Young People’s Symphony Orchestra Winter 2009 Concerto Concert
Music Director David Ramadanoff celebrates his 20th season as Music Director/Conductor. Program will include Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphoses as well as Concertos by Bartók, Weber, and Lalo performed by Dylan Mattingly (age 17), Annie Sandholtz ( 17), Violin, Madison Greenstone (16), Clarinet . Feb 7, 8 pm and Feb 8, 2 pm, Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church, 10 Moraga Valley Lane, Moraga. Tickets: FREE on Sunday. Saturday: $15 general; $12 seniors and students. For more information, call 510-849-YPSO, via email at ypsomusic@yahoo.com, or go to www.ypsomusic.net.
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The Campolindo High School Instrumental Music Department, under the direction of Mr. Harvey Benstein, invites you to a Cornucopia of music this February. On Feb. 18th, the Orchestra performs “Violin Concerto in D Major, Op.77 by Johannes Brahms, with guest soloist Jassen Todorov. A native of Bulgaria, Mr. Todorov has appeared with major orchestras in the U.S and Europe, and has been hailed as “an outstanding violinist…a player to watch” by the British music journal The Strad. The program closes with the enchanting and timeless “Peter and the Wolf,” by Serge Prokofieff, narrated by Stacey Kikkawa, Campolindo Choral Director.
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On Feb. 23rd, the Chamber Music Recital showcases some of Campolindo’s outstanding classical musicians performing solo and ensemble pieces. Finally, on Thursday, Feb. 26th the Concert and Symphonic Bands perform “The Dream of Abraham” by Daniel Bukvich, “Concert Overture,” by Keith Gates, and the West Coast Premier of “Symphony for Band," a piece by James A. Beckel, commissioned by the Campolindo Symphonic Band. All performances are free and open to the public, beginning at 7:30 in the Campolindo Performing Arts Center.

Bert Monroy, Master Artist Tribute VIII: A Digital Artist Paints With Light through April 5. The Hearst Art Gallery of Saint Mary’s College is pleased to present a major survey of the preeminent digital master Bert Monroy, a world-renowned Photoshop artist and teacher, known for pioneering and innovative digital painting technique. The exhibition opened in January and continues through Sunday, Apr. 5, 2009. Public Hours: Wed - Sun, 11 am - 4:30pm Admission: $3; children 12 and under free; Gallery members free. 925.631.4379. www.hearstartgallery.org
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A Photoshop Demonstration with Bert Monroy will take place on March 19th at the Moraga Room of the Soda Center at Saint Mary’s College. 7-8 pm demonstration, with an exhibition walk through with artist from 8-8:30. Free to the Public. Call (925) 631-4379 for more information.

The Moraga Art Gallery presents “The Northern Lights” in Moraga through March 14th. The show will highlight artworks by local artists Vivien Hart and Nina Tyksinski. Vivien, who lives in Orinda, creates artful cabinetry knobs and pulls from fused glass, “functional art on a glass canvas.” Lafayette writer-turned-painter Nina Tyksinski’s recent paintings seek to capture the phenomenon of the northern lights using watercolor while placing them in local surroundings, including the Chapel at Saint Mary’s and Mount Diablo. The Moraga Art Gallery is a co-operative gallery of 20 artists in the Rheem Valley Shopping Center, 570 Center Street in Moraga (MoragaArtGallery.com).Open Tuesday through Sunday, 12-5 pm, 925-376-5407.
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First Friday at Moraga Art Gallery, Feb. 6, 2009, 7-9 p.m. Nancy Robinson Oils painting demo . www.moragaartgallery.com
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"Objects of Affection,"
the new show at the Lafayette Gallery, 50 Lafayette Circle, runs through March 7th, 2009. A festive public reception will be held on Feb 6, 2009, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The show coincides with Valentine’s Day celebrations. The viewer is treated to multiple canvases offering a fine art gift for your object of affection. For this special show, gallery artists create 12"x12" canvases with their personal interpretation of affection in all its many guises. Gallery Hours: 11–5 pm Tue. – Sat., 50 Lafayette Circle, 925-284-2788.
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Illuminated Sculpture runs through Feb. 22 at the Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. The exhibit will showcase sculptures using a variety of forms of illumination including gases, incandescent light and emerging mediums like laser, plasma, fiber optics and light-emitting diodes (LED). Captured inert gases (e.g. neon, argon, helium) can yield a wide range of colors from vivid purple to sky blue to intense yellow. Opening Reception: Sunday, Jan 11, 3-5 pm. Meet this innovative group of light artists, enjoy wine and hors d'ouevres. Free for LCA members, Friends of the Bedford. General admission $5.
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The Art Connection, well known for their watercolor and mixed media installations of abstracted landscapes and experimental artwork on paper and canvas is showing their new work at the Lindsay Dirkx Brown Art Gallery in San Ramon. Marianne Brown, a local painter and teacher in Moraga, as well as Pat Dews, international workshop instructor and author, has influenced the group. Four award-winning California artists make up The Art Connection: Angela Cheng, Ann Marie King Hauser, Pamela Howett and Mary Claire Stotler. Community Center, 12501 Alcosta Blvd. San Ramon, CA. The reception is Sunday, Feb.8, 3 to 5PM.

Crab Feed & Dance – Sat., Feb 7, 6 – 11 pm. Bring your appetites & dancing shoes. Music provided by popular DJ. Dinner & dance $35; dance only $10. For info and reservations call (925) 672-6799. Holy Trinity Cultural Center, 1700 School St., Moraga.
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Soroptimist International Crab Feed and Silent Auction -6pm on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Oakwood Athletic Club-Lower Court 4000 Mt. Diablo Blvd in. Lafayette. Dinner to include crab, pasta, salad, bread, ice cream and coffee. Beer, wine and soft drinks will be available for sale. Proceeds to benefit Soroptimist International of 24-680, a non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world. $35.00 per person. Reservations needed. No ticket sales at the door.
925-688-1480,
http://www.soroptimist24-680.org.

9th Annual Kiwanis Club of Moraga Valley Crab Feed on Saturday, Feb 14th
Holy Trinity Cultural Center, 1700 School Street, Moraga, 6pm: No Host Cocktails. 7PM – Dinner – Music – Dancing --Silent Auction: Merchandise, Services & Attractions, Crab Pot – Go home with a lot of cash! Tickets $45.00 per person. $10 corkage fee . Proceeds benefit local charities For tickets see any member of Moraga Valley Kiwanis ,or Call Paul Ratto 925 899-9536.

On Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2008 at 7 p.m., the Orinda Library invites audiences to a talk by a trained BRT docent on Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s (BRT) new production, the world premiere of ‘In the Next Room or the vibrator play” by Sarah Ruhl which illuminates the lives of six lonely people in the twilight of the Victorian age and the local doctor who promises them relief through modern technology. Gallery Room . Free of charge and will last about an hour. The Orinda Library is at 26 Orinda Way For more information, please call (925) 254-2184 or visit the library website at ccclib.org.

First Friday Forum will feature Jasmina Vujic, PhD., head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley, speaking on The State of Nuclear Energy. The meeting will be held Feb. 6 in the Sanctuary, 1:30 p.m. at the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian church 49 Knox Drive, Lafayette. Refreshments served at 1 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Professor Vujic says, "This country has neglected nuclear energy for the last 20 or 30 years, but it will be the way of the future. We are now going through a nuclear renaissance with exciting growth in three areas of long-term strategic importance: energy security and independence; homeland security and non-proliferation; and nuclear medicine, imaging and cancer therapy."
Come with your questions on this pertinent topic. For information, call 925-283-8722.
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MEDITATION WORKSHOP with Brother Camillus Chavez "Meditation on the Archetypes" The archetypes are mysterious patterns we inherit through our common humanity. They are part of our inner structure and potential. Connect to your archetypes at a deeper level of consciousness and awaken to their power and possibility. Questions: Please contact Brother Camillus at cchavez@stmarys-ca.edu or log on to http://www.brothercamillus.com/brcamillus. You can email your confirmation for the workshop or leave a message at (925) 631-4344. Suggested donation: $20.00
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Saint Mary’s Kalmanovitz School of Education’s Distinguished Speaker Series: Dr. Michael Pritchard - comedian, author, TV star SOS Save Our Schools - Live, Love, Laugh, Learn! Feb 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Soda Center
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Creative Writing Reading Series at St. Mary’s College - Dana Johnson- Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, 7:30 pm at the Soda Activity Center. A native of Los Angeles, Dana Johnson worked as a magazine editor before completing her M.F.A. at Indiana University. She is now an assistant professor at the University of Southern California, where she teaches creative writing and literature. She is the author of the short story collection Break Any Woman Down, winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction in 2001. Her latest book, co-written by Allison Umminger under the pen name Grace Grant, is Eye to Eye. See story page 5
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The California Writers Club–Tri-Valley Branch offers writers of all genres and experience levels the opportunity to learn about their craft and share their work. The next meeting is on Sat., Feb. 21 from 11:30 am to 2 pm at Oasis Grille, 780 Main St, Pleasanton. The meeting cost is $21 for members and $27 for nonmembers, including lunch. Anyone curious about the group is invited to attend with no obligation to join. Reservations are required. Contact Fred Norman at
Fnorman300@aol.com or 925-462-7495 by Wed., Feb. 18. www.trivalleywriters.com.
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The 9th Annual Bookies Award Dinner, A Celebration of Books and the People Who Love Them, will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2009 at the Lafayette Park Hotel. This year's special guest author is Annie Barrows. Tickets are $50 each and include admission, dinner, dessert and Jacuzzi Family Vineyard wines. Proceeds benefit Project Second Chance, The Contra Costa County Library adult literacy program. Tickets - Tickets go on sale Monday, Feb. 9 and can be purchased with a credit card by calling Fremont Bank at 510-723-5811. Book club reading lists will be on display. If you would like your club to be included, please email the titles and authors you read this past year to darraw944@astound.net.
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Children’s Events at the Moraga Library-500 St. Mary's Rd. 376-685
Storytime: Stories and crafts for children three to seven. Tuesdays through March 17, 4-4:30 pm
Lapsit: Stories, songs and bounces for baby and caregiver. Wednesdays through March 18, 10-10:20 am
Toddlertime: Stories, rhymes and fun. Ages 2 to 3-1/2 with adult participation. Wednesdays through March 18, 10:45-11:15 am