Music

News

Announcement

Rita Sahai Recipient of a Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) Award

Rita Sahai, Lecturer in Music and Director of the UC Davis Hindustani Vocal Ensemble, has been selected as a recipient of a Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) Award, which is given annually by the Welfare Society of India to accomplished Indians living abroad.

Announcement

Juan Diego Díaz Awarded the Helen Roberts Prize
Society for Ethnomusicology

UC Davis Department of Music Professor Juan Diego Díaz has been awarded the Helen Roberts Prize by the Society of Ethnomusicology for the most significant article in the field of ethnomusicology published in the previous year. Diaz received his prize for his article “From Claves Ethnotheory to Clave Theories: A Path Toward Decolonizing Music Analysis,” which was published in the journal Ethnomusicology, the flagship journal in Ethnomusicology. 

Announcement

UCD Music Student and Alumni Participate in CALCAP Chamber Music Workshop

UC Davis Department of Music undergraduate student Zoe Plateau and music alumni Annamarie Bosco, Andrew Hudson, Larry Lozares, Avery Snyder, Ben Saetern, Natalie Laurie, Katie Gorden, Asa Stern, Laura Zhang and Oscar Santamaria were participants in this year’s CALCAP Chamber Music Workshop held at California State University, Sacramento. 

Announcement

Pablo Ortiz’s Music Distinguished Career

Words matter, and to Pablo Ortiz — Distinguished Professor of Music at UC Davis — they are vital to his music.

Upcoming Events

Event

Colin Minigan: “For Quail Ridge”
Outdoor Live Sound Installation

Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

featuring the
UC Davis Percussion Ensemble

“For Quail Ridge” is a live sound installation exploring the sonic qualities of space, ritual observation, and the boundaries between individuals and the non-human communities we inhabit.

>> Reserve a spot

Important Notes

  • This performance installation is not on the UC Davis campus. It is located near Lake Berryessa.
  • The work is designed to be hiked through, and the hike is somewhat strenuous, with 500 feet of elevation climb. However, you will be able to experience the full piece from any point along the trail at any time — including from the field station near the parking areas without needing to hike at all. Please use your best judgment when setting out, and bring a water bottle!
  • Cell phone service is limited, as is parking.
  • Please read the information page before committing.
  • Reservations are required. It’s free!
Quail Ridge Natural Reserve, Napa, CA
Event

Tod Brody, flute
Ellen Ruth Rose, viola

Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Tod Brody, flute
Ellen Ruth Rose, viola

Program

Works by Josiah Catalan, Chris Castro, Mei-Fang Lin, Ellen Ruth Harrison, and Brien Henderson. 

Free
a Shinkoskey Noon Concert

Ann E. Pitzer Center, Davis, CA
Event

Davis Humanities Institute Re-Opening and Celebration: “The Tallest Dwarf” Film
Followed by a Discussion

Ann E. Pitzer Center

Please join us for a community event and celebration of the Davis Humanities Institute’s (DHI) relaunch after a multiyear visioning process in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. Professor of Cinema and Digital Media Julie Forrest Wyman, will present her feature-length documentary “The Tallest Dwarf,” which charts her quest to find her place within the little people (LP) community at a moment when dwarf identity is poised to radically change. This campus premiere of the film will feature a discussion with the filmmaker and a reception following.

>> Reserve a Free Seat via Eventbrite

Venue is accessible, and film is captioned.

The Tallest Dwarf premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) in 2025, and, beginning April 6th, will be broadcast nationally and streamed on the PBS series “Independent Lens.” The film was made possible in part with funding from campus entities including the Davis Humanities Institute, the College of Letters and Science, Office of Public Engagement, and the Academic Senate.

The Davis Humanities Institute is proud to host a screening of the Tallest Dwarf as the inaugural event of its new public programming. The event embodies the DHI’s renewed mission: to support and showcase humanities research and artistic practice in dialogue across disciplinary boundaries, and in service of publicly engaged scholarship. Please join us for an evening of celebration, and to learn what’s next for the DHI!

Schedule

4:00 p.m. – Doors Open

4:30 p.m. – Film (1 hour and 32 minutes) in the Recital Hall

6:00 p.m. (est.) – Q & A following the film with the film’s director Professor Julie Forrest Wyman joined by Mark Povinelli, an actor, lead participant in the film and also the former president of Little People of America, 

Moderator Natalia Duong, assistant professor of Asian American Studies and Science and Technology Studies.

6:20 p.m. (est.) – Reception in the Grace and Grant Noda Lobby with a live music interlude from the Department of Music.

Ann E. Pitzer Center, Davis, CA
Event

Chase Spruill, violin
Faythe Vollrath, harpsichord

New Paths for Old Instruments: Contemporary Works for the Harpsichord

Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Chase Spruill, violin
Faythe Vollrath, harpsichord

This program focuses on modern works for solo harpsichord or harpsichord and violin, including world premieres by Peter Machajdik and Sunny Knable. 

Program

Peter Machajdik: Sustainable Mindfulness (2024) PREMIERE

Jean Ahn: Archimides’ Principle (2021)

Sunny Knable: Sonata 1776 (2025) PREMIERE

Free
a Shinkoskey Noon Concert

Ann E. Pitzer Center, Davis, CA
Event

Earplay

Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Terrie Baune, violin
Ellen Ruth Rose, viola
Thalia Moore, cello
John Chernoff, piano

Program

Gustav Mahler: Piano Quartet (1876)

Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quartet in C Minor,  op. 15, no. 1

Free
a Shinkoskey Noon Concert

Ann E. Pitzer Center, Davis, CA
Event

Student Recital: Sophia Wahanik, double bass
Junior Recital

Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

with Karen Rosenak, piano

Program

To be announced.

Free

Ann E. Pitzer Center, Davis, CA
Event

Picnic Day: Synth Petting Zoo
Saturday, April 18

Sound Lab, Art Annex

Listen, imagine, and create in the Sound Lab at UC Davis. Learn about electronic music and sound synthesis through hands-on exploration of analogue and digital instruments both old and new.

Free

Art Annex, Davis, CA
Event

Picnic Day: Music Student Performances

Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Program Includes

Lowell Liebermann: Gargoyles, op. 29
Amy Beach: Dreaming
Angelina Melis

Frédéric Chopin: Polonaise, op. 40, no. 1
Johannes Brahms: Selections from 6 Klavierstücke, op. 118
Kian Abulhosn

Free

Ann E. Pitzer Center, Davis, CA

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