A Home for Music and Education Marks its First Decade

From concerts to rehearsals, to lectures on musical literature, the Ann E. Pitzer Center is a home for music at UC Davis. On Oct. 1, the center marks its tenth year of operation with a concert that also opens the music department’s 2026–27 season. 

Chair of the music department, Sam Nichols, says, “With this opening Shinkoskey Noon Concert, which is part of one our longest running offerings to the community, we want to convey a sense of gratitude for everyone that made the Pitzer Center come to life, and all the vibrant music activities that now take place in it.”

The concert is on Oct. 1 at 12:05 p.m. with Chris Froh, percussionist, and Natsuki Fukasawa, pianist, performing alongside their students, including pianist Angelina Melis, a double major in music and human development. The program includes Japanese Traditionals: Sakura and Oedo Nihonbashi with Sarah Siu. Graduate student composer Guang Yang's Wooden Skeleton’s Whimsical (a premiere) featuring Megan Shieh (B.A., music ’08), and Eric Whitacre’s Sleep (arranged). Natsuki Fukasawa will perform Johannes Brahms’s Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, accompanied by Igor Veligan, violin; and Mike Dahlberg, cello.

The building opened in fall of 2016 and was named after Ann E. Pitzer, a UC Davis alum who was a former member of the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees and had a long history of giving to her alma mater. With a home economics degree in 1958 Pitzer followed by a master’s degree in textiles from UC Berkeley, and during her life had careers in software development, hospitality and the arts. 

Architect Curtis Owyang (LPAS) purposefully oriented the building toward downtown Davis to welcome visitors. The spacious lobby, named for Grace and Grant Noda, is where concertgoers greet one another before a concert. The main feature is its nearly-400-person recital hall. Over the past ten years, everything from solo and choral performances to electronic and new music to jazz and bluegrass — as well as non-Western student music ensembles including Mariachi, Gamelan, Samba, Brazilian Capoeira, Hindustani vocal singers and more — have taken place there. It is estimated that more than 250 new works of music have been given their first performance in this hall.

On the educational side, the center houses 11 dedicated spaces, including teaching studios that are outfitted with specialty instruments, such as a five-octave marimba. The rooms are fitted with high ceilings and acoustic insulation to promote the proper resonance of sound. 

Other October concerts in the Pitzer Center include:

• Oct. 8 at 12:05 p.m.: Artu Duo, pianist Garret Ross and cellist Ruth Marshall   
• Oct. 15 at 12:05 p.m.: Carrie Hennessey, soprano, Jennifer Reason, piano, and Susan Lamb Cook, cello
• Oct. 22 at 12:05 p.m.: The Mighty Wallops, Bobby Waller, voice, guitar and songwriter; Matt Albright, trombone; Portia Njoku, tuba and Peter Halldorf, drums 
• Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.: Empyrean Ensemble, conducted by Matilda Hofman
• Oct. 29 at 12:05 p.m.: Del Sol Quartet featuring Benjamin Kreith and Hyeyung Sol Yoon, violins, Charlton Lee, viola, and Kathryn Bates, cello

The Ann E. Pitzer Center is located at 144 Hutchinson Drive on the UC Davis campus, and nearby parking can be found in Visitor Lot 5. 

For details about future Department of Music performances visit music.ucdavis.edu.