SMUIN BALLET/UC ALUMNI CHORUS ONE NIGHT ONLY There’s a treat in store on Saturday when Berkeleyans have the chance to see the UC Alumni Chorus performing Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana along with dancers from one of the country’s top-tier dance companies, Smuin Ballet. The program features three top Bay Area soloists: soprano Shawnette Sulker, tenor Brian Staufenbiel, and baritone Eugene Brancoveneau. Bawdy, irreverent and satirical, Orff’s Carmina Burana is a piece for all the senses. Based on 24 poems from the medieval collection of the same name, it is among the most often programmed and popular choral works of our time. The performance will be conducted by Dr. Mark Sumner, Director of the U.C. Choral Ensembles. Also on the program are choruses from Carl Orff’s Catulli Carmina, Carmina Burana’s rarely performed companion piece, and Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo’s Dark Night of the Soul. Carmina Burana is at the Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston Way, Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets sold by section: Silver $40, Bronze $30 at www.brownpapertickets.com. UC Berkeley Student discount tickets available online. For more information visit: www.ucac.ne.
BERKELEY SYMPHONY FAMILY CONCERTS This weekend Berkeley Symphony is offering families and kids a chance to throw themselves into the joys of classical music with family concerts on Saturday and chamber music on Sunday. The “I’m a Performer” family concerts at Malcolm X School take place Saturday, April 11, 10:00 am & 11:30 am and provide a one-of-a-kind opportunity to perform alongside professional orchestra musicians. The program includes Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. On Sunday, April 12 at 5:00 p.m. Berkeley Symphony & Friends closes the season with piano trios by Mozart and Brahms performed by violinist Dan Flanagan, cellist Jonah Kim and pianist Miles Graber at Piedmont Center for the Arts. For all details visit Berkeley Symphony online.
VOLUNTEER SURVEY FOR SUDDEN OAK DEATH This weekend, help experts understand the pathogen that threatens our beautiful coastal live oaks by signing up to survey Sudden Oak Death. Friends of Five Creeks, Garber Park Stewards, and Friends of Sausal Creek are helping UC Berkeley’s Dr. Matteo Garbelotto organize the annual Sudden Oak Death East Bay bioblitz on Saturday and Sunday April 11-12. After a 1-hour training at 1:30 p.m. in Mulford Hall on the UC Berkeley campus, you will look for suspect leaves on your own time Saturday or Sunday, returning samples to a drop box at either training site by Monday. After lab testing, results are announced at a public meeting and mapped online in fall. Sign up for the Berkeley training. Read information on Sudden Oak Death, findings from past surveys, and more.
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE The City of Berkeley’s 13th Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day will be at The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art & Life, 2121 Allston Way, on April 12, 2015 at 12 noon through 2:30 p.m. Come to hear moving stories of surviving the Holocaust, and traditional and modern Jewish music performances from Jennie Chabon, Eliana Kissner, and Benji Marx. There will be a literary performance by Stephanie Anne Johnson and Susan D. Felix, and light refreshments will be offered. Visit the Magnes’ website for details.
SUZY BOGGUSS AT THE FREIGHT Grammy-winning country star Suzy Bogguss arrives at the Freight with her latest album, Lucky, a collection of songs by Merle Haggard. “He really is the poet of the common man,” she says. “Not every artist has music that is as universal as Merle’s. It’s pretty heavy-duty stuff, and I think that’s why to so many of us who sing and write songs, he’s such a king among us.” Bogguss started off in country in the early 90s with eight Top 5 singles, and ACM Best New Vocalist. Since then, she has won a Grammy for her work on Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster, been Grammy nominated several times for albums she’s produced ,and released a Top 5 Jazz album. Sunday April 12 at 8 p.m., Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison St. Berkeley.
Don’t miss these other events featured by Berkeleyside:
Launch event for new Moe’s Books short film on Friday
From David Bowie to Broadway: Dan Wilensky returns to Berkeley
‘Kill Me Three Times’ at Landmark Shattuck Cinemas
For more events in and around Berkeley, check out Berkeleyside’s Events Calendar. And submit your own events there — the calendar is free and self-serve.
