April 23 event will honor Charles Soderquist

A celebration of life will be held in memory of Charles Soderquist on April 23 in Jackson Hall of Mondavi Center.

The ceremony begins at 3 p.m., and a reception will follow the celebration at 4 p.m.

Soderquist, an energetic philanthropist, conservationist and entrepreneur who provided passionate leadership to numerous university organizations, died March 2 from complications related to a brain hemorrhage.

Friends and members of the public are invited to attend the tribute to a man whose support was widespread throughout the Sacramento region, and who made a personal commitment to the business and investment communities, education, art, literature, the environment, science and technology.

At the time of his death, Soderquist was serving as chair of the UC Davis Foundation and on the faculty at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.

He was also active in numerous organizations including the California Historical Society, the California State Library, The Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, and public radio and television.

His family has requested that donations be made in Soderquist's memory to the Sacramento Valley Conservancy, the Yolo Basin Foundation and Audubon California.

Swift memorial concert set for Sunday

A memorial concert has been set for April 18 to honor the life and works of the late Professor Emeritus Richard Gene Swift. A composer and past recipient of UC Davis' Distinguished Teaching Award, Swift played a central role in founding UC Davis' Department of Music, its programs and curriculum, including establishing the artist-in-residence program. He died Nov. 8, 2003, in Davis.

The concert begins at 3 p.m. in 115 Music.

Swift composed more than 100 works for opera, orchestra, chamber ensemble, voice, solo piano, flute and guitar. He retired from the department in 1991. For more information about his contributions to scholarly work and teaching at UC Davis, see the Dec. 12 issue of Dateline at www-dateline.ucdavis.edu.