funds raised will provide the University with the flexibility to address its priority needs as it works to give our students a chance to channel their potential and transform their lives.”
The concert under the stars will be at the Commemorative Air Force Museum at 455 Aviation Drive in Camarillo. Doors will open at 5 p.m. with a dinner for those who purchase VIP tickets for $175. The concert begins at 7 p.m. for those who purchase general admission tickets for $60.
VIP ticket-holders will be treated to several chef-attended food stations so that guests can select from a variety of different dishes cooked up by CSUCI Director of Dining Services and Executive Chef Peter Maher and Chef de Cuisine for CSUCI University Auxiliary Services Nic Manocchio.
Among the dishes will be their award-winning pancetta-wrapped grilled prawn stuffed with lump crab with limoncello. There will also be Colorado lamb lollipops crusted with pine nuts and herbs as well as butternut squash ravioli in a parmesan truffle reduction.
Tray-passed hors d’oeuvres, three free drinks at the cash bar and a pastry station will round out the VIP reception. The pastry station will include everything from hazelnut cake to key lime tarts to crème brulee.
President Beck will open the concert with a welcome and the presentation of the Robert J. Lagomarsino Award, which goes to an individual who or organization which has contributed to and supported CSUCI.
This year’s award goes to former Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Russell Gallipeau, who helped make the Santa Rosa Island Research Station a reality, and has since helped educate scores of students about the Channel Islands.
Botti’s concert will be one more moment in his 45-year-old love affair with the trumpet, which has brought him a 2013 Grammy win for his album “Impressions,” and four more Grammy nominations during his career so far. Four of his albums have reached the No. 1 position on the Billboard jazz album charts.
For Botti, it all comes down to one thing—the performing, which he keeps as honest as he can for every one of the roughly 260 days he’s on the road.
“I’m a touring act, and it’s very, very old school,” he said. “I don’t have background dancers, no computers. It’s really a very retro thing. I don’t have a clothing or wine line. I just want to play the trumpet.”
VIP Tickets are $175 and includes entrance to the VIP Reception featuring unique food stations, tray-passed hors d'oeuvres, a VIP bar, and premier seating for the concert.
General admission for the concert is $60. Discounted tickets are available for active and former military, CSUCI alumni and students.
For tickets to the Presidents Dinner & Concert, visit go.csuci.edu/pc18 or call 805-437-8420.
Sponsors for the CSUCI President’s Dinner & Concert are: Rabobank; Gene Haas Foundation; Sage Publishing; GBL Systems Corporation; Harrison Industries; Union Bank; Ventura Rental Party & Events; Montecito Bank & Trust; Pacific Western Bank; Alexander Buick GMC; Airborne Technologies; Canteen of Coastal California; Elise and Bill Kearney; Esther and Tom Wachtell; Follet Higher Education Group; Leavens Ranches; Musick Peeler; Ventura County Credit Union; California Resources Corporation; Community Memorial Health System; Julie and Doug Kays; Staples Construction; Aera Energy LLC; Green EconoMe; Mission Linen Supply Inc.; 95.1 KBBY; Darvik Productions; KCLU; Pacific Coast Business Times; and V3.