Human Library featured at Walker Hall

Walker Hall, 1220 (Gibeling Conference Room), Noon to 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4

Take a finals study break and check out a human "book" in Walker Hall. Come with an open mind and listen to a life experience different than your own: what you hear may change you.

As a "reader" (listener),  you can drop in anytime, and for as much time as you'd like.

Final week of UC Davis concerts starts with noon concert student chamber ensembles

• Rezső Sugár: Allegro from Quartet for Strings and Piano
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Allegro from Duet, WoO 32 (“Duet With Two Obligato Eyeglasses”)                
• Antonín Dvořák: Allegro con fuoco from Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-Flat Major, op. 87
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arr. M. Kurth: Allegro from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik                                            
• Richard Rogers, arr. R. Duke: “My Funny Valentine” from Babes in Arms                                  
• Mikhail Glinka: Trio Pathétique in D Minor  
• David Popper: Requiem for Three Cellos and Piano, op. 66
• Jerry Lopes: Down in the Valley
• Edward Elgar, arr. Harry Walker: “Nimrod” from Enigma Variations
• Karalyn Schubring: Ambivert

Valente Lecture features Juan David Rubio Restrepo

Thursday, Dec. 4, 4–5:30 p.m., Room 266, Everson Hall, UC Davis

Originally from Colombia, Juan David Rubio Restrepo’s research interests include theories of the human; decolonial theory; media studies; cultural and ethnic studies; critical theory; studies of music and sound; ethnomusicology; and Latin American, Chicanx, Caribbean and African American thought.

Art Walk and undergraduate art exhibition Friday

Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, Maria Manetti Shrem Art Hall & TB 9, Davis, noon to 3 p.m.

Undergraduate art studio students will display their work throughout the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Hall and TB-9 on Friday,  from noon to 3 p.m. Refreshments will be available.

UC Davis Choirs perform songs of hope and judgment; get tickets now

Professor Nicolas Dosman conducts sectionals in the concert choir in a recent rehearsal. (Phil Daley/Courtesy)

The choirs of UC Davis undertake an evening of works inspired by the themes of “Hope and Judgment” in their fall quarter concert. The performance is Dec. 5 at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts and begins at 7 p.m.

Featuring the UC Davis Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, both directed by faculty member Nicolás Dosman, the concert offers an array of music that is inspiring and reflective. A special highlight the concert will be a performance of John Rutter’s Gloria, conducted by a graduate student in conducting and composition Peter Chatterjee, who recently conducted the UC Symphony Orchestra in an October performance. The Rutter will be performed with visiting artists in brass, percussion, and organ.

The program includes two works by Hildegard von Bingen — O cruour sanguinis and O virtus Sapientie — as well as André Thomas’ I Dream a World, Randall Thompson’s The Last Words of David, Josephine Poelinitz’s A City Called Heaven, György Orbán’s Daemon irrepit Callidus, Mark Butler: Signs of the Judgment, Kim Andre Arnesen’s Even When He Is Silent, Z. Randall Stroope’s Revelation, Rollo Dilworth’s United in Purpose, Sergei Rachmaninoff’ Bogoroditse Devo Raduysya and Mack Wilberg’s “Jubilate Deo.”

Tickets are $12 UC Davis students; $15.50 children (under 18), $24 faculty/staff $27.50 and regular (reserved seating). Tickets are available at the Mondavi Center Ticket Office in person or by calling 530-754-2787 between noon and 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Tickets are also available online at Tickets.MondaviArts.org.

For more information about the Department of Music in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis, visit arts.ucdavis.edu/music.

Student recitals 

Art-related gifts offered on campus and in region

Giving the gift of art is easy in our region. 

Make it Shine with Kyle Cavan: Elevate your UC Davis school pride with jewelry from Kyle Cavan. Featuring university iconography and selections from the limited Robert Arneson Egghead collection.

The Gorman Museum of Native American Art Store features a variety of Native American items sourced directly from Native artists and Native American-owned businesses. The gifts include glassware, cards, housewares, clothing and many other items.

Visit the museum and store, or shop online. Drop in on their exhibition if you are there in person. 

Shoppers peruse the Gorman Museum of Native American Art in the museum's lobby.

UC Davis Craft Center offers glass and natural earth work in its lobby exhibition: “To Watch a Rock Grow: Ikigai C Ichigo Ichie’ an artistic expression of the natural world” featuring more than 2,000 hand-formed ceramic cherry blossoms, ceramic rocks, and birds to create unique reflective moments. You will find jewelry, ornaments, dishes and other tableware and many other great items for sale through Dec. 10 at the UC Davis Craft Center (next to the silo food area). Artists are Craft Center instructors Randy Won and Rachael Richards. The exhibition opened in October.  The Craft Center is open through Dec. 5. More details below.

Craft Center location and hours:

South Silo Building, (530) 752-1475; http:campusrecreation.ucdavis.edu/craftcenter/

Monday-Thursday 12:30 - 10 p.m.

Friday 12:30 - 7 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Off campus

The Pence Gallery in Davis has a gift shop https://pencegallery.org/visit/shop/, 212 D Street, Davis

The Artery Winter Market runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 31, https://www.theartery.net/.

Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, https://www.crockerart.org/visit/store, 216 O Street
Sacramento

Last weekend for Woodland Opera House ‘A Christmas Carol’

Through Dec. 7, The Historic Woodland Opera House, 340 Second Street, Woodland

Week 3: Thursday (12/4) and Friday (12/5) at 7:30 p.m., Saturday (12/6) at 2 and 7:30 p.m., Sunday (12/7) at 2 p.m.

Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, played by Nathan Uebelhoer and Sophia Atti respectively.(Joshua Wheeler/courtesy)

The Woodland Opera House invites audiences to step into the warmth and wonder of the holiday season with A Christmas Carol The Musical, opening November 21 and running through December 7, 2026. Based on Charles Dickens’ beloved work and featuring music by Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid) and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime), this vibrant adaptation brings new life to the classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his journey toward redemption.

Under the direction of Steve Mackay, with choreography by Staci Arriaga and musical direction by Amanda Bistolfo, this production combines powerful performances, festive choreography, and dazzling design elements that capture both the magic and meaning of the season. The show features a talented cast of local performers, from seasoned veterans to rising young stars, supported by a creative team dedicated to bringing 19th century London to life with stunning costumes, lighting, and set design.

Filled with familiar carols, original songs, and plenty of holiday cheer, A Christmas Carol: The Musical is a family-friendly experience sure to delight audiences of all ages. More information on times and ticket prices on the website.

Coming up

Get tickets for Mondavi Center’s Anat Cohen Tentet

Saturday, Dec. 13. Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m.

Brooklyn-based clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen has won hearts and minds all over.

Video below 

With acclaimed albums and multiple Grammy nominations, Cohen has grown into a border-bounding musician’s musician in jazz, drawing on everything from Latin and Middle Eastern rhythms to klezmer influences and jazz harmonies.

For her Mondavi Center performance, she will be joined by her Tentet of talented players along with her co-producer/co-arranger Oded Lev-Ari, whose knack for “putting lightning in a bottle” is evident on the band’s latest release, Triple Helix (DownBeat Magazine). The Chicago Tribune raves that the album’s three-movement concerto is “a work of considerable expressive reach” with a “sensuous tonal palette.”

More information and tickets here.