GOINGS ON SANTA BARBARA : Rebel Band : The Chilean folk group Inti-Illimani not only gained public support while exiled in Rome but also improved its style.

While on tour in Europe in 1973, members of the Chilean folk group Inti-Illimani received word that they had been exiled from their homeland after a political coup overturned the elected government of Salvador Allende.

The musicians settled in Rome for 15 years, until they were finally given permission to return to their home in 1988.

No official reason was ever given for the exile, but Inti-Illimani’s association with the left-wing oriented Nueva Cancion (new song) movement, which combines Latin American folk traditions with lyrics addressing social and political concerns, was probably considered a threat to the military regime.

During their decade and a half of exile, Inti-Illimani became a symbol of democracy to many people in Chile. When they returned to the Santiago airport, thousands of people arrived to greet them with a hero’s welcome.

And soon after, the group played at an Amnesty International concert along with Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Sting and Tracy Chapman.

Not only did the group’s reputation as an outspoken, political band flourish during its stay in Europe, so did its style as the group absorbed elements of different types of music into its Chilean sound.

Although the group still plays the traditional folk instruments and forms of the Andes, there are hints of North African influences, Balkan peasant rhythms and touches of jazz and even Stravinsky.

Inti--Illimani will play at 8 p.m. Friday at UCSB Campbell Hall. Tickets are $10 to $16. Call 893-3535.

A few years before Inti-Illimani was even exiled, Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla was already blending folk music and the traditional tango form with contemporary classical techniques.

Some of his works, along with those of Beethoven and Ravel, will be performed by members of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival on Tuesday at UCSB Campbell Hall.

Heiichiro Ohyama, music director of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, was recently named artistic director of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival for a three-year term.

Tickets are $10 to $16. Call 893-3535.

The Moscow Philharmonic will play at the Arlington Theatre at 8 p.m. Saturday.

The program will feature three giants of Russian music: Tchaikovsky (Violin Concerto in D Major with 17-year-old soloist Maxim Vengerov on violin), Rimsky-Korsakov (Overture to “The Invisible City of Kitezh”), and Prokofiev (Symphony No. 5.) Tickets range from $18 to $48. Call 966-4324.

The Community Arts Music Assn. will also host a preview talk by UCSB professor Carl Zytowski about the musical and historical background of the program.

The free lecture will be from 6:45 to 7:40 p.m. at the American Savings Bank, 1330 State St.

Eastern European folk songs and chants will be the order of the evening when the 24-member Bulgarian State Female Vocal Choir performs at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre on Tuseday night.

The Grammy Award-winning ensemble is made up of villagers chosen for their natural vocal ability. The women will dress in traditional Bulgarian costumes to complement the sounds.

The theater is at 33 E. Canon Perdido St. Show time is 8 p.m. Tickets are $19 and $24. Call 963-0761.

A book release and signing of photographer Jeff Brouws’ self-published book, “Twentysix Abandoned Gasoline Stations,” will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Art Books Only at 715 State St.

The collection of black and white photographs was made in homage to artist Edward Ruscha who published “Twentysix Gasoline Stations” in 1962. Call 966-2814.

The Westmont Classical Repertory Theatre will close its season by restaging the production that opened it: “The Emperor Jones” by Eugene O’Neill. The play’s 1920 premier marked the first time in American theater that a black man held a leading role in a white company. The show will run from Tuesday through April 19 at 8 p.m at the Center Stage Theatre in the Paseo Nuevo shopping plaza. $10. 963-0408.

The heartache and rage that occur when innocent hostages are taken by political terrorists are the focus of the play “Two Rooms” by Lee Blessing. The Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts production opens tonight and runs through April 25 at the Backstage Theatre in Santa Maria. Shows are on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. $16. 922-8313.

“La Belle Noiseuse,” the 1991 Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Prix film, will play at the Victoria Street Theatre on Friday through April 16. The four-hour film with subtitles is the latest by Jacques Rivette, one of the founders of the “French New Wave.”

Shows are 7:30 nightly and 3 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Thursday. Tickets: Friday with champagne reception, $12; all other nights, $6; $4 senior citizens and youths, 13 to 17; $3 ages 12 and under. All matinees $4. Call 965-1886.

A special screening and champagne reception to benefit the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $12 at the door, $10 in advance. Call 966-5373.

Thousand Oaks resident Bruce Baum will headline at P. Yopansz Comedy Club in Goleta today through April 12.

Shows are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and an additional show at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. $8. 683-6630.

The new Paseo Nuevo Cinemas theater complex opens this weekend (Saturday evening) with “The Babe,” starring John Goodman.

The fourplex, which has about 900 seats, features Art Deco style and a 16-screen video wall in the entry showing previews of coming attractions.