Cal Performances

Phone 510.642.9988
Email tickets@calperformances.org
Website https://calperformances.org/
The mission of Cal Performances is to produce and present performances of the highest artistic quality, enhanced by programs that explore compelling intersections of education and the performing arts. Cal Performances is the performing arts presenting, commissioning and producing organization based at the University of California, Berkeley. The origins of Cal Performances date from 1906, when stage actress Sarah Bernhardt appeared at the William Randolph Hearst Greek Theater to help rebuild public morale after the devastating San Francisco earthquake and fire in April of that year. [More]

Events from this organizer

Today

  • Two dancers from The Australian Ballet's Oscar.

    The Australian Ballet: Oscar© by Christopher Wheeldon

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    The Australian Ballet returns to Berkeley with Christopher Wheeldon’s Oscar, a visionary ballet inspired by the life, writing, and cultural legacy of Oscar Wilde. Developed by Wheeldon and composer Joby Talbot from an original idea with Alexander Wise, the work intertwines Wilde’s biography with characters and images from his stories to explore romance, sacrifice, and […]

  • Baritone Lester Lynch, a black man wearing a dark suit and a light pink shirt looking into the camera.

    Lester Lynch, baritone; Kevin Korth, piano

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    Baritone Lester Lynch makes his Cal Performances debut with pianist Kevin Korth and a string quartet comprising violinists René Mandel and Florin Parvulescu, violist Katarzyna Bryla, and cellist Anne Richardson. Known for combining dramatic power with vocal subtlety, Lynch brings his operatic experience to a recital centered on love, loss, and mortality.The program includes Barber’s […]

  • Pianist Tom Borrow, a white man in a black turtleneck, looks to the side in this black and white photo.

    Tom Borrow, piano

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    Rising pianist Tom Borrow makes his Cal Performances appearance with a program pairing Mozart and Liszt. A protégé of Murray Perahia and a former BBC New Generation Artist, Borrow came to international attention through acclaimed orchestral debuts and performances noted for a touch that can be both light and powerful.Mozart’s Piano Sonata in A minor, […]

  • The four members of Takacs Quartet -- three men and one woman -- pose together with their instruments against a light gray background with a circle inset of pianist Jeremy Denk.

    Takács Quartet with Jeremy Denk, piano

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    The Takács Quartet returns to Berkeley with its newest member, cellist Mihai Marica, and joins pianist Jeremy Denk for a program pairing Romantic intensity with vivid contemporary storytelling. Denk, a MacArthur Fellow and Avery Fisher Prize recipient, brings his virtuosity and interpretive depth to the Grammy-winning ensemble’s finely balanced chamber music.Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in F […]

  • Photo of Michael Pollan, a white bald man in a blue button-down shirt and glasses, looking at the camera, with an circular inset photo of Christof Koch, a white man in a salmon-orange colored top looking at the camera

    Michael Pollan & Christof Koch: A Journey into Consciousness

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Author Michael Pollan and neuroscientist Christof Koch join moderator Shayla Love for a wide-ranging exploration of consciousness and psychedelics. Drawing on Pollan’s book A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness and Koch’s decades of research in neuroscience and consciousness science, the conversation approaches subjective experience through scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual, and psychedelic perspectives.The speakers consider […]

  • Tenor Ben Bliss, a white man wearing glasses and a light-colored shirt, stands in front of a window with natural light illuminating the scene.

    Ben Bliss, tenor; Christopher Allen, piano

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    Tenor Ben Bliss joins pianist Christopher Allen for an intimate recital showcasing Bliss’ agile lyric voice and Allen’s richly colored, orchestral approach to the keyboard. Bliss is particularly admired as a Mozart interpreter and has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, and major European houses.Recent roles have ranged from Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded to […]

  • Folk singer Judy Collins, an older woman with white hair and visible hand tattoos wearing a light purple top against a colorful backdrop, looks into the camera.

    Judy Collins: Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: The Farewell Tour

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Judy Collins returns to Berkeley for a retrospective farewell concert celebrating a six-decade career in American music. Accompanied by pianist Will Kjeer and guitarist Thad DeBrock, the singer, songwriter, activist, and gifted storyteller looks back on the songs, encounters, and audiences that have shaped her life on tour.A contemporary of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, […]

  • A man dressed in a mariachi outfit performs on stage, adorned with flowers and bathed in red light, celebrating the culture of Mariachi Herencia de México.

    Mariachi Herencia de México: La Nueva Generación Tour — Día de los Muertos

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Mariachi Herencia de México celebrates Día de los Muertos with a spirited program led by a new generation of mariachi artists. Founded by César Maldonado through the Mariachi Heritage Foundation’s work supporting mariachi education in Chicago public schools, the ensemble marks its first decade as a rising force in Latin music.The band grounds its performance […]

  • Composer Steve Reich, an older man with glasses and a baseball hat stands in front of a bookcase filled with books.

    Steve Reich at 90: A Birthday Celebration

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Conductor Brad Lubman leads more than 20 musicians in a celebration of composer Steve Reich’s 90th birthday. The Bang on a Can All-Stars join Ensemble Signal—both closely associated with Reich’s work—for a concentrated survey of music by one of the central figures in contemporary composition.The program features Electric Counterpoint, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet, and […]

  • Countertenor Iestyn Davies, a smiling white man dressed in a black shirt and jacket, poses looks into the camera

    Iestyn Davies, countertenor; Oliver Wass, harps

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    Countertenor Iestyn Davies and harpist Oliver Wass travel through four centuries of music from Europe and the Americas. Davies, a Grammy and Gramophone Award-winning Handel interpreter, brings vocal beauty and technical dexterity to music spanning Monteverdi, Cavalli, Purcell, Handel, Schubert, Poulenc, Amy Beach, Nico Muhly, and Anna Meredith. Wass, the first harpist to win the […]

  • Angela Davis in conversation with Poulomi Saha

    Angela Davis in Conversation with Poulomi Saha

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Activist, author, educator, and cultural icon Angela Davis reflects on more than 65 years of work across Black liberation, feminism, queer politics, and prison abolition. From the international campaign for her freedom in the 1970s to her teaching, organizing, public speaking, and 11 influential books, Davis has remained a major voice in movements for racial […]

  • Mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska, a white woman in a dark top against foliage, with a circle inset photo of guitarist Sean Shibe, a mixed race man holding a guitar.

    Ema Nikolovska, mezzo-soprano; Sean Shibe, guitar: Orlando Variations

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    Mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska returns to Berkeley with guitarist Sean Shibe for Orlando Variations, an eclectic journey through acoustic and electric music across genres and centuries. The project draws on the character and shifting identity of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, with echoes of the medieval Chanson de Roland and Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso.Exploring love, conflict, transformation, and identity, […]

  • Harpsichordist Jean Rondeau, a white man with tall brown hair and a beard, wearing a dark green jacket, white shirt, and silver bracelets, looks off to the left of the camera.

    Jean Rondeau, harpsichord: An All-French Baroque Program

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    French harpsichordist Jean Rondeau returns with an all-French Baroque recital that treats the instrument as a living source of color, imagination, and expressive freedom. A leading international advocate for the harpsichord, Rondeau draws on historically informed practice without allowing convention to limit the music’s freshness.The program includes Louis Couperin’s Suite in D major; Rameau’s Prelude […]

  • A photo of a scene from William Kentridge's The Head and The Load, the actors playing several instruments against a multimedia backdrop.

    William Kentridge’s The Head & the Load

    Cal Performances
    Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts (HJK) 10 10th Street, Oakland, United States

    South African artist William Kentridge’s The Head & the Load brings dance, projection, speech, song, shadow play, costume, and music together to confront the largely untold history of more than two million Africans who labored, fought, and died during the First World War. The title comes from the Ghanaian proverb “The head and the load […]

  • Soprano Lise Davidsen, a white woman with long brown hair dressed in a white sweater and white fleece coat, looks toward the camera against a snowy background

    Lise Davidsen, soprano; James Baillieu, piano

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Soprano Lise Davidsen returns to Berkeley with pianist James Baillieu following a season that includes major appearances as Wagner’s Isolde. Renowned for the extraordinary power, color, and physical presence of her voice, Davidsen brings operatic scale and close attention to text into partnership with one of her generation’s leading song pianists.The program ranges from songs […]

  • A black and white portrait of Philip Glass, an older man in a dark shirt and vest wearing glasses looking directly into the camera.

    The Complete Philip Glass Piano Etudes

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Ten pianists from across the musical world—including Timo Andres, Aaron Diehl, Daniela Liebman, and Jason Moran—come together for a marathon performance of Philip Glass’ complete Piano Etudes during the composer’s 90th-birthday year. Longtime Glass interpreters and special guests each bring a distinct perspective to this unusually personal body of work.Across 20 etudes, whirling arpeggios, abrupt […]

  • Jazz pianist Jason Moran, a black man in a black suit and bow tie, looks to the side and leans agaist an upright piano.

    Jason Moran and the Harlem Hellfighters: James Reese Europe and the Absence of Ruin

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Pianist and composer Jason Moran’s multidisciplinary The Absence of Ruin examines the life and legacy of James Reese Europe, the underrecognized Black American composer and bandleader who arrived in France with the Harlem Hellfighters in 1918. The celebrated all-Black military unit helped break the stalemate on the Western Front, while Europe’s ensemble introduced a new […]

  • Three members -- two men and one woman -- of Cirque Kalabanté with bright orange transparent cloths over their heads and leaping into the air.

    Cirque Kalabanté: WOW (World of Words)

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Cirque Kalabanté’s WOW (World of Words) is a high-energy visual spectacle that brings traditional African movement and music into the Montreal circus tradition. Through explosive drumming, dance, and precision acrobatics, the production explores how knowledge passes between people, how cultures meet, and how shared respect can become a source of wonder.The troupe is led by […]

  • Mark Morris Dance Group: Holidayland

    Mark Morris Dance Group: Holidayland

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    Holidayland is a celebratory, family-friendly work that brings to life the tale of a magic village that bursts into light, music, and dancing for one day each year.

  • The Hot Sardines: Holiday Stomp

    The Hot Sardines: Holiday Stomp

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    The Hot Sardines bring a raucous yuletide extravaganza with sassy, swinging holiday classics inspired by Christmas classics to Berkeley.

  • Lukas Sternath, piano

    Lukas Sternath, piano

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    At just 24 and after bursting onto the international stage, Lukas Sternath brings a mix of Liszt and Schubert to his Berkeley recital debut.

  • Takács Quartet

    Takács Quartet

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    For their second concert of the season in Berkeley, Takács Quartet brings Beethoven's Opus 130 plus works by Mozart and Carlos Simon.

  • Mitsuko Uchida, piano

    Mitsuko Uchida, piano

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    At the height of her powers, Mitsuko Uchida performs a kaleidoscopic program of Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert for her Berkeley recital.

  • Attacca Quartet with Caroline Shaw

    Attacca Quartet with Caroline Shaw

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    The Attacca Quartet reunites with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw for the Ensemble in Residence’s second Berkeley concert.

  • Compagnie Hervé Koubi: Sol Invictus

    Compagnie Hervé Koubi: Sol Invictus

    Cal Performances
    Zellerbach Hall 2499 Bancroft St., Berkeley, CA, United States

    For this Berkeley event, 17 dancers unite to defy gravity in Sol Invictus, a work that blends contemporary dance, hip hop, and martial arts.

  • Eco Ensemble

    Eco Ensemble

    Cal Performances
    Hertz Hall (UC Campus) Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA, United States

    UC Berkeley's acclaimed new music ensemble in residence Eco Ensemble returns with its nuanced interpretations of contemporary chamber music.

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