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This "weekender" covers two weeks of events while the Arts Blog is on hiatus next week.

Jacqueline Cordova-Arrington plays flute concert

Thursday, April 17, 12:05 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Program

George Enescu: Cantabile et Presto

Lawren Brianna Ware: Moonlit Waters

Yuko Uebayashi: Les Sentiers

William Grant Still: Three Songs
arr. Alexa Still

Jacqueline Cordova-Arrington is the assistant professor of flute at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance and a member of the Oregon Wind Quintet. As a former member of Carnegie Hall’s chamber music collective, Ensemble Connect, Cordova-Arrington collaborated with colleagues in performances at the Weill, Trinity, Subculture, and National Sawdust Concert Series.

Book launch at Pitzer features work by two emeritus music professors

Thursday, April 17, 4-5:30 p.m., Noda Lobby, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Although the history of Indonesian music has received much attention from ethnomusicologists and Western composers alike, almost nothing has been written on the interaction of missionaries with local culture. This study represents the first attempt to concentrate on the musical dimension of missionary activities in Indonesia. This book is a collective effort to decolonize the project of making music histories.

This book is authored by two emeritus faculty of the UC Davis Music Department.

Anna Maria Busse Berger is distinguished professor of music emerita and the author of The Search for Medieval Music in Africa and Germany, Medieval Music and the Art of Memory, and Mensuration and Proportion Signs.

Henry Spiller is professor of music emeritus and the author of Erotic Triangles, Javaphilia, Archaic Instruments in Modern West Java, and Focus: Gamelan Music of Indonesia.
A free ebook version of this title is available through the University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Hear a

Take a journey into Chinese tea

Thursday, April 17, 4-5:30 p.m., Andrews Conference Room in the Social Science and Humanities 2203

Puppet masters bring shadow puppets to life

Thursday, April 17, 6-7:30 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center 

featuring Hanggoro Murti and Midiyanto

with Gamelan Sari Raras of UC Berkeley 

Hanggoro Murti is a shadow puppet master from Eromoko Wonogiri, Indonesia. He was born as the first child of three siblings and graduated from art school in 2015 at SMKN 8 Surakarta. He continued his studies at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Surakarta, graduating in 2022. He was recognized at the Indonesian World Record Museum for presenting “the first virtual shadow puppet show in English” as a composer in 2020.

Listen to unique performance featuring the 21-stringed West African harp

Friday, April 18, 5-6:15 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Althea SullyCole studied her primary instrument, the kora — a 21-stringed West African harp — under korists Yacouba Sissoko and Edou Manga. She is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and ethnomusicologist from New York City. From 2024 to 2026, Althea will be performing research on an Award for Faculty from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which, among other things, will fund fieldwork in Mali and Guinea in support of her scholarship on historical collections of musical instruments from the Mandé region of West Africa.

Research in Design series features conversation on identity and culture

Friday, April 18, noon, Cruess Hall Room 1105

, a designer whose background includes writing, architecture, technology, cities, politics, identity and fiber, will give a presentation as part of the Department of Design’s Research in Design Speaker Series. Her talk, “Current Events, Reading and Writing, Architecture, Technology, Cities, Politics, Identity, and Fiber,” is April 18, 12- p.m. in Cruess Hall Room 1105. The event is free and open to the public.

Berger uses the tools of design to respond to and spark discourse on identity and culture. In her practice, she employs diverse formats to investigate, critique and push culture forward.

Berger is the recipient of a Berkeley Civics Arts Commission grant to work with middle school students to explore the past, present and possible futures for the city. Her project, “Shooter Box,” a multi-disciplinary investigation of the U.S. military’s use of Microsoft Xbox controllers as battle equipment, was featured in Forbes and Boing Boing. Her book A Toolkit for Gathering was published in 2020. Her writing on design and culture has been published by MIT Press, Bloomsbury and Chronicle Books. 

The Woodland Opera House presents 'The Prom'

Running from Friday, April 18 to Saturday, May 3, 340 Second Street, Woodland

The Prom follows a group of Broadway actors whose careers have hit a rough patch. They decide to take up the cause of a high school student named Emma, who has been banned from bringing her girlfriend to the prom in their small Indiana town. The Broadway actors descend on the town to help Emma and fight for LGBTQ+ acceptance, using their theatrical talents and star power.

Get tickets .

The UC Davis Spokes bring the A Cappella showcase, HellaCapella

Saturday, April 19, 7:30 p.m., Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center for the Perofming Arts

Presented by UC Davis’ premier all-female-identifying, award-winning a cappella group, The Spokes, HellaCappella is an exciting collaboration between a cappella groups of all shapes, sizes, and sounds.

For the past 20 years, HellaCappella’s audience has continued to grow, attracting music lovers across generations from the greater Davis and Sacramento communities. In previous years, HellaCappella has sold out the Mondavi Center’s 1800+ seats, and now The Spokes are proud to present their show once again in the beautiful arts facility. This is a family-friendly, must-see event. 

Get tickets here:  

Attend the 49th annual Powwow

Saturday, April 19, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the UC Davis Quad

Powwow, as practiced today, is a social gathering intended to provide the campus and local community a space to learn about, engage with, and celebrate the traditions and cultures of Indigenous peoples, and bring visibility to the vibrancy of Native American music, dance, and arts. In its 49th year, the is student-run and student-planned, standing as one of the longest running student powwows in California.

Chef and artist Minh Phan blends food, art and emotions

Saturday, April 19, 3 p.m., at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art

Chef and artist Minh Phan invites audiences to a performance that takes place in her transcultural and transmedial garden. MÁT MÁT MẮT (Cool cool eyes), an immersive and collective commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, offers a multisensory encounter with trauma, memory and a taste of letting go. The performance will be followed by a Q&A with Elizabeth McQueen, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Davis, as part of the Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar, .

Undergraduate composers perform Saturday

Saturday, April 19, 2-3:15, Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Program to be announced.

Shields Library holds bilingual student poetry reading

Tuesday, April 22, noon to 2 p.m., Shields Library

Hosted by Shields Library, this bilingual student poetry reading celebrates the spirit of Flor y Canto. Honoring the tradition of Chicanx literary festivals, the event offers a space for creative expression, community and reflection. Lunch of tamales and soft drinks will be provided. Co-hosted by the UC Davis Library and the UC Davis Strategic Chicanx and Latinx Retention Initiative (El Centro).

Artist talk delves into the world of tea

Wednesday, April 23, 3-5 p.m., at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art

Artists  and  will discuss the Tea Project in their artist talk titled “Tea and Peace”, for which they created 779 porcelain cast Styrofoam teacups, one for each individual detained in the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp. These cups are inspired by the stories from detainees who carved flowers into Styrofoam cups to express themselves in the face of extreme oppression.

Thirty-six of these porcelain tea cups are featured in the UC Davis Global Tea Institute’s Tea and Peace spring exhibition in the museum’s Collections Classroom, on view March 30–June 14. This exhibition explores the role that tea and material tea culture serves in creating space for conversations, building community and cultivating connections that transcend barriers of difference. 

Cellist Megan Chartier performs at Pitzer next week

Thursday, April 24, 12:05 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Program

Max Reger: Cello Suite No. 2

Rudolf Matz: Lights and Shadows Suite for Solo Cello

Aaron Kline: Sarabande in 7-8

Ernest Bloch: Cello Suite No. 1

Cellist Megan Chartier is “unafraid to display gutsy abandon,” as described by the South Florida Classical Review. She has performed throughout North America and Europe as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral cellist. She currently holds positions as principal cellist of Opera San Luis Obispo and section cello in the Vallejo Symphony, and is joining San Francisco’s contemporary Ensemble for These Times in the Spring of 2025. She currently teaches cello at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Byron Kim guest lectures at the California Studio

Thursday, April 24, 4:30-6 p.m., Manetti Shrem Museum of Art

Byron Kim creates paintings that double as portraits and landscape paintings, utilizing the languages of formal abstraction, observational paintings, and conceptual art. His well-known Synecdoche series (1991–present) is a group portrait composed of hundreds of 10 x 8 in panels, each painted to match the skin tone of a sitter. Kim’s mid-career survey, Threshold traveled widely from the Berkeley Art Museum, CA to the Samsung Museum of Modern Art, Seoul and on to 5 other locations in the United States. His numerous awards include the Louise Nevelson Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the New York Foundation for the Arts Grant, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, the National Endowment of the Arts Award, the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant, the Alpert Award in the Arts, the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Robert de Niro, Sr., Prize and the Skowhegan Medal for Painting.

Celebrate Arab-American Heritage Month at Mondavi Center

Thursday, April 24 and Friday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

Celebrate Arab-American Heritage Month with an unforgettable evening featuring Syrian-American rapper & poet Omar Offendum, who will be joined by Palestinian multi-instrumentalist Zafer Tawil and DJ / Beatmaker Thanks Joey. 

This very special performance draws upon the hakawati traditions of Damascus, while remaining deeply rooted in the stories and streets of New York & Los Angeles.

With an impressive 20-year career, Offendum has performed at esteemed venues, including his recent appearance in the off-Broadway sensation “Little Syria,” which secured him a place in The Public Theater’s prestigious “New York Voices” commission program. He has partnered with significant cultural and educational institutions and showcased his talent at the FIFA World Cup celebrations.

Nuntempe guitar quartet performs Argentinian pieces

Friday, April 25, 5-6:30 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Ariel Elijovich

Pablo Boltshauser

Andrés Vaccarelli

Manuel Moreno

Program

Pablo Ortiz: Suite Teatro Martín Fierro

Premieres by graduate student composers—

• Colin Minigan: TBA

• Dean Kervin Boursiquot: TBA

• Zoe A. Wallace: Insomnia

• Joseph Martin: can I have a moment?

• James R. Larkins: A Circle Has Many Points

• Peter Chatterjee: Shrimp Time

From its beginnings in 2008, the Argentinean guitar quartet Nuntempe Ensemble has been entirely devoted to the performance of contemporary music, either from the established repertoire or by incorporating new pieces, commissioned by or dedicated to Nuntempe. In Argentina, the ensemble has performed the most important works of the current world repertoire, including the premiere of almost three dozen pieces dedicated to it by Argentinean and Latin American composers.

A crucial and novel aspect of Nuntempe’s approach to new music is to work jointly and collaborate with the composers. This enhances the research on expansion and further development of the instrumental possibilities of the ensemble. Nuntempe has been awarded several grants by Argentinean and international institutions to support concert performances, the commissioning of new compositions, and the collaborative work with the most prestigious composers of Latin American and contemporary music.

Dance troupe pays homage to their heritage

Saturday, April 26, 6 p.m., Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

Danzantes del Alma de UC Davis, a holistic retention program founded in 1977, continues to be a program that fosters a connection to Mexican culture through music and dance. Housed under the Cross Cultural Center, DDA supports student leadership, identity exploration, and cultural and community advocacy. For many of our students, Danzantes del Alma is a “home away from home”, and a space where they can connect with their culture while getting support from the community that is built throughout the year.

With much excitement, we return to the Mondavi Center for the 4th year in a row, presenting the regions of Baja California, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Zacatecas. This year we’d like to invite you to celebrate with us our 46th Annual Showcase, “México, Siempre en Mi Corazón”. Our show is an homage to everyone that came before us; to those who passed down their traditions and their love for our heritage. It is with this sentiment that we strive to showcase our love for the moments with our community that have impacted and motivated us to fight for a future where our traditions and our stories are kept alive.

“México, Siempre en Mi Corazón” – love for our community, love for our culture, love for each other.

Get tickets here:

Take a whimsical tour of Davis with quilts

Running from Saturday, April 26 to Saturday, May 3 at the Davis Arts Center

Reception on Saturday, May 3 from 3-6 p.m. at the Davis Arts Center and part of Artabout Davis on Friday, May 9 from 5-8 p.m.

Take a whimsical tour of local Davis landmarks captured in Pauline Jackson’s delightful quilted paintings. Her art will be on display at the Davis Arts Center from April 26 through May 3, culminating in a reception with the artist on May 3 at the Davis Arts Center.