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Camerata Pacifica, the international chamber music collective renowned for its musical versatility and bold programming, continues it season with five wide-ranging and deeply creative works highlighting the oboe and viola, including three for solo instrument, November 10-15, 2024, at four Southern California venues.

The performances are Sunday, November 10, 3:00 pm, at Thousand Oaks’ Janet and Ray Scherr Forum; Tuesday, November 12, 7:30 pm, The Huntington in San Marino; Thursday, November 14, 8:00 pm, Zipper Hall in Downtown Los Angeles; and Friday, November 15, 2024, 7:00 pm, at Santa Barbara’s Music Academy of the West.

The program opens with Camille Saint-Saëns’ Sonata for Oboe and Piano in D Major, Op. 166, a brilliant three-movement piece performed by Principal Oboe Nicholas Daniel, whose playing “bursts with exuberant charisma and optimistic allure” (MusicalCriticism.com), and Principal Piano Irina Zahharenkova, heralded for her “impressive…musical colour” (Bachtrack), in her second appearance of the season.

Daniel also reprises Helen Grime’s rhapsodic Two Birthday Fragments, which she composed for him in celebration of his 60th birthday, and was premiered by him at London’s Wigmore Hall in 2022.

British violist Timothy Ridout, “that rare kind of musician who could play a cardboard box and make it sing” (Guardian) takes centerstage for two solo works, including York Bowen’s vivacious Viola Sonata No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 18, and Iranian composer Niloufar Nourbakhsh’s impassioned Veiled for Solo Viola and Live Electronics with Fixed Media. Nourbakhsh explains the piece has a message of empowerment, “It takes a lot of courage to stand up against something that everyone has accepted as normal. Personally, as an Iranian woman, I carry a lot of anger with me: the anger that comes from things I’ve witnessed happen to the women in my personal life, to larger scale growing up in a country that actively veils women’s presence — be it through compulsory hijab or banning solo female singers from pursuing a professional career. For me it’s important to transform this anger into a collective force that is both beautiful and resilient. Veiled is a tribute to Iranian women who made such transformations possible.”

Both Ridout and Daniel join Zahharenkova on the finale, Thomas Oboe Lee’s dazzlingly lyrical trio Parodia Schumanniana, titled after a species of cactus.

For tickets ($75 at The Huntington, Music Academy of the West, and Zipper Hall; $91 at Janet and Ray Scherr Forum) and information, visit www.cameratapacifica.org.

Ventura, CA — Now more than ever, we need to gather as a community. Quilt Project Gold Coast invites you to join their annual World AIDS Day vigil on Sunday, December 1, 2024, at 5:30 PM on the front steps of Ventura City Hall (501 Poli Street, near Downtown Ventura).
This year’s event honors those lost to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and raises awareness for continued efforts in prevention and care. The event will feature a powerful display of the AIDS Memorial Quilts, which will be visible from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM, leading into the vigil from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM.
Event Highlights:
• Introduction by Quilt Project Gold Coast President Keith Coffman-Grey
• Invocations from Rev. Melissa Campbell Langdell, Rev. Dana Worsnop, and others
• Musical Performance by Mark Lager
• City of Ventura Proclamation Reading by Councilman Doug Halter
Following the program, attendees will have the opportunity to light a candle in memory of their loved ones. Battery-powered candles, generously provided by the City of Ventura, will be distributed to all participants during the vigil’s period of silence.
If you are unable to attend the vigil, you are encouraged to visit the Quilt display earlier in the afternoon between 2:00 PM and 5:30 PM. This year’s exhibition includes several newly added panels, each a poignant reminder of the lives lost.
Let us come together as a community to honor, remember, and advocate for a future free from AIDS.

Get creative with Explore Ecology every Saturday, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm in the EE Makerspace above Art From Scrap! Be inspired by our reuse materials and see where your imagination takes you.

Our November theme is “Cardboard Creations.” Make dioramas, holiday crackers, and more this month. Get inspired to recycle and reuse your cardboard at home for creative art projects!

Your ticket includes all materials and time in the EE Makerspace.

Cost: $8.00 per person. Crafternoons are for kids ages 5 and up. Please note that our workshop is upstairs and will be utilizing hot glue guns, adults must remain in the EE Makerspace with their child.

By attending this event, you consent to being photographed and/or recorded. These images and recordings may be used for promotional and marketing purposes. If you do not wish to appear in these materials, please inform the event staff upon arrival.

OXNARD, CA: The U.S. Coast Guard released its latest summary of statistics for boat-ing incidents, revealing 3,844 accidents that involved 564 deaths, 2,126 injuries and approximately $63 million dollars of damage to property as a result of recreational boating accidents. Where cause of death was known, 75% of fatal boating accident victims drowned. Of those drowning victims with reported life jacket usage, 87% were not wearing a life jacket. Alcohol continued to be the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents. Not surprisingly, 74 percent of deaths occurred on vessels where the operator had not received boating safety instruction.

The Coast Guard encourages all boaters take a boating safety course that meets the National Boating Education Standards before they go boating.

The U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary's Boat America course is an introductory boater certifi-cate course designed for the novice boater. The 1-day course on Saturday November 30 in Oxnard, CA. consists of seven core lessons, providing up-to-date knowledge for boating safety. Coast Guard Auxiliary civilian instructors are experienced recreational boaters with in-depth knowledge of boating safety and skills. Topics include Introduc-tion to Boating, Boating Law, Safety Equipment, Safe Operation and Navigation, Boat-ing Emergencies, Trailering, and Sports and Boating tips.

This Boat America course provides the knowledge needed to obtain a California boat-ing certificate. The Boater Card, issued from the state Division of Boating and Water-ways, is required this year for persons 60 years of age or younger.

Class date is Saturday November 30, 8:00a.m. to 4:30p.m. Location is Coast Guard Recruiting Building, 4202 S. Victoria Ave. Oxnard, CA. Cost is $32.00. Checks payable to: “USCG Aux Flotilla 72”. RSVP by November 22 is required, seating limited. Contact Auxiliarist Robert Hamming, rhamming@sbcglobal.net, (805) 701-7216.

One night only! Join the Ventura Improv Company as they create a heartwarming holiday tale, in the style of your favorite made-for cable movie! Directed by Mike McCafferty. Buy your tickets online in advance or $15 at the door.

Cherished Belonging:
The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times

“The answer to every question is, indeed, compassion.” – Gregory Boyle

“Father Greg Boyle makes amazingly winsome connections between things like service and delight, and compassion and awe – amazing, because he works in an urban setting others describe in terms of crime and despair.”
– Krista Tippet, host of On Being

Over the past 30 years, Father Gregory Boyle has transformed thousands of lives through his work as the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention program in the world. The program runs on two unwavering principles: 1) Everyone is unshakably good (no exceptions) and 2) we belong to each other (no exceptions). Every community wants to be a safe place, where people are seen, and are cherished. At a time when society is more fractured than ever, Boyle’s forthcoming book Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times invites us to see the world through a new lens of connection and build the loving community that we long to live in. Boyle was named a Champion of Change by President Obama in 2014, and was a recipient of the 2024 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Books will be available for purchase and signing, courtesy of Chaucer’s Books

The Nutcracker Suite

Tap and jazz take on Tchaikovsky in Dorrance Dance’s vibrant version of this beloved holiday classic. The renowned tap company boogies, slides, struts and dives through the magical story of a young girl and her fantastical Christmas adventure. Taking their cue from Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s extraordinary reinterpretation of The Nutcracker Suite, Michelle Dorrance and co-choreographers Hannah Heller and Josette Wiggan transform the Sugar Plum Fairy into a slinky Sugar Rum Cherry, while the “March of the Toy Soldiers” becomes a swinging “Peanut Brittle Brigade.” Featuring live music.

“A vibrant blend of bluegrass with flashes of Old West, anchored by Tuttle’s earthy-yet-angelic vocal and the entire group’s ace musicianship.” Billboard

A gifted songwriter and vocalist, Molly Tuttle’s spellbinding lyrics and exquisitely-crafted sound have garnered her a Best New Artist Grammy nomination and unprecedented back-to-back wins for Best Bluegrass Album of 2022 and 2023. She is lauded as “one of the world’s best guitar players” by American Songwriter and is the first woman ever named Guitar Player of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Together with her band, Golden Highway, Tuttle weaves modern folk, bluegrass and Americana into an eclectic yet seamless musical fabric that stretches from Del McCoury to Jefferson Airplane and beyond.

Featuring Michelle Dorrance

Michelle Dorrance, artistic director of the award-winning New York City-based Dorrance Dance, shares her deep dedication to tap dance, its traditions and its possibilities. All levels welcome. (No tap shoes allowed on the Carrillo Recreation Center floors, please leave them at home.)

FREE

Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara is excited to host a free Brunch & Learn: Diagnosis & Treatment of Prostate Cancer – A New Look at the Latest Approaches, with Tanya Dorff, M.D. Dr. Dorff is an internationally renowned leading prostate cancer expert at City of Hope. This Brunch & Learn is a special event of Cancer Support Community’s Prostate Cancer Networking Group that meets on the 3rd Sunday of the month, facilitated by Dr. Kevin Axelrad and Phil Dipaola, MA, LMFT. Dr. Dorff will discuss the latest in immunotherapy for prostate cancer, explore cutting-edge treatments, and answer your questions. You, your partners, and family members are all welcome to attend in-person or via Zoom. Don’t miss this opportunity to ask your questions!

Date: Sunday, November 17th, 2024, 10:30am to 12:30pm, Place: Cancer Support Community Vally/Ventura/Santa Barbara, 4195 E. Thousand Blvd., Suite 107, Westlake Village, CA 91362.

EVENT IS FREE- brunch will be served and registration is required.

To register, please call (805) 379-4777, or email Programs@cancersupportvvsb.org or go to https://cancersupportvvsb.org/event/brunch-learn-workshop-diagnosis-treatment-of-prostate-cancer-a-new-look-at-the-latest-approaches/.