Single-event tickets for the 2009-10 season at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts go on sale this month — and UC Davis faculty and staff get first shot, starting Aug. 27, four days earlier than the general public.

Not only that, but staff and faculty receive a 10 percent discount on single-event tickets.

The presale for staff and faculty runs for only three days: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 27, 28 and 29. The staff-faculty discount is not available online: You must make your purchases by going to the ticket office or by calling the office; it is open those days from noon to 6 p.m.

The ticket office will be closed as usual on Sunday. Then, come Monday, Aug. 31, single-event tickets will be available to the general public at the ticket office, by phone, by mail and online. Staff and faculty also can buy single-event tickets from Aug. 31 onward, but, to receive the 10 percent discount, staff and faculty must make their purchases in person or by phone.

Staff and faculty also may wish to consider the Pick 3 package: any three single-event tickets. You will receive the 10 percent Pick 3 discount, plus the 10 percent staff-faculty discount.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, with musical director Wynton Marsalis, is set to lead off the Mondavi Center's eighth season, performing at 8 p.m. Sept. 25 in Jackson Hall. The orchestra, making its third visit to the Mondavi Center, draws from a repertoire that includes original compositions as well as masterworks by Ellington, Mingus and Coltrane. Listen to audio clips: mondaviarts.org (click on “Event Calendar” by date).

The complete season.

Ticket office: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787. Summer hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.