Special Events Overview

The Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council sponsors four special
critically-acclaimed events annually:

	The Pleasanton Poetry, Prose & Arts Festival
	The Mark Anderson/Tamriko Siprashvili Two-Piano Benefit Concert
	Don Lewis and Young Expressions
	The Pleasanton Chamber Players Concert

In addition to these annual events, PCAC hosts various other events throughout the year.

The Pleasanton Poetry, Prose & Arts Festival

PP&A Festival Logo This is an exciting full-day celebration of poetry, prose, and visual arts held every year filled with inspiring and informative workshops, events, contests and people. This year's keynote speaker will be Jane Hirshfield, award-winning poet, essayist and translator.

This event will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 5 & 6, 2008 at the Pleasanton Senior Center, 5353 Sunol Boulevard, Pleasanton, CA.

More than $1,000 will be given in awards in the Poetry and Prose Contests. Registration and contest submissions are now being accepted for this event. NOTE: CONTEST ENTRY DEADLINE IS SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2008.

Click here to find out how to enter the contests and how to enroll in the workshops.

The Mark Anderson/Tamriko Siprashvili Classical Piano Concert

Mark and Tamriko present an evening of splendid classical piano every year at their two-piano benefit concert for Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council's Arts in the Schools program. This year's concert will take place at 8:00 p.m. on February 16, 2008, at the Amador Theater, 1155 Santa Rita Rd., Pleasanton, CA. The concert program will include works by Rachmaninoff, Kreisler, Mozart, Debussy, and Bolcom.

Click here to read more about the artists and this special event.

Young Expressions:
An Event Showcasing Artistic Fusion

Pleasanton Musician, Don Lewis, and Local Students Perform

The City of Pleasanton Civic Arts hosts this annual event which features professional Pleasanton musician Don Lewis and a troupe of local student artists in Young Expressions. They will showcase their impressive talent in an inspiring multi-media show on March 29, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. in the Amador Theater on the Amador Valley High School Campus. It will be followed by a "meet-the-artists" reception in the school library. Civic Arts is a program of the City of Pleasanton Department of Parks and Community Services. Young Expressions showcases a fusion of musical eras, genres and talent — traditional to contemporary, classical to pop, vocal to instrumental. The production features students who applied for Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council scholarships, many of whom plan careers in the performing arts.

"The theme that runs through this show is one of connectedness," says the show's writer and producer, Julie Lewis. "We acknowledge that negatives exist in the world, but show how music and art can make the world a better place by healing and creating an atmosphere of well being and peace."

About Don Lewis

Don Lewis is a musician and educator who began playing piano as a Dayton, Ohio, high school student. Later, at Tuskagee Institute, he performed with the Tuskagee Chorus and played for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Freedom Rallies. Don became a pioneer in synthesizer use and technology and, in 1977, designed and built a synthesizer system that was an inspiration for Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). It is now on display at the Museum for Making Music in Carlsbad, CA. Don's varied career has included performances worldwide and studio artist work with celebrities such as Quincy Jones and Sergio Mendez. He has created scores for film and television and has composed music for commercial videos. To learn more about Don Lewis, please visit his website at www.donlewismusic.com.

About the Students Who Performed Last Year

Performing with Don Lewis were alto saxophonist Michael Czaja, dramatist Caitlin O'Leary, vocalist Josselyn O'Neill and pianists Sierra Stevens and Brian Szeto.

Michael Czaja is a sophomore at Foothill High School and has performed at Pleasanton's Youth Music Festival and Children's Arts Festival for several years. He plays first alto in Foothill's Jazz Band A for the second year and has won solo awards at the Campana Jazz Festival as well as the Folsom, Santa Cruz and Reno Jazz Festivals.

Caitlin O'Leary is a theater student at Cal State East Bay and has studied with the American Musical Theater of San Jose Conservatory for two years. She has won many awards for her acting and hopes to perform on Broadway. In Young Expressions, she and Don Lewis play the roles of spoken word "connectors" between musical segments.

Josselyn O'Neill is a junior at Amador Valley High School. She began voice lessons at age five and has performed in many local musicals and at UCLA's Performing Arts Camp. In addition, Josselyn has achieved honors in voice competition with the California Music Teachers Association. Currently, she participates in the Young Rep's Musical Theatre Program at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts.

Sierra Stevens is a graduate of Foothill High School and is currently a Las Positas College student where she is studying music. She says, "Music is not a passion; it's a lifestyle." While in high school, Sierra performed in the orchestra for the Amador and Foothill High Schools Spring Concert and played organ for her church. Recently, she was hired as pianist for all Pleasanton Playhouse productions.

Brian Szeto is a sophomore at Foothill High School who has received awards at many competitions, including the East Bay Music Festival and the U.S. Open Competition. He has performed in several Junior Bach Festival concerts in Berkeley, CA. Brian now studies cello and string bass and plays cello in Foothill's string orchestra. He plays bass guitar as a hobby.

About Civic Arts

Civic Arts is a program of the City of Pleasanton Department of Parks and Community Services. Its mission is to provide creative outreach to the citizens of Pleasanton and the surrounding area through opportunities to experience a wide variety of the arts. Civic Arts manages the Amador Theater on the Amador Valley High School campus where it produces Civic Arts Presents and the School Concert Series. The program offers an array of classes in many forms of artistic expression for all age groups. Civic Arts sponsors Pleasanton's Poet Laureate and Public Art programs as well as special arts-centered events such as the Children's Arts Festival, the Poetry, Prose and Arts Festival, and Free Shakespeare in the Park by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival. Recorded information about all upcoming Civic Arts events is available at 925-931-5361.

The Pleasanton Chamber Players in Concert:
"The French Touch"

The Pleasanton Chamber Players will present their one and only 2008 concert on Sunday, February 24, 2008, at 3:00 p.m. in the Amador Theater, 1155 Santa Rita Road, Pleasanton, CA. The main narrative of this event, entitled The French Touch, will take the audience on a musical voyage from the Baroque era to modern times, revisiting well-known composers while also unveiling less recognized characteristics of the French repertoire and style. Strings, flute, clarinet, voice, harp and piano will gather in various intimate groupings of 2, 3 or 4 giving each performer the opportunity to sing and soar.

Sponsored by the City of Pleasanton's Civic Arts Presents, these accomplished Pleasanton musicians will entertain you with beautiful masterworks for strings, clarinet, flute, piano, harp and voice.

Click here read more about this special event.