FALL FREE-FOR-ALL!
Open House at Cal Performances
Sun, Sept 25
A Full Day of Free Performances
Zellerbach Hall, Pauley Ballroom, Lower Sproul Plaza, Wheeler Auditorium, Hertz Hall, the Eucalyptus Grove, Sather Gate and Faculty Glade
Free and Open to the Public — No Tickets Needed
Join us at the Fall Free for All—a full day of music, dance and theater throughout the UC Berkeley campus. Along with over 25 free performances to choose from in theaters, concert halls and out of doors, you can experiment and listen to demonstrations at the instrument petting zoo; meet the artists at CD signings, and more. Bring your friends and family for a transformative day of live performance, no tickets required!
Take our survey
Thank you for attending Fall Free for All 2011! We want to hear from you. Please take a moment and complete our survey so we can better serve attendees of Fall Free for All in the future.
Look back: Cal Performances opened its 2010/11 Season with the first Fall Free for All, a full day of free performances featuring a diverse line-up of more than 18 individual artists and companies. This video captures some of the sights and sounds of the day. (Length: 4; 2010)
Media Sponsor:
Schedule by Stages
Zellerbach HallSchedule by Time
10:30 amArtists & Programs
Cal Band
10:30 am, Lower Sproul Plaza
The Cal Band regales early Fall Free for All visitors with an exciting opening fanfare, setting the stage for a full day of fantastic performances!
Chitresh Das Dance Company
1 pm, Zellerbach Hall
Kathak is the most widely performed dance in North India, dating back over 2,000 years to wandering minstrels and bards, who brought to life the meanings and messages of the great mythologies and scriptures through song, dance and commentary. Chitresh Das Dance Company emphasizes the technical, graceful and dramatic aspects of Kathak dance, and encompasses the rhythms of North and South India (Pancha Jati); stories of India's lavish courts (Darbar); and pure dance energy (Tarana). Chitresh Das' choreography evokes both the richness of ancient India and a fiery, contemporary sensibility.
Cypress String Quartet
11 am, Hertz Hall
Cypress String Quartet (Cecily Ward, violin; Tom Stone, violin; Ethan Filner, viola; and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello) was formed in 1996 in San Francisco. The quartet has been praised by Gramophone for "artistry of uncommon insight and cohesion," and for "beautifully proportioned and powerful" sound by The Washington Post.
Program: Selections from Dvořák's Cypresses, B. 152 • Mozart String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K.465 "Dissonance". 1st and 4th movements: Adagio-Allegro and Allegro Molto • Jennifer Higdon's "Impressions". 3rd movement "To the Point" • Selections from Schulhoff's "Five Pieces for String Quartet" • Dvořák's String Quartet in F Major, opus 96 "American". 2nd and 4th movements: Lento and Finale: vivace ma non troppo
Daniel Barash Shadow Puppets
Shadow Puppet Workshop open 1-4 pm, Interactive Performance at 5 pm, Stephens Lounge, 3rd Floor, MLK Student Union (next to Pauley Ballroom)
Daniel Barash uses the ancient art of shadow puppetry, in which shadows are cast upon a lit screen, to animate stories and folktales from around the world. He has pioneered the use of shadow puppetry in diverse secular and Jewish settings; has performed a one-man educational theater program for more than 100,000 students across the United States; and has worked with students in Belarus, India, Laos, and Lithuania. Daniel is also a teaching artist who trains educators in the use of dramatic arts to explore curricula, both in the U.S. and abroad. From 1-4 pm, the public is invited to make original shadow puppets. At 5 pm, everyone is invited back to enact an original story with these creations.
Davitt Moroney, harpsichord
1 pm, Hertz Hall
A Recital of Keyboard Music by Bach, Purcell, Couperin, Byrd, and Marchand.
Dianne Ferlatte, story teller, with musician Eric Pearson
2 pm, Pauley Ballroom
Diane Ferlatte, along with musician Erik Pearson, presents family style storytelling, music and singing in the African American tradition. In Zimbabwe they say if you can talk you can sing, and Diane says come prepared to do both. Steeped in the oral tradition from her childhood years in Louisiana, Diane spent her formative years on her grandparent's porch with family and neighbors swapping stories, lies, and tales. Her experience performing on piano, singing in church choirs, acting in stage productions, and communicating with American Sign Language all contributed to a her career in storytelling. "This is what it's all about—the little moment that lasts forever in ones memory: that time of intimate connection with the listener, even someone you hardly know. When we tell stories, especially personal stories where we open ourselves up to whoever is listening, there is often for the listener a value to be learned, or encouragement to be gained, knowing that others before them have conquered fears and challenges similar to their own. For some, the right story at the right time will enrich their day, and even make the world a little better place. That's why I really love to tell stories."
Gamelan Sekar Jaya
4 pm, Pauley Ballroom
Gamelan Sekar Jaya' 60 musicians and dancers are dedicated to the performing arts of Bali. The ensemble has performed throughout California, the US, and Bali since 1979, in venues ranging from New York's Symphony Space to remote village squares. Master Balinese artists who join Sekar Jaya each season to lead rehearsals and performances, and are featured in workshops, school programs, and lecture-demonstrations are central to the ensemble's authenticity and success. Gamelan Sekar Jaya has a long association with Cal Performances, including commissioned works, world premieres, workshops, and SchoolTime performances.
Department of Music presents Gamelan Sari Raras
12 pm, Morrison Hall Loft
Founded in 1988 under the leadership of UC Berkeley Department of Music faculty members, Midiyanto and Ben Brinner, Gamelan Sari Raras includes students and former students at Berkeley as well as musicians from surrounding communities who specialize in various types of Indonesian music, as well as others who have trained in Indonesia. Sari Raras performs throughout Northern California with many distinguished Javanese guest artists. The primary repertoire consists of traditional Javanese gamelan music, and sometimes includes contemporary works. Javanese shadow play (wayang) and dance are often featured.
Eth-Noh Tec Pan Asian Story Tellers
12 pm, Wheeler Auditorium
Eth-Noh-Tec presents kinetic story theater that is at once precision choreography, lyrical word-weaving, graceful, playful and poetic. Creators Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo and Nancy Wang layer ancient Asian mythologies, folktales and Asian urban legends with Asian American sensibilities in a unique blend of stories and action. Performing together since 1982, Kikuchi-Ynojo and Wang seek to build cultural bridges that celebrate our humanity, embrace our differences and create compassionate communities through the performance of Asian and Asian American stories that reveal universal truths.
George Brooks
11 am, Lower Sproul Plaza
Hailed as the "leading American voice in Indian jazz fusion," saxophonist and composer George Brooks creates music that combines elegant melodies with the rich harmonies of modern jazz and the driving rhythms of North India. An international jazz artist, Brooks has performed with Terry Riley, John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Larry Coryell, Etta James, and the Kronos Quartet, among others.
Instrument Petting Zoo
12-5 pm, Choral Rehearsal Hall, Cesar Chavez Student Center
Visit and try out a wide variety of musical instruments! There will also be instrument demonstrations by students of the Crowden School and UC Berkeley's Student Musical Activities.
Jeff Davis
2 pm, Sather Tower Campanile
"A Celebration of American Music" performed by Jeff Davis on the bells of UC Berkeley's renowned Campanile.
Program: Ronald Barnes (1927-1997): Signals • Shaker Tunes: O the Simple Gifts of God (1); More Love (2); Simple Gifts (2) • George Crumb 1992: Easter Dawning • Samuel A. Ward (1847-1903): America the Beautiful (2) • Thomas á Becket, Jr. (1808-1890): Columbia the Gem of the Ocean (2) • Irving Berlin (1888-1989): God Bless America (2) • Jeff Davis: Songs & Dances at the American Revolution; Over the Water to Charlie 2012; Lovely Nancy; Miss Moore's Rant; Fanny Fairer Than a Flower; Stony Point & Mr. Turnner's Academy Cotillion
Arrangements and settings: 1. Jeff Davis; 2. Ronald Barnes
Kitka
2 pm, Wheeler Auditorium
Kitka is inspired by traditional songs and vocal techniques from Eastern Europe, expanding. the boundaries of folk song as a living and evolving expressive art form with outstanding renditions of music rooted in Balkan, Slavic, and Caucasian women's vocal traditions. Kitka began in 1979 as a grassroots group with a passion for the stunning dissonances, asymmetric rhythms, intricate ornamentation, lush harmonies, and resonant strength found in Eastern European vocal music. The group has blossomed into a refined professional ensemble, earning international renown for its artistry, versatility, and mastery of demanding techniques. Kitka is recognized by many international musical authorities as the foremost interpreter of Balkan and Slavic choral repertoire working in the United States.
Kronos Quartet
5 pm, Zellerbach Hall
For nearly 40 years, the Kronos Quartet—David Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola), and Jeffrey Zeigler (cello)—has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to expanding the range and context of the string quartet. KQ kicks off their year-long residency at Cal Performances with this concert. This performance is made possible by a generous contribution to Kronos Performing Arts Association from Marjorie Randolph.
Program: Severiano Briseño (arr. Osvaldo Golijov) / El Sinaloense (The Man from Sinaloa) + • Aleksandra Vrebalov / Excerpt from ...hold me, neighbor, in this storm... * • Traditional (arr. Kronos, transc. Ljova) / Tusen Tankar (A Thousand Thoughts) + • Omar Souleyman (arr. Jacob Garchik) / La Sidounak Sayyada (I'll Prevent the Hunters from Hunting You) + • John Zorn / Three selections from The Dead Man * • Traditional/Kim Sinh (arr. Jacob Garchik) / Lưu thủy trường + • Alter Yechiel Karniol (arr. Judith Berkson) / Sim Sholom + • Nicole Lizée / Death to Kosmische *
* Written for Kronos
+ Arranged for Kronos
Lily Cai Dance Company/Chinese Cultural Arts
11 am, Zellerbach Hall
Program: Elegant, sensual, and captivating, the Lily Cai Chinese Dance Company melds ancient Chinese forms with modern dance in an artistic and inventive marriage of styles. The program features three works:
Bamboo Girls: Combining natural feminine beauty with virtuosity, humor, and charm, Bamboo Girls captures the shy but playful folk spirit of Dai village girls from Southern China as they take a day journey up the mountain and dance all night.
Candelas: Set to the solemn music of Gustav Mahler, Candelas offers the candle as a symbol of humility. As the candle burns itself to fuel the fire, its gift reveals an intimate expression of beauty and elegance. One by one, the dancers reveal their souls, rendering Mahler's score with soft steps, tender gestures, passionate arches, and elegant leg extensions.
Silk Cascade: Inspired by the paintings of Jackson Pollock and expanding upon ancient Chinese art, Silk Cascade is an exuberant explosion of color, dance, and light. Lily Cai layers the stage with dynamic dance and the cascading colors of silk ribbons, Additionally, join Lily Cai at 3 pm for a participatory version of this dance in the tent on Lower Sproul Plaza.
Lily Cai Dance performance is supported by the N.E.A..
Lily Cai, Chinese Cultural Arts interactive ribbon dance
3 pm Lower Sproul Plaza
Lily Cai's dancers teach the audience the basic moves of their beautiful ribbon dance, and invite select participants onto the stage to perform with them. [A performance by Lily Cai Dance Companytakes place in Zellerbach Hall at 11 am.]
Marcos Silva and Intersection
1 pm, Lower Sproul Plaza
Hailing from Brazil, Marcos Silva was at the forefront of the bossa nova movement and has played with all the greats of Brazilian music. A keyboardist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator, Silva has served as Music Director, arranger, and keyboardist for Flora Purim, Airto, Toninho Horta, Paquito D'Rivera, Bud Shank, Ricardo Silveira, Dori Caymmi, Nana Caymmi, Danilo Caymmi, Edu Lobo, and more. Marcos leads the Brazilian Program at Berkeley's Jazzschool.
Pamela Rose/Wild Women of Song
4 pm, Wheeler Auditorium
The great American songbook is bursting with wonderful music penned by industrious although historically nearly invisible ladies. While information is plentiful about Gershwin, Berlin, Mercer, it takes some digging to find out about Doris Fisher, Kay Swift or Dana Suesse. Wild Women of Song is a captivating showpiece celebrating the lives, times and music of the women songwriters of the Tin Pan Alley era. With dramatic projected images, and superb storytelling, Rose artfully delivers a cultural retrospective while treating the audience to a live jazz and blues concert. With Tammy Hall, Ruth Davies, Kristen Strom, Jeff Massanari and Kent Bryson.
San Francisco Taiko
3 pm, Zellerbach Hall
SF based Japanese drumming, Under the direction of Grand Master Tanaka, a performance is visual, audio, and visceral. The combination of traditional and contemporary rhythms, dance, and martial arts transcend the physical and are often described as spiritual. A school as well as a performance entity, SF Taiko Dojo focuses on the spiritual and martial arts aspects of the art. The Dojo teaches not only the skillful playing of percussion instruments, but also the discipline of mind and body in the spirit of complete respect and unity among the drummers.
Shai Wosner, piano
5 pm, Hertz Hall
Shai Wosner has attracted international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity and creative insight. His imaginative programs include diverse repertoire ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to Ligeti, and music by his contemporaries. Born in Israel, he enjoyed a musical education from an early age, culminating in studies at The Juilliard School with Emanuel Ax.
Program: Schubert: Piano Sonata in A Major, D959
Shotgun Players/Songs from Assassins by Stephen Sondheim
12 pm, Pauley Ballroom
Shotgun Players creates bold and relevant theatre, using the power of theatre to examine ourselves, our community, and the world. They showcase songs from their current Ashby Stage production, Assassins by Stephen Sondheim. It's a story about nine American assassins—individuals who have taken their frustrated feelings too far. Whether unheard, unseen, slighted or wronged, these men and women took action on a government they felt was betraying the people.
Student Musical Activities
various times and outdoor locations (see schedule for listing)
Student Musical Activities (SMA) is a thriving center for extra-curricular music on the UC Berkeley campus. SMA, a department within Cal Performances, is home to the University of California Marching Band, UC Jazz Ensembles, and UC Choral Ensembles (UCCE). UCCE includes the UC Men's Octet, California Golden Overtones, Cal Jazz Choir, Perfect Fifth, UC Men's Chorale, UC Women's Chorale, Noteworthy, BareStage Productions, and UC Alumni Chorus.
These award-winning groups provide musical education, performance experience, leadership, and arts management opportunities to 600 students, faculty, staff, and alumni from every academic discipline. Often serving as ambassadors of the campus at major University functions, SMA groups perform before public audiences numbering in the thousands, in performances at football and basketball games, and alumni gatherings and fund-raising events, in addition to their own shows and concerts.
The Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies with UC Jazz Ensembles
Studio Set at Fall Free For All
2 pm and 4 pm, Bancroft Studio
Acting and dance students from TDPS, along with UC Jazz Ensembles, present a program of informal performances, featuring a Brazilian music and dance grand finale!
University Chorus and Chamber Chorus, Marika Kuzma, conductor
3 pm, Hertz Hall
This co-presentation with the Department of Music features colorful sacred and secular music to befit the fall season, with selections by American composers.
Program: A Harvest Of Song: Preview of Our Fall Choral Concerts!
Lesia Dychko: Slava! [Glory!] • Sergei Rachmaninoff: Bogoroditse Devo, from All-Night Vigil • John Tavener: The Lamb • Ralph Vaughan Williams: Gloria, from Mass in G • Randall Thompson: The Road not Taken, from Frostiana • David Conte: O Sun, from September Sun • Trevor Weston: Ashes • Franz Josef Haydn: Juch-he, der Wein ist da! [HURRAY! THE WINE IS HERE!] from The Seasons
Special Offers
Save 10% on all Cal Performances 2011/12 Season tickets when purchased in person at Fall Free for All! See program guide for Ticket Office locations. Please note: offer is available only for in-person orders on Sunday, September 25. Plus...
Become a Friend of Cal Performances
Your Friends of Cal Performances membership contribution helps us to raise the curtain on outstanding performances and provides more than 17,000 schoolchildren and others with inspiring Education & Community Programs. Receive up to 10% off when you show your support for the performing arts by joining or renewing your membership at one of the Fall Free for All information booths.
Enter-to-Win Opportunities
Grand Prize Drawing
Visit the Fall Free for All information booths located on Lower Sproul Plaza near Zellerbach Hall, Hertz Hall, and Wheeler Auditorium to enter your name for our Grand Prize drawing—a pair of free orchestra level tickets to three different 2011/12 performances of your choice!
Find us on Facebook
Tell us you like us on Facebook while you're at Fall Free for All and join the conversation with our ever-growing family of friends! We'll enter your name in a drawing (to be held Sept 26) for two free tickets to the event of your choice.
First Stage for Families
Visit our fun and informative instrument petting zoo enter your name to win two free tickets to our new First Stage for Families Series.
Tell us about your Fall Free for All Experience!
We want to hear all about your day! Take our short Fall Free for All survey at calperformances.org/fffa/survey (active beginning on September 25) and we'll enter your name in a drawing for two free tickets to the event of your choice!
Patron Information
Planning to attend the Fall Free for All this Sunday? Here are some helpful tips and information!
Performances are absolutely free — but space is limited!
If you have your heart set on seeing a specific performance, our recommendation is to plan ahead and arrive early — we expect large audiences and lines are anticipated. While admission is free to all venues and no tickets are required, all seating is limited to the capacity of the venue and is available on a first-come, first-served basis; (Please see below for special instructions regarding the Jane Lynch event.) We're sure you will find that with five stages and 27 different events from which to choose, there are plenty of amazing free performances to go around! And if an indoor venue is full, we will have outdoor music and events going throughout the day.
Jane Lynch Event information
Due to the high demand for the Jane Lynch event, a special wristband will be required for admittance. Wristbands will be issued beginning at 11 am at the northeast entrance to the Cal Student Store (by the bike racks east of The Coffee Spot) in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center on a first-come, first-served basis. (One wristband per person and must be present to receive wristband.) Additionally, there will be a book signing following Ms. Lynch's talk. Patrons who have already purchased or purchase from the Cal Student Store Jane Lynch's new book, Happy Accidents, will receive priority admittance for this book signing (limited to the first 200 customers, receipt required).
Parking
As always in Berkeley, parking can be challenging. Note that street parking is free on Sundays and many UC lots are available for paid public parking on weekends. See our Parking section for locations and tips.
Public Transportation
Cal Performances and our event sponsor BART highly recommend that you consider taking public transportation to the event! For more information or to plan your trip online, visit www.bart.org. For additional information, see our Public Transportation section.
Information Booths
For program guides, restroom locations, Enter-to-Win opportunities, Friends' membership and 2011/12 ticket information, additional activities schedules, and more, please be sure to visit our information booths located on Lower Sproul Plaza near Zellerbach Hall, Hertz Hall, and Wheeler Auditorium. See the program guide for locations.
Program Map
Looking for an overview of where the activities and performances are on Sunday? Here is our Program Map [PDF].
Food, Glorious Food!
What would a day devoted to exploring the performing arts be like without a break for a little lunchtime refreshment! Our newest Free For All food partner Cal Dining will have BBQ lunch available for purchase on Lower Sproul Plaza. Plus, the Coffee Spot and Taqueria Oso De Oro will be offering scrumptious and fresh choices as well just outside the Bear's Lair directly across the plaza from Zellerbach Hall. For more dining options located in the campus area, visit our Dining page.
Special Offers
For special ticket discount offers for Fall Free for All attendees and Enter-to-Win Opportunities, see the Offers tab.
Get Social with Fall Free for All!
First—bring your friends and family to our Photo Booth located on Lower Sproul Plaza and pick up a fun souvenir of your performing arts adventures at Cal Performances! Then, stop by our Twitter Café, located right next door to sit a spell and tweet (#fffa) or post a message on our Facebook page to let us and others know what you've been up to at Fall Free for All. Follow @calperformances on Twitter all day long for performance availability updates, additional event information, etc. and add #fffa to your tweets to join the conversation.
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