Benefit Concert SeriesIn 2008 Lick Observatory will present a summer concert series on Saturday nights to benefit the Lick Observatory Visitors Programs. Doors open and seating begins one half hour before the concert. Dates are June 28, July 12, July 26, August 9, August 23, and September 6. Information about performers, speakers, and talk titles will be announced here as they become available. Talks by our famous research astronomers will begin right after the music. Viewing through the 36-inch Great Lick Refractor follows, weather permitting. Amateur astronomer volunteers provide additional outside viewing and informal talks. Attendance not advisable for children under ten years old. NEW in 2008: viewing through the Nickel 40-inch Reflecting Telescope (except on July 26) will also be available for concert attendees. Only 160 seats are available each night. Concerts sell out quickly and ticket requests are filled in the order received. Ticket SalesTickets will again be available through the UCSC Ticket Office, Santa Cruz Civic Box Office, and at santacruztickets.com. VIP and Preferred tickets on sale May 13 Contact the Lick Observatory Gift Shop at 408-274-5061 or giftshop@ucolick.org if you have further questions about the Music of the Spheres Concerts. 2008 Ticket PricingTicket prices are the same as the past two years. Ever wonder how modern astronomy is done? What an astronomer does all night? How a telescope moves? A VIP ticket entitles you to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Shane 120-inch reflecting telescope before the concert. The Shane telescope is used in world-famous research, for example, the search for extrasolar planets. This private walking tour includes a light buffet and begins promptly 2 hours prior to the concert. This unique opportunity is limited to 20 VIP ticket holders per concert. VIP Tickets: $150
Directions to Mt. HamiltonLick Observatory is located on the summit of Mt. Hamilton in the Diablo Range east of San Jose. To get there from Hwys 101, 280, or 680, take the Alum Rock Avenue exit from Interstate 680. Go east onto Alum Rock Avenue. Turn right onto Mt. Hamilton Road (California Route 130). Allow about one hour from San Jose, and please drive carefully as the road is good, but winding. From the east, take Interstate 580 west to Interstate 680 south. Then follow the directions above Alternatively, you may take take California Route 130 to Mt. Hamilton from the east, but please allow about 1-3/4 hours from Interstate 5 to reach the Observatory. The road is long and winding, but well-maintained. Take the Diablo Grande Parkway exit off Interstate 5, heading west (away from Patterson). Take the first right on Puerto del Canyon Road (toward Frank Raines Park). Look carefully for this turn because there is not much signage. At the Junction Cafe, turn left to stay on California Route 130. Keep in mind that at 4209 feet, evenings on Mt. Hamilton can be cool, so bring a sweater or coat. We provide wheelchair access to the concerts and to the 36-inch telescope. There is no gas station at the Observatory. Parking is limited so please car pool, if possible. Area map here courtesy of Mapquest Print-friendly area map (pdf) Print-friendly local map (pdf) For more details, call 408-274-5061, between 12:30 and 5:00 pm, or email giftshop@ucolick.org Dome Safety Modification ProjectWe're continuing to work on renovating our 36-inch refracting telescope dome. When completed, this renovation will benefit Music of the Spheres Concert series and Summer Visitors Program:
We invite you to donate in any of the following ways:
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The public is invited to look through the historic Great Lick Refractor after the concert, weather permitting. VIP tickets holders may also tour the Shane telescope dome before the concert.
© UC Regents/Lick Observatory 2008 Concert DatesMore information about concerts and talks will be posted here as it becomes available. June 28Dave Rocha Jazz Trumpet Trio Dave Rocha has been performing with his jazz group for more than 20 years. He is a precise technician as well as a mature and eminently musical improviser. His band plays an eclectic mix of jazz standards, “pop” tunes, and original compositions. They perform in a wide variety of styles from up-tempo bebop, “modal” tunes, swing and blues, to latin jazz, ballads and jazz waltz. July 12Kim Angelis and Josef, Gypsy Violin & Guitar
Music of the Spheres brings violinist and composer, Kim Angelis back! Laced with the passion of the finest Gypsy Primas, Angelis is a free spirit composer/performer who, with brilliant classical technique, has blazed an international melodic trail through the territories of classical, world, and folk music. Accompanying Angelis is Josef "The Wild Hungarian" Gault, her husband and flamenco-inspired guitarist. Angelis' music was highlighted on NBC's coverage of the 2000 Olympics, her music has been nominated for several independent film awards, and her song, "Zingaro!" won the Global Rhythm Magazine international song contest in July 2007. July 26Chung Pei Ma, Violin Quartet
UC Berkeley Astrophysics Professor Chung-Pei Ma loves strings of all kinds: violin, cosmic, and super strings. She started playing the violin at age four and enjoys parallel lives in science and music, studying at both Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the New England Conservatory of Music. Before her talk on cosmology tonight, Ma teams up with her scientist-lawyer-musician friends in a performance of string quartets by Mozart and Beethoven. August 9Golden Bough, Celtic
The music of the Celtic trio Golden Bough tells the stories and mythology of the Celtic lands. Since 1980, the group has recorded and performed not only the better-known music of Ireland and Scotland, but also the music of the lesser-known Celtic lands of Wales, Cornwall, The Isle of Man, French Brittany and Spanish Galicia. Besides the traditional Celtic music, Golden Bough also performs their own compositions. Kathy Sierra‘s dulcet string tones on violin and viola colorfully complement the Celtic harp, guitar, penny whistle, recorder, octave-mandolin, accordion, and bodhran (the Irish hand drum) of Margie Butler and Paul Espinoza. Blending their voices in three-part harmony they sing ballads, lively sing-alongs and beautiful acapella pieces. August 23Oscar Reynolds & Lalo Izquierdo, Bolivian-born Oscar Reynolds is an accomplished composer, internationally-acclaimed Andean flute master, guitarist and flute-maker. Performing around the world for four decades, he is recognized for playing the Bolivian pan flutes and guitar simultaneously. This duo features the Afro Bolivian-Afro Peruvian music project: exotic Black rhythms of Bolivia and Peru combined with Quechua and Aymara Indian music. Lalo Izquirdo plays intricate rhythmic patterns on ethnic instruments as varied as a box drum, wooden piggy bank, donkey jaw, and percussive dance. Combined with Oscar's haunting panpipes and dramatic guitar chords, the music merges ancient styles and instruments to create a startlingly fresh sound. September 6Daniel Roest and Richard Gilewitz, Classical guitarist Daniel Roest always brings moving and charming classical pieces to the Music of the Spheres stage before introducing his special guest. This year Florida’s steel-string virtuoso Richard Gilewitz takes the stage following a short set by Roest. Gilewitz is known from Europe to New Zealand and throughout the U.S. for his lightning chops, quick wit, zany humor and entertaining tales of the road. As one of the most graceful fingerstyle guitarists on the contemporary acoustic scene, Gilewitz stands out in his command of the 6 and 12-string guitar. |