The Department of Music warms up winter with these concerts:

VIOLIN FESTIVAL

The festival program includes three performances, all of them open to the public:

• Baroque Dances—Tangkao Tan, performing common Baroque dances, including the gavotte, sarabande and loure, with accompaniment by UC Davis faculty affiliates Michael Sand (violin) and Phebe Craig (harpsichord). 12:05 p.m. Jan. 21.

• 20th-Century Recital—Violinist Fritz Gear-hart, performing his Sonatina, op. 2; Mozart’s Sonata in E Minor, K. 304; Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano; and Brahms’ Sonata in G Major, op. 78. With pianist John Cozza. 7 p.m. Jan. 22.

• Baroque Recital—Violinist Jaap Schröder, performing with Sand, Craig and Marc Vanscheeuwijck (cello). 7 p.m. Jan. 23.

The venue for all three performances is the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Admission is free for the Jan. 21 dance program, while tickets are required for the Jan. 22 and 23 concerts.

Gearhart and Schröder are scheduled to present free master classes, Gearhart’s at 11 a.m. Jan. 22 and Schröder’s at 11 a.m. Jan. 23, both in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre.

The Violin Festival also includes a free lecture-demonstration by UC Davis faculty affiliate Dan Flanagan: “The Violin and the Dawn of Recording.” The program is scheduled at 12:05 p.m. Jan. 19 in 115 Music Building.

EMPYREAN ENSEMBLE: PROGRAM TWO

In its second concert of the year, UC Davis’ ensemble in residence spotlights three of its members: Tod Brody (flute), Ellen Ruth Rose (viola) and Chris Froh (percussion). The program: John Cage’s Music for ________ (1984-87); Wayne Peterson’s Pas de Deux for flute-alto flute and marimba-vibraphone (2006); and the world premieres of John MacCallum’s El Árbol de la Noche Triste for viola and electronics; Pablo Ortiz’s The Viola in the Motorcycle Boy’s Life; and Laurie
San Martin’s Dawn Song for flute and marimba. Ortiz and San Martin are UC Davis faculty composers. 7 p.m. Jan. 24, Vanderhoef Studio Theatre.

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2, with Hrabba Atladottir, violin; Lyadov: Kikimora; and Mussorgsky: Pictures from an Exhibition. 8 p.m. Feb. 7, Jackson Hall.

Tickets: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or mondaviarts.org