Arts & Events

Worth Noting:

A packed week ahead that closes with daylight savings time.

Policing in Berkeley starts Monday with a policing proposal, followed with an ordinance to prohibit discriminatory reporting to law enforcement at the Public Safety Committee at 10:30 am. Monday afternoon at 2:30 pm the Agenda Committee will review the draft agenda for March 22 which contains item 40 undoing protections from no cause search and seizure of persons on parole/probation. Monday afternoon at 4 pm is the Press Conference following Berkeley Police holding the Program Manager of the Berkeley Drop-in Center at gunpoint, handcuffed and on the ground who was at work doing his job completing decorations in observation of Black History month. Monday evening at 7 pm the Personnel Board will review a revised job description/classification for the investigator of police misconduct. Tuesday evening at City Council is the report of the implementation of Fair and Impartial Policing in Berkeley and the Crime and Collision report. Wednesday is the Police Accountability Board at 7 pm. Thursday morning at 9 am the Budget Committee will take up the report from the auditor citing improvements needed in managing police overtime and the absence of contracts with outside entities. Thursday evening is a special council meeting to receive the reports on the Reimagining Policing work at 6 pm. If all three reports are read the total is 754 pages.

BART Parking, Parking enforcement and reconfiguring Hopkins starts Monday morning at 10:30 am the Public Safety Committee will review the recommendation from the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission to enforce existing parking code in high fire zones. The Hopkins Traffic Corridor study and recommendations is Monday evening at 6 pm. The BART meeting on parking at the BART stations is Wednesday at 6 pm. The BART housing developments will be built on the Ashby and North Berkeley BART parking lots.

Toxic Contamination, groundwater and sea level rise (SLR) presentation by Kristina Hill is Tuesday at 3 pm. The impact on groundwater and toxic sites is the piece of SLR that never gets attention. This is important as it changes the assumptions of SLR impacts.

Saturday March 12^th the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council will take up Berkeley issues, the agenda isn’t posted yet, but the above makes it look like a full plate. -more-

Perennial favorite Jordi Savall returned to Berkeley on Friday evening, March 4, 2022, under the auspices once again of Cal Performances. This time, Jordi Savall was joined by the ensemble he and his late wife, Montserrat Figueras, founded many years ago, Le Concert des Nations. For this concert the music offered came from the 1992 film by Alain Corneau Tous les Matins du Monde. This beautiful film, with an imaginative scenario by Pascal Quignard, dealt with the relations between the reclusive master viola da gambist Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (ca. 1640-ca.1701) and the young Marin Marais (1656-1728), whom Sainte-Colombe reluctantly agreed to tutor. So gifted was the pupil that Marin Marais quickly rose to become principal violist in the court orchestra of Louis XIV at Versailles, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Lully. For this film, Jordi Savall directed and performed the music of Sainte-Colombe, Marais, Lully, Couperin, and others. Quite remarkably, the film Tous les Matins du Monde enjoyed huge international success. Moreover, a recording of the original sound track of this film became a hit among music buffs, thus expanding interest in early classical music. For the March 4 concert at Berkeley’s First Congregational Church, Le Concert des Nations was comprised of director Jordi Savall on seven-string viola da gamba; Manfredo Kraemer on violin; Charles Zebley on flute; Marco Vitale on harpsichord; Lucas Harris on theorbo and guitar; and Philippe Pierlot on seven-string viola da gamba. Opening the concert the musicians performed a Suite from the opera Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Jean-Baptiste Lully, composed for the play by Molière. Featured was ceremonial music for the Turks, and for this music, Lucas Harris played guitar, and Philippe Pierlot offered frequent pizzicato accompaniment to the ensemble. Next came the work entitled Le Retour, from the Concert XLI for two violes by Sainte-Colombe. The burnished tones of the two violas da gamba melded beautifully as they exchanged musical motifs in lively interaction. -more-