KINAN AZMEH CITYBAND Syrian-born composer and clarinetist Kinan Azmeh is probably best known for his work as a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble (he won a Grammy in 2016 for that). But his solo career has taken him to the Library of Congress, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie (an amazing building) and the opening of the Damascus Opera House. On Friday night at the Freight & Salvage, Azmeh will be appearing with his CityBand and Iranian vocalist Sepideh Vahidi. Friday, Feb. 8, 8 p.m., Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St.
CAL V OREGON AND OREGON STATE The best winter sports in town recently has been the Cal women’s basketball team (their win over Stanford at Haas Pavilion last week was heart-stopping). On Friday night, the Bears take on nationally third-ranked Oregon, led by Sabrina Ionescu (all-time NCAA leader in triple doubles). The weekend only gets marginally easier on Sunday when the squad face seventh-ranked Oregon State. But any team led by Kristine Anigwe has a shot against the very best. Anigwe enters the weekend with 2,320 career points, tied with Christine Galloway for most points by any player – female or male –in Cal history. Easy prediction: after this weekend, Anigwe will be the sole holder of the all-time Cal points record. Friday, Feb. 8, 8 p.m. against Oregon, and Sunday, Feb. 10, 1 p.m. against Oregon State, Haas Pavilion.
DANISH STRING QUARTET Pro tip: always seize a chance to hear any of Beethoven’s late string quartets. On Sunday One week on Sunday, the Danish String Quartet (left) will be playing the master’s final quartet, Op. 135 in F Major, in the Cal Performances concert at Hertz Hall. Also on the program: Haydn’s C Major quartet, Op. 20, and Webern’s early Quartet, composed in 1905 when he was a Schoenberg student. Cal Performances says the youthful (by string quartet standards) Danish String Quartet “has the power to make centuries-old music come alive with a modern sense of urgency and dynamism.” Sunday, Feb. 10, Feb. 17, 3 p.m., Hertz Hall. (Sorry readers: I got the date wrong by one week. But it’s still always worth hearing a late quartet!)
IRMA HERRERA The Marsh is hosting a run of Irma Herrera’s one-woman show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Name?, which frequently sold out in its San Francisco run. It’s about one woman’s journey “from a small segregated South Texas town to California’s multicultural mecca. What part of Irma’s identity is she asked to give up for the sake of fitting in and getting along?” Following Sunday’s matinee show, Herrera will be joined by lawyer and author Michael Nava for a talkback conversation on “Mysteries with a Mission: Crime Fiction as a Political Tool.” Nava’s novels featuring gay Latino criminal defense lawyer Henry Rios occasioned The New Yorker to kvell that Rios is “a detective unlike any previous protagonist in American noir.” The show runs through March 24. Sunday’s matinee and talkback: Sunday, Feb. 10, 2 p.m., The Marsh Theater, 2120 Allston Way.
EDYTHE BOONE Local muralist, activist and educator Edythe Boone (profiled here on Berkeleyside) will be guest speaker at the Sunday worship service at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists with the theme “Making Murals, Creating Community.” After the service, there’s a reception for Boone as well as a screening of the film by local documentarian Mo Morris A New Color: the Art of Being Edythe Boone. Sunday, Feb. 10, 10:30 a.m., BFUU, 1924 Cedar St.
Don’t miss these other events covered on Berkeleyside:
Zimmerman’s return to Berkeley Rep with ‘Metamorphoses’ is triumphant
‘Creditors’ at the Aurora Theatre is a riveting psychological drama
Big Screen Berkeley: Academy Award-nominate short subjects
Getting human with Art Lande
