Performing Arts

"Meet the Brass"

Instruments are really just tubes, sticks, blocks and strings….and it’s all vibration. The SFCO All-Star Brass Quintet makes lots of funny sounds and then shows how we turn it into music!

Very First Concerts, a classical series designed with the youngest listeners in mind. Each interactive, 20 minute concert features a central theme, short selections, and hands-on musical activities geared toward families with young children.

Berkeley Public Library presents In the Stax: A Music Series with Wasska Project

Join us for a live music concert featuring guitarist Javier Trujillo and percussionist Mariela Herrera of Wasska Project. 

Based in the Bay Area, Wasska Project is a colloquial musical idea that fuses Latin-American traditional harmonies with classical guitar resources.The colors of the cajon, donkey jaw, cajita, spoons, and Afro Peruvian tap dancing are exposed to the dynamics of the guitar, bringing a rich conversation between oral tradition and a colorful cadence in the strings.

Please join us at the Frances Albrier Community Center located at 2800 Park St. in Berkeley for a musical story time series with the Berkeley Public Library's Story Time Band. These events will take place on Thursdays 3/28, 4/18, and 5/16 at 10:30 a.m. Each session will feature live music, movement activities, and read-aloud stories for children ages 2-7. See you there!

Band Bio

Celebrate Berkeley's poetic legacy and present with Berkeley’s Poets Laureate!

Join us for a poetry reading and conversation with Aya de León (Berkeley Poet Laureate), Julia Segre (Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate), and Serena Griffin (Berkeley Vice Youth Poet Laureate). 

This reading will take place at the Central Branch (5th Floor) on Monday, May 13th at 6pm. (It was rescheduled from April 22nd.)

ABOUT THE POETS

Ballet and Books is back!

Ballet & Books is a non-profit organization of UC Berkeley students who mentor children ages 6-9 in literacy and dance, working to close the literacy gap and connect with the community.

March 2nd, Ballet and Books will take place on the 4th floor in the Story Room! 

Email berkeley@balletandbooks.org for more information on registration!

Berkeley Public Library presents In the Stax a Music Series featuring the songs and sounds of musician, Nyree. 

Nyree, aka, Ngiare has participated in various musical collaborations for the past 10 years. Having grown up in Florida, Nyree has found a home in the Bay Area as a CIIS Certified Therapeutic Sound Practitioner. She is a singer-songwriter on a path creating space for all of us to connect back to ourselves, nature and each other. She uses her voice, sound and vibration in hopes of changing the world.

Mbira Music of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's beautiful mbira music has been used for healing, personal mediation, celebrations, and communication with the ancestors of all humankind for over 1,000 years. It can be mellow and meditative or lively and energetic.

Bay Area based Zimbabwean musician 'Salani' Wamkanganise naGaadza joins Berkeley native Erica Azim for an mbira presentation that will include a performance, discussion and a short period of instruction at the end for those who want to try playing the mbira instrument.

Mbira Music of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's beautiful mbira music has been used for healing, personal mediation, celebrations, and communication with the ancestors of all humankind for over 1,000 years. It can be mellow and meditative or lively and energetic.

Bay Area based Zimbabwean musician 'Salani' Wamkanganise naGaadza joins Berkeley native Erica Azim for an mbira presentation that will include a performance, discussion and a short period of instruction at the end for those who want to try playing the mbira instrument.

Mbira Music of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's beautiful mbira music has been used for healing, personal mediation, celebrations, and communication with the ancestors of all humankind for over 1,000 years. It can be mellow and meditative or lively and energetic.

Bay Area based Zimbabwean musician 'Salani' Wamkanganise naGaadza joins Berkeley native Erica Azim for an mbira presentation that will include a performance, discussion and a short period of instruction at the end for those who want to try playing the mbira instrument.

Join us again at the Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch in the Community Meeting Room for an afternoon choir performance starring UC Berkeley's choral ensemble NICE, Dil Se (a Southeast Asian A capella group), Mahiwaga (a Filippino A Capella group) and Berkeley Chinese A Capella (Chinese A Capella group)

All ages welcomed!