One year ago today, news of George Floyd’s death in police custody reverberated across the country and around the world, leading to Black Lives Matter protests and, at UC Davis, a strengthening of the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
First, a few words about William Wiley
Before we plow into the weekend s (and next week s) great art events, I would like to take a moment to remember first-generation UC Davis art faculty William Wiley. Some of my most fun and interesting days at the UC Davis campus were spent with Wiley. He came back to the university in 2014 to present his iconic Gong sculpture to campus. I wrote about that event here. Today, the San Francisco Chronicle published his obituary, which does a great job telling his life story from his days before UC Davis, at UC Davis, and after UC Davis. He was 83, passing away this week after battling Parkinson s disease. There will be more on Wiley later.
Tam will perform at the noon concert Thursday.
Derek Tam appears regularly throughout the Bay Area and beyond as a conductor and historical keyboardist. He is the executive director of the San Francisco Early Music Society, a major advocate for early music in the United States, and serves as the artistic director of the biennial Berkeley Festival & Exhibition, an internationally renowned celebration of early music. Tam is president-elect of the board of Early Music America, a national organization dedicated to strengthening historical performance. For more details about this concert, visit the
And more music shared by Mondavi Center: Stravinsky
In a time when even the smallest groups of musicians are unable to physically gather, a group of 34 performers met virtually to perform Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring ‘Sacrificial Dance.”