YOUNG ARTISTS COMPETITION: Budding classical musicians and vocalists are invited to enter the Mondavi Centers fourth annual Young Artists Competition, featuring scholarships and performance opportunities.

The competition is open to pianists, instrumentalists and chamber ensemble members in grades 4 to 12, plus vocalists in grades 9 to 12. Application materials, including compact disc (CD-R) recordings, must be postmarked by Nov. 15. Details are available online, www.mondaviarts.org/youngartists.

From among the applications, a judging panel will select candidates for live auditions. The live auditions are scheduled for Jan. 10 and 11.

Prizes range from from $350 to $1,000 in the junior division and $1,000 to $3,000 in the senior division. Plus, all of the winners have the opportunity to perform in the Young Artists Competition Winners Concert set for March 29 at the Mondavi Center. Other performance opportunities await the grand prize winners in both divisions.

VELVETEEN RABBIT RETURNS: The Mondavi Center is once again hosting a production of The Velveteen Rabbit, the musical based on Margery Williams' 1922 tale of the same name, about a boy who neglects his new toy: a stuffed rabbit. It stays in its box -- hoping one day to have a chance to come out to play. The production by ODC/San Francisco is recommended for ages 5 and up. Two performances are scheduled in Jackson Hall: 8 p.m. Nov. 16 and a school matinee at 11 a.m. Nov. 17.

Tickets for the Young Artists Competition Winners Concert and The Velveteen Rabbit: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or www.mondaviarts.org. Educators and others interested in school matinee tickets should call (530) 754-4689.

EMERITUS MONTOYA PUTS ON EXHIBIT: The Pence Gallery in Davis announced an exhibition of oil paintings and prints by Professor Emeritus Malaquias Montoya: Globalization and War: The Aftermath.

"This powerful collection of work draws attention to the moral and political tragedies of war and the effects of displacement stimulated by globalization," states a news release from the gallery.

The exhibition is scheduled to run from Nov. 5 to Dec. 21. The public is invited to meet the artist during a Nov. 14 event and to hear him give a talk on Dec. 5. Montoya is an emeritus in the Chicano/a Studies Program and the Department of Art.

According to the gallery news release, Montoya's work is often described as "art of protest," driven by his interest in social justice, vividly exposing assaults on human rights. "He reveals that even in the face of psychological and physical trauma there is a perseverance of spirit to fight for a better life and work together to deflect the effects of cultural and political imperialism," the news release states.

In Montoya's own words, these "images are intended to confront the multitude of socially disengaging and crippling images given to us by our daily media, images that disguise reality, manipulate consciousness, and lull the creative imagination to sleep."

The artist events:

-- Nov. 14 -- 7-9 p.m. (6 p.m. start for Pence members).

-- Dec. 5 -- Artist talk, 7 p.m.

The gallery announced that Montoya will be signing copies of the newly published catalogue, Globalization and War: The Aftermath, at both events.