Cal Performances

A fresh look at a familiar place. Fall on the UC Berkeley campus, home to the venues where world-class artists meet Berkeley’s culture of fearless ideas.

All season long, these spaces bring together students, neighbors, and longtime audiences. We’ll see you there!

Explore the 2026–27 season: http://bit.ly/4um2daN

Before jazz took over the world, it crossed the Atlantic with a regiment of soldiers.

James Reese Europe led the band of the Harlem Hellfighters, who landed in France on New Year’s Day 1918. His musicians brought jazz to a country worn down by war, and then his name faded from the story.

On Saturday, November 21, Jason Moran brings Europe’s music back to life in The Absence of Ruin, with bassist Tarus Mateen, drummer Nasheet Waits, a seven-piece horn section, and visuals by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young (Arrival, Selma).

Make it a weekend: the night before (Friday, Nov 20), Moran joins nine other pianists, including Timo Andres and Aaron Diehl, for The Complete Philip Glass Etudes.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4eatV4H

Before Mariachi Herencia de México takes the Zellerbach Hall stage tonight, founder and director César Maldonado talked with KTVU Fox 2 about the musicians behind the music.

We’re celebrating Día de los Mu***os with the songs of Juan Gabriel and the band’s signature blend of mariachi with salsa, bolero, cumbia, and son jarocho. Come sing along.

Tonight, 7:30pm | Zellerbach Hall

Join us: https://bit.ly/4ygz0iU

Berkeley welcomes Mariachi Herencia de México With musicians from the United States and Mexico, Mariachi Herencia de México shares the sounds and traditions of mariachi with audiences around the world. The group is in Berkeley for a special concert Friday, October 23 at 7:30PM at Zellerbach Hall, celebrating Día de Los Mu***os and the music o...

Sondheim, Bernstein, Paul Simon… sung by a Met Opera tenor? We’re in. 🎶

This Sunday, Ben Bliss, the “honeyed lyric tenor” (The New York Times) who has starred at The Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera, makes his Cal Performances recital debut with pianist Christopher Allen.

Their program is all American and full of surprises. It includes Broadway favorites like Sondheim’s “Being Alive” and Bernstein’s “Some Other Time,” Paul Simon’s “Bridge over Troubled Water,” Ray Charles’s arrangement of “America the Beautiful,” and songs by Ives, Barber, and Philip Glass.

Join us for an intimate afternoon of great American songs. 🎹

📅 Sun, Oct 18, 3pm
📍 Hertz Hall

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4zas0FL

Mendelssohn wrote his String Quartet in F minor in the months after losing his beloved sister, F***y, and you can hear it in every note. This Sunday, the Takács Quartet and pianist Jeremy Denk bring that music to Zellerbach Hall. Swipe through to meet the musicians, including the quartet's newest member, cellist Mihai Ma**ca.

Also on the program are César Franck's passionate Piano Quintet and Quijotadas, inspired by Don Quixote's wildest delusions, by Berkeley's own Gabriela Lena Frank, this year's Pulitzer Prize winner in music.

🗓️ Sunday, October 11 at 3pm
📍 Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley
🎟️ Experience live: https://bit.ly/4eablcz