Features

Ashby Arts District Fundraiser 

The Transparent Theater will play host to a unique fundraiser this weekend—an effort to create a new arts district in South Berkeley. 

Epic Arts Studio, which operates the performance space, is staging the Saturday and Sunday concerts as a benefit for the newly-designated Ashby Arts District. 

Epic Arts has initiated formal partnerships with La Pena Cultural Center and The Jazz House to collaborate on future programs and encourage other artistic venues to participate in Ashby area events. 

The effort to create the arts district scored a major victory earlier this week when Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates issued a city proclamation recognizing the project. Now the only hurdle for Epic Arts coordinators is the fundraising process. 

“We realize that there are many communities operating side by side that often never interact,” said Epic Arts community organizer Tanya Hurd. 

“Through collaboration of events and programs we can bridge gaps between organizations and the communities they serve.” 

—Megan Greenwell 

UC Summer Symphony Concert  

The UC Berkeley Summer Symphony will present a free concert in Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley Campus at 8 p.m. Aug. 2. 

The orchestra, directed and funded entirely by UC Berkeley students, is the summer extension of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. Orchestra members include members of the UC Berkeley Symphony, the San Francisco and Oakland Youth 

Symphonies, and other musicians from around the Bay area. 

This year's music directors are Alexander Kahn, doctoral student in music history and literature, Mei-Fang Lin, doctoral student in composition, and Kumiko Takahashi, recently graduated with a B.A. in music. 

This summer, the orchestra will be performing Smetana's The Moldau, Beethoven's Violin Concerto, and Chaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. The soloist in violin concerto will be Julieta Mihai, a Romanian violinist who has just completed a DMA in violin performance at the University of Illinois.  

For details, visit www.geocities.com/ 

summersymph2003 or call 510-701-6590. 

—Daily Planet Staff