The Department of Music this month announced a 2005-06 season filled with performances that represent a range of cultures — born of both time and place.

Among the season's highlights, the department will continue to offer its free noon concerts every Thursday during the academic year. The popular concerts preview weekend offerings, introduce the campus community to distinguished visitors, and present work by student ensembles and studio programs.

Also free to the public will be performances by the UC Davis Hindustani Vocal Ensemble, led by composer Rita Sahai. The ensemble will present a free noon concert each quarter during the season. The group performs ragas (compositions) using Hindustani solfége syllables as well as Hindi lyrics, accompanied by the harmonium, tabla (drums), and a melody instrument akin to the violin.

Events still to be announced will feature the department's newest ensemble, the Samba School, a new UC Davis percussion ensemble crafted in the style of Brazilian Escolas de Samba. The group, directed by UC Davis percussion instructor Chris Froh, performs high-energy samba rhythms traditionally played during Brazilian Carnival parades.

Other highlights for the season include performances by the department's artists-in-residence for 2005-06 — violinist Ben Kreith and the New York New Music Ensemble.

Kreith grew up in Davis, and now travels the world playing recitals and premiering new solo violin works. He makes his Mondavi Center debut next spring with a concert of Ludwig van Beethoven, Claude Debussy, George Enescu, and György Kurtág, followed by a performance of Alban Berg's Violin Concerto with the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra.

For 28 years the New York New Music Ensemble has commissioned, performed, recorded, taught and fiercely advocated for new music. The group's Nov. 12 concert will feature works by UC Davis graduate student composers. Members of the ensemble include Daniel Druckman, percussion; Christopher Finckel, cello, Stephen Gosling, piano; Jean Kopperud, clarinet; Jeffrey Milarsky, conductor/percussion; Linda Quan, violin; and Jayn Rosenfeld, flute.

The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, with D. Kern Holoman conducting, and the University Chorus, with Jeffrey Thomas, conducting, also will continue their residency in Mondavi Center's Jackson Hall with another subscription series. The 47th season features Edward Elgar's great Cello Concerto, a December Chorus and concert of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Benjamin Britten's Saint Nicolas, Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, and Johannes Brahms' First Symphony and a gala performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana, with the University Chorus.

Thomas also leads the University Chamber Singers, a vocal ensemble of 20 to 35 members focusing on Baroque, Classical, and contemporary repertoire. They will join the Chorus for a concert of Maurice Duruflé's Requiem and works by Anton Bruckner, Gabriel Fauré, Olivier Messiaen, and Francis Poulenc.

Meanwhile, the Empyrean Ensemble, the department's resident contemporary music ensemble led by composers and music faculty Yu-Hui Chang and Laurie San Martin, will bring works by renowned 20th-century masters and emerging composers to local audiences through a new music series in the Studio Theatre of Mondavi Center.

Named "Best Small Ensemble Classical Music Concert of 2004" by The Sacramento Bee, the ensemble fosters American art music through commissioning new works, live concerts in Davis and elsewhere, and commercial recordings. The group of seven core musicians will perform their "Crackerjack Virtuosity" concert, featuring works of cultural significance by international composers and will later in the season offer "Music from California" and "New Music from Davis" concerts.

The department also will present its annual Electro-Acoustic Music Concert, with William Beck, directing. Beck teaches electronic music at UC Davis and believes that the media of the electronic genre possess expressive potential equal to or greater than that of acoustic instruments. He said he strives to create music with gestures and shapes that speak to listeners both within and outside of the electro-acoustic music world.

The season also includes several recitals featuring the saxophone, viola, cello, and piano, and works by Robert Aldridge, Charles Rochester Young, Adolf Busch, John C. Worley, and others. And the UC Davis Jazz Band, or Wednesday Night Big Band, a 20-piece jazz ensemble led by saxophonist Mike McMullen, will present three concerts.

Likewise, the UC Davis University Concert Band, a fixture on campus for more than 50 years, will perform three concerts, with interim director Peter Nowlen leading the 75-member group.

The approximately 55-member UC Davis Gospel Choir will also perform a full variety of gospel choir styles in three concerts slated for this season. The group sings African American, African music, and contemporary and traditional gospel, spirituals, hymns and anthems. Founded in 1979, the group draws members from throughout the campus community and is directed by Calvin Lymos.

Starting in December, the UC Davis Early Music Ensemble and the UC Davis Baroque Ensemble will bring Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque repertoires to the stage at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Davis. The ensembles specialize in period performance practices and techniques and frequently collaborate in joint concerts. Later, in the Studio Theatre, the Baroque Ensemble will present a special "Evening at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens" program, featuring voice students and mid-18th century opera scenes, plus music by Henry Purcell, Thomas Augustine Arne and George Frideric Handel.

-----------

The lineup:

Oct. 16 -- Empyrean Ensemble: Crackerjack Virtuosity. Yu-Hui Chang and Laurie San Martin, co-directors. A showcase of the Empyrean players' craft with works by David Lang, George Benjamin, Fernando Benadon, and others. Pre-concert talk: Demystifying the Music, 7 p.m.. $16/8, 8 p.m. Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

Nov. 12 -- New York New Music Ensemble, 2005 artists-in-residence. Works by UC Davis graduate student composers, plus Steven Ricks and Morris Rosenzweig. $16/8, 8 p.m. Davis Art Center, 1919 F St.

Nov. 16 -- UC Davis Jazz Band, Mike McMullen, director. $10/5, 8 p.m. Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

Nov. 18 -- Annual Electro-Acoustic Music Concert, William Beck, director. Sublimation by Kyong Mee Choi for marimba and tape, with Chris Froh, marimba; Caught in the Glare by Robin Julian Heifetz for saxophone and electronics, with Keith Bohm, saxophone; Panic. Melancholy by Vera Ivanova; and works by William Beck and Drew Wheeler. $16/8, 8 p.m. Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

Nov. 20 -- UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, D. Kern Holoman, conductor. Leonard Bernstein: Candide Overture; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major, K. 191, with David Rehman; Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, op. 55 ("Eroica"). $14/11/8; $7/5.50/4, 8 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

Dec. 2 -- UC Davis Early Music Ensemble. Suggested donation at door only, $10/5, 8 p.m. St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 640 Hawthorne Lane.

Dec. 4 -- University Chorus, Jeffrey Thomas, conductor, with UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, D. Kern Holoman, conductor. Leonard Bernstein: Chichester Psalms, D. Kern Holoman, conducting; Benjamin Britten: Saint Nicolas, op. 42, with Steven Tharp, tenor. $14/11/8; $7/5.50/4, 8 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

Dec. 7-- University Concert Band, Peter Nowlen, interim director. $12/9/6; $6/4.50/3, 7 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

Dec. 9 -- University Chamber Singers, Jeffrey Thomas, conductor. Motets and oratorios by Marc-Antoine Charpentier and other French Baroque composers. Suggested donation at door, $10/5, 8 p.m. Davis Community Church, 412 C St.

Dec. 10 -- UC Davis Gospel Choir, Calvin Lymos, director. $12/6, 7 p.m. Freeborn Hall, UC Davis.

Jan. 22 -- Empyrean Ensemble: Culture Shock! Yu-Hui Chang and Laurie San Martin, co-directors. Works of cultural significance by international composers, including Toru Takemitsu, Tan Dun, Theo Loevendie, and others. Pre-concert talk: Demystifying the Music, 7 p.m.. $16/8, 8 p.m. Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

Feb. 12 -- UC Davis Symphony Orchestra. Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis; Anton Webern: Symphony, op. 21; Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto, op. 85, with Susan Lamb Cook. $14/11/8; $7/5.50/4, 8 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

Feb. 22 -- UC Davis Jazz Band, Mike McMullen, director. $10/5, 8 p.m. Varsity Theatre, 616 Second Street.

Feb. 26 -- UC Davis Early Music Ensemble and UC Davis Baroque Ensemble, David Nutter, director, and Phebe Craig and Michael Sand, co-directors. Suggested donation at door only, $10/5, 8 p.m. St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 640 Hawthorne Lane.

March 5 -- University Chorus and Chamber Singers. Maurice Duruflé: Requiem, with works by Anton Bruckner, Gabriel Fauré, Olivier Messiaen, and Francis Poulenc. $14/11/8; $7/5.50/4, 8 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

March 6 -- Violinist Ben Kreith, 2006 artist-in-residence. Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata in A Minor, op. 23; Claude Debussy: Sonata; George Enescu: Impressions of Childhood; works by György Kurtág, with Haleh Abghari, soprano; and other works. With piano. $16/8, 8 p.m. Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

March 8 -- University Concert Band. $12/9/6; $6/4.50/3, 7 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

March 11 -- UC Davis Gospel Choir. $12/6, 7 p.m. Freeborn Hall.

March 12 -- UC Davis Symphony Orchestra. Alban Berg: Violin Concerto with Ben Kreith, 2006 artist-in-residence; Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring. $14/11/8; $7/5.50/4, 8 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

April 2 -- Empyrean Ensemble: Fault Lines: Music from California. Yu-Hui Chang and Laurie San Martin, co-directors. Presenting different voices of California composers including Jerome Rosen, Martha Horst, Cindy Cox, Yu-Hui Chang, and Hi Kyung Kim. Pre-concert talk: Demystifying the Music, 7 p.m.. $16/8, 8 p.m. Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

April 23 -- An Eve-ning of Chamber Music for Saxophone. Saxophonist Keith Bohm, plus Ellen Ruth Rose, viola, Susan Lamb Cook, cello, Natsuki Fukasawa, piano, and others. Works by Robert Aldridge, Charles Rochester Young, Adolf Busch, John C. Worley, and others. $16/8, 8 p.m. Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

April 30 -- An Evening at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. UC Davis Baroque Ensemble, Phebe Craig and Michael Sand, co-directors, and voice students of David Newman. Instrumental and vocal music from mid-18th century England. Scenes from operas and masques, plus instrumental concerti and sinfonie by Henry Purcell, Thomas Augustine Arne, and George Frideric Handel. $10/5, 8 p.m. Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

May 14 -- UC Davis Early Music Ensemble, David Nutter, director. Suggested donation at door only, $10/5, 8 p.m. St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 640 Hawthorne Lane.

May 19 -- University Chamber Singers. Works by Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Suggested donation at door only, $10/5, 8 p.m. Davis Community Church, 412 C St.

May 20 -- UC Davis Gospel Choir, Calvin Lymos, director. $12/6, 7 p.m. Freeborn Hall, UC Davis.

May 21 -- UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, Michael Morgan, guest conductor. Emmanuel Chabrier: Fête polonaise from Le Roi malgré lui; Jacques Ibert: Concertino da camera, with Joseph Abad, alto saxophone; Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, op. 68. $14/11/8; $7/5.50/4, 8 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

May 24 -- UC Davis Jazz Band. $10/5, 8 p.m. Stu-dio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

May 31 -- Empyrean Ensemble: New Music from Davis. Yu-Hui Chang and Laurie San Martin, co-directors. New works by UC Davis graduate student composers. Pre-concert talk: Demystifying the Music, 7 p.m.. $16/8, 8 p.m. Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center.

June 4 -- University Chorus, Alumni Chorus, and the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra. Carl Orff: Carmina Burana, with Shawnette Sulker, soprano, Gerald Thomas Gray, tenor, and baritone soloist TBA. $14/11/8; $7/5.50/4, 8 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

June 7 -- University Concert Band. $12/9/6; $6/4.50/3, 7 p.m. Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.