Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Friday
Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m., Jackson Hall
J.S. Bach: Complete Brandenburg Concertos
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center returns to the Mondavi Center to perform Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, works that unfailingly provide spiritual fulfillment for music lovers of all faiths and beliefs, inspiring strength at year’s end and a vision of the brightest future. The artistic core of CMS is a multigenerational, dynamic repertory company comprised of an evolving and unparalleled roster of performers. Demonstrating the belief that the future of chamber music lies in engaging and expanding the audience, these expert chamber musicians draw more people to the genre than any other organization of its kind.
And if you still need to shop for the holidays, consider a ticket to a Mondavi event for next year.
One more chance to 'listen'
The UC Davis campus will come alive with sound through an installation of six audio works responding to specific locations created by students. “Location and Listening,” presented by the Department of Theatre and Dance will be accessible at until 7 p.m. on Dec. 10.
LeeAnne Boots experiences Location and Listening. (Katherine Hung/Courtesy photo)
The artists include doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students from performance studies, dramatic art, design and theatre and dance have assembled site-specific sound experiences in and around Shields Library, Mrak Hall, the Arboretum, Lake Spafford and other campus locations. The project, overseen by Granada Artist-in-Residence Annie Saunders, reflects a variety of themes including connectivity, synchronicity, recycling and reclamation.
To experience “Location and Listening” participants will need headphones and a cell phone or tablet with internet access to follow an online map of the sites. The installation is free and open to all. Details can be accessed here.
UC Davis TANA presents Posada holiday event Saturday
Dec. 11, 1-5 p.m.
Celebrate the holiday season with a Posada style event at TANA. A Posada, in Latino cultural tradition, typically tells the story of Mary and Joseph's journey to find shelter before the birth of Jesus.
TANA's outdoor winter celebration will provide a festive gathering place to enjoy community and culture, including mariachi performances, piñatas, champurrado, craft vendors & information booths, holiday family art activities, and more.
Marcos Ramos, El Charro de Woodland, will perform at 2:30 p.m., and Mariachi Juvenil de Woodland will perform at 3 p.m.
Guests are invited to bring a toy, book, or appropriate children's gift for area families in need.
Additional details can be found here.
(TANA) Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer is located at 1224 Lemen Ave. Woodland
Alum puppeteers for New York Premiere of holiday favorite
Jordan Brownlee (B.A., cinema and digital media ‘20) is a cast member for the New York premiere of Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas which plays at the New Victory Theatre Dec. 10- Jan. 2.
Based on the book by Russell and Lillian Hoban and Henson’s popular classic holiday special, the show follows Emmet and Ma Otter as they enter a Christmas Eve talent contest hoping to win prize money to buy each other holiday gifts. Brownlee is the puppeteer for the characters of Tiny Squirrel and Doc Bullfrog.
At UC Davis, Brownlee assisted with the puppetry for Peter and the Starcatcher and appeared in the Catalyst Theatre production of A Bee in a Jar.
For information visit the New Victory Theatre website.
RFQ announcement for public art
The City of Davis Civic Arts Commission, in support of City Council goals to improve public spaces and downtown amenities and develop strategies to grow arts and culture in Davis, invites qualified artists or collaborative teams to design and create a new piece of public art that will significantly enhance the Covell Overcrossing/Cannery Bike Path Project, centered around a retaining wall that wraps around the corner of F and Covell Streets in Davis, CA.
Up to $35,000 commission fee will be awarded to the selected artist or team of artists. This award is to cover all costs associated with the project, including artist fees, materials, insurance, engineering, fabrication, engineering approval (if required), installation, transportation, etc.
Interested applicants wishing to respond to this RFQ must apply on Café.
Additional plans and supporting materials can be found on the city’s website at www.cityofdavis.org/arts, under Artist Opportunities, and the included Site Plan, or by contacting Rachel Hartsough, Arts & Culture Manager, 530-757-5640, rhartsough@cityofdavis.org.
Chasing the Light: From China to California at The Barn Gallery
Dec. 9-Feb. 24, with an opening reception Thursday, Dec. 9, 5:30-8 p.m.
The new YoloArts exhibition, Chasing the Light: From China to California, features artists who have come together with their mentor and internationally acclaimed master artist, Zhiwei Tu, to exhibit at The Barn Gallery in Woodland.
This exhibition marks the first time these artists have shown their work together. The artists, from northern California are: Eric Fei Guan, Lee Rue, Benjamin Wu, Richard Yang and master artist Tu. All are members of Oil Painters of America and Yang and Wu studied under Tu at the Guangzhou Fine Art Institute in China.
“Light was a topic all throughout our painting education, but also, America is the light. We all wanted to come here and stay and keep working on our dreams to be artists. The visual arts is kind of like a light we are chasing,” Yang said recently.
The exhibition will feature still life and landscapes by Wu, and landscapes and portraits by Guan, Rue and Yang.
The artists will be in attendance at the exhibition’s opening, 5:30-8 p.m. on Dec. 9.
The Barn Gallery is located at 512 Gibson Road in Woodland. The gallery is open Thursday afternoons 2:30-5 p.m. and two Saturday afternoons monthly. Face coverings and social distancing is required. For more information contact ya@yoloarts.org.
YoloArts and Gallery 625 present At Sixes and Sevens
A British expression that means “in a state of total confusion” is the inspiration for the title of a new show now open at Gallery 625 in Woodland. At Sixes and Sevens showcases artwork created by seven artists who came together amid the disarray of the pandemic at virtual painting sessions with well-known northern California painter and Davis resident Phil Gross.
The artists who attended “Phil’s Thursday Night Zoom Painting Party” and are exhibiting their pandemic-created work include Lynn Christensen, Jan Garrison, Ruth Santer, Mark Spencer, Spring Warren, Victoria Whitworth and Steve Wilson.
At Sixes and Sevens runs through Feb 1.
New exhibitions and live music at John Natsoulas
John Natsoulas Gallery, in Davis, presents the opening of Kelly Detweiler’s and Philippe Gandiol’s exhibitions on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. The Tony Passarell Jazz Trio will be performing live music.
Kelly Detweiler’s Exhibition and Philippe Gandiol’s Exhibition run through Jan. 8.
Coming Up in January
International Puppet Festival presents 'The Bluest Eye'
The Department of Theatre and Dance production of "The Bluest Eye" will be presented at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival in January. The show was originally performed at UC Davis in spring 2018. Read the UC Davis Arts Blog about that critically acclaimed performance here.
The production will be performed on Jan. 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. at the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago.
Based on the novel by Toni Morrison, the production received four awards at the 2019 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival including the entire cast for Outstanding Ensemble Performance, Karola Lüttringhaus, doctoral candidate, for Outstanding Costume Design, Janni Younge, Granada Artist-in-Residence, and Professor Margaret Laurena Kemp for Outstanding Direction, and Younge and the creative team for Puppet Design.
The production was distinctive in its use of puppets as the characters, manipulated and voiced by the student actors. Kemp used puppets to explore innovative ways for a multi-racial and multi-generational cast to participate in this culturally specific performance.
Written by playwright Lydia R. Diamond, the work is a powerful adaptation of Morrison’s debut novel which explores the destructive power of racism and the strength of a community attempting to embrace an era of change. The play centers on Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, who wants nothing more than to be loved. Confronting turmoil at home, she prays for Shirley Temple’s blue eyes, believing their beauty is the only thing standing between her and the happiness of the white girls at school.
For details, visit the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival website.
'L’Histoire du Soldat' (The Soldier’s Tale) and other works at Pitzer
Jan. 6, 12:05-1 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center, UC Davis, Free
The program will include Igor Stravinsky: L’Histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale) presented as a suite of music, without dramatis personae.
Other works to be announced.
Sl(e)ight Ensemble: 'Of California Ecology'
Jan. 13, 12:05-1 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center, Free
“Of California Ecology” will feature compositions inspired by nature in California, and will include new works by Julie Herndon, ensemble members, and Kian Ravaei—winner of Sl(e)ight Ensemble’s 2020 call for scores.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Mondavi
Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m.
Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the Mondavi Center with music director Vasily Petrenko leading a program of English and Russian highlights. More information here.
