The Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts is looking for high school musicians to play in a new ensemble, the Mondavi Center SFJAZZ High School All-Stars. And they already have a gig lined up: opening for the SFJAZZ Collective’s March 29 concert in Jackson Hall.

As the name implies, the Mondavi Center is collaborating with SFJAZZ in forming the eight-member ensemble. SFJAZZ is the West Coast’s largest nonprofit jazz institution and the presenter of the annual San Francisco Jazz Festival.

“The Sacramento region has an incredible wealth of talent among its jazz educators, students and working players,” said Jeremy Ganter, associate executive director and director of programming for the Mondavi Center. “We hope to build on that existing foundation by providing this special opportunity for young musicians to study the collective’s music and learn alongside its members.”

According to a Mondavi Center news release, preliminary auditions will be held by audio submission, which should include five tunes in a variety of styles and a range of tempos. Final auditions, by invitation only, will be held before a panel of judges.

The ensemble is modeled after the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo, established in San Francisco in 2010. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with the Mondavi Center to expand this program into other regions,” said Rebeca Mauleón, director of Education for SFJAZZ.

“This program gives music students highly visible opportunities to play at festivals and competitions around the country,” she said, noting that two members of last year’s ensemble were invited to play with Esperanza Spalding at the Grammys, and many of last year’s participants received scholarships to notable universities and conservatories around the country.

Mike McMullen, a jazz studies faculty member at California State University, Sacramento, and a founding member of the Capital Jazz project, has been chosen to lead the Mondavi Center ensemble.

“This ensemble is meant to be a high performing group of A-list players from the region,” McMullen said. “It will be a great challenge for these students, but it will also be very rewarding. I think the students will get a lot of satisfaction out of the project because of the difficulty and intensity of the music that they will learn and present at the Mondavi Center in March.”

The ensemble is scheduled to come together in October, and the members will be expected to learn several SFJAZZ Collective charts and participate in clinics with collective member Robin Eubanks.

Mauleón described McMullen as “an extraordinary musician and the perfect individual to mentor the students in the Mondavi Center ensemble.”

“Under his guidance, the ensemble will have the ability to study challenging new works by living composers. I see a lot of future opportunities for the Mondavi Center ensemble to work with the collective as well as the San Francisco-based all-stars.”

The application form is available online. The deadline for submission is Aug. 15; each packet should include a letter of recommendation and audio submission. Each ensemble member will receive a pair of tickets to see each artist in the Mondavi Center’s two jazz series in 2011-12: Capital Public Radio Jackson Hall Jazz and Studio Jazz.

More information. Questions? Contact Ruth Rosenberg, artist engagement coordinator, (530) 752-6113 or rrosenberg@ucdavis.edu.

More at the Mondavi

• Return to Forever IV — The much honored jazz-rock fusion ensemble is making one of its storied returns to action, almost 40 years after appearing on the scene. Driven once again by the powerful engine of Chick Corea’s keyboards, Stanley Clarke’s bass and Lenny White’s drums, RTF IV takes to the road in the company of French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, veteran of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Australian guitarist Frank Gambale, described by the Mondavi Center as "fiery-fingered." Zappa Plays Zappa — founded by Dweezil Zappa, son of the late Frank Zappa — shares the bill. 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, Jackson Hall.

Tickets are available online, or by visiting or calling the Mondavi Center box office, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787. Box office hours: noon-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and one hour before ticketed events.

SummerMusic on the Quad

The Mondavi Center once again presents a free summer concert series, open to the public, with all ages welcome. This year's series comprises two events — a Cajun concert by Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys, and an Indian dance party, Non Stop Bhangra — with each program linked to different special themes in the center's 2011-12 season.

The Mamou Playboys "will give us a taste of Louisiana, tying in to our Spirit of New Orleans week in November," said Don Roth, the Mondavi Center's executive director, while Non Stop Bhangra will evoke the center's seasonlong Focus on India.

Each concert is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., with the Quad set to open at 6 for picknicking. Note: Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the UC Davis campus.

• Saturday, July 16 — Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys, performing Cajun music from the backwaters of southwest Louisiana. The band's history spans more than 20 years and includes three Grammy nominations: Trace of Time, (1993), Bon Reve (2003) and Live at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (2008). Featuring Riley on accordion, Sam Broussard on guitar and Kevin Wimmer on fiddle.

• Saturday, Aug. 13 — Non Stop Bhangra, or NSB, celebrating Punjabi folk music and dance, is legendary in San Francisco, where NSB parties are held the third Saturday of every month. On Aug. 13, the second Saturday of the month, DJ Jimmy Love and the Dholrhythms Dance Company bring Non Stop Bhangra to the Quad. "Imagine a scene from a Bollywood movie, smack in the middle of a thumping nightclub — swirling colors, the rhythm of pounding feet and the relentless energy of brilliant beats," states the NSB website. The Mondavi Center announced that the NSB party on the Quad will start with a dance lesson for the audience. Dance performances will follow, with Love spinning a mix of bhangra, hip-hop, reggae and electronica.

Read more about SummerMusic on the Quad.

THE MONDAVI CENTER: 2011-12

Tickets are available online, or by visiting or calling the Mondavi Center box office, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787. Box office hours: noon-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and one hour before ticketed events.