The UC Davis Baroque Ensemble performs this weekend (in a concert with the Davis High School Baroque Ensemble) and the Symphony Orchestra takes a turn next weekend.

The Department of Music also presents the Los Angeles-based Lyris String Quartet, at 7 p.m. Saturday (April 28) in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. The program:

• Dutilleux — Ainsi la nuit
• Haydn — String Quartet No. 64 in D Major, op. 76, No. 5
• Shostakovich — String Quartet No. 3 in F Major, op. 73

The UC Davis and Davis High ensembles are presenting concertos for two instruments, at 3 p.m. Sunday (April 29) in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre.

The symphony concert is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday, May 6, in the Mondavi Center’s Jackson Hall. The program:

• Fauré — Prelude to Pénélope
• Bauer — Baton, a Concerto for Flute, Bass Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Orchestra (world premiere)
• Mahler — Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), with Wolfgang Brendel, baritone
• Kodály — Dances of Galánta

Tickets are available through the Mondavi Center box office: online; by telephone, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787; or in person, noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Benefit concert at the Mondavi

The Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts is the venue for a benefit concert next weekend by classical pianist Tien Hsieh, in support of Medicos: The Kenya Project, an exchange program involving the UC Davis and University of Nairobi medical schools.

Each year, UC Davis sends students to Kenya, where they work with University of Nairobi students and physicians in urban slums and rural villages, providing free care, especially to women and children who have been affected by HIV and AIDS. Several University of Nairobi students then come here, to work on rotations at the UC Davis Medical Center — and the concert will help pay for their trip.

Other proceeds will be used to buy medications to be used in Kenya, and to hire health workers there — physicians, medical officers and pharmacists.

The Hsieh concert, featuring music by J.S. Bach, Lizst and Mozart, is set for Saturday, May 5, in the Mondavi Center’s Vanderhoef Studio Theatre. A reception and silent auction are scheduled for 3:30 p.m., and the concert at 4:30.

Hsieh is a critically acclaimed pianist who has won several international competitions and performed across the United States and around the world. She is a recipient of the Roy M. Rubinstein Award from the Manhattan School of Music, and the Li-Ching Cultural and Educational Foundation Grant.

Tickets ($100 each or $25 for students) are available through the Mondavi Center box office: online; by telephone, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787; or in person, noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, or to reserve tickets, send an e-mail to medicoskenya@googlegroups.com.

Head start for Lovett, Martin, Izzard tix

The Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts has added three shows to the 2012-13 season, and is giving UC Davis staff, faculty and students a head start on the tickets this week. The new shows:

• Lyle Lovett — Saturday, July 7
• Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers — Saturday, Aug. 5
• Eddie Izzard — Friday, Oct. 26

And don't forget: Staff and faculty get a 10 pecent discount on single-event tickets like these (and 30 percent on series subscriptions, and 25 percent on add-on tickets and choose-your-own subscriptions); students get a 50 percent discount.

Head start ticket sales for these three "just added" events continue through Saturday (April 28); you must call or visit the box office, and you will be asked for UC Davis identification or e-mail address. Ticket sales for these "just added" shows start Sunday (April 29) for the general public. The box office is open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Phone orders: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787. Online: mondaviarts.org.

More about the new season.

From the Top invites applications

Speaking of the Mondavi Center's new season, it includes a taping of the National Public Radio Program From the Top, showcasing America’s best young classical musicians.

The Mondavi Center this week put out a news release stating From the Top is seeking talent for the UC Davis taping (scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 25) and other concerts on the show's national tour. The show accepts applications and recorded auditions continuously — and is continually making selections. To be considered for the Mondavi Center taping, you should submit your application by June 25.

The show is open to solo performers on all instruments, composers and vocalists, and instrumental and vocal ensembles. Musicians must be 8 to 18, and not have graduated from high school.

Of the more than 100 musicians chosen to appear on the radio program every year, about 20 receive Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Awards of up to $10,000 in support of further music education.

Application and scholarship information.

Tickets to the From the Top taping at the Mondavi Center are being sold in subscriber packages only. Individual tickets are set to go on sale Aug. 10.

Auditions set for Granada artist's new work

The Department of Theatre and Dance announced auditions for Granada Artist-in-Residence Ellen Bromberg’s and the snow fell softly upon the living and the dead, a new work investigating ideas of death and beauty.

The choreography credit goes to dance professor Della Davidson in collaboration with Bromberg, a choreographer and video artist. Davidson died in March. Read more about the production and the collaboration.

Students, faculty and staff are welcome to try out from 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday (May 1) in Main Theatre (Wright Hall). The sign-up sheet is in 101 Art Building; there is no need to prepare anything in advance.

Rehearsals are set to begin Wednesday (May 2), and performances are scheduled May 31 through June 3.

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