Cal Performances
Encyclopedia
Cal Performances is the performing arts presenting, commissioning and producing organization based at the University of California, Berkeley
.
's landmark performance in Jean Racine
's Phèdre
on May 17, 1906, at the William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre was a testament to the restorative powers of the performing arts for the thousands of citizens who had been impacted by the earthquake, and the atmosphere of expectancy surrounding the appearance of "The Divine Sarah" was rewarded by her decision to donate the proceeds of her performance to the Emergency Relief Fund. Bernhardt's wild popularity combined with the Greek Theatre's spectacular design and atmosphere, set in motion the tradition of performing arts presentation in Berkeley. In the words of theater director Samuel Hume, it was the event that "placed the Greek Theatre definitely in the field of the commercial theatre."
William Dallam Armes, Chair of the Musical and Dramatic Committee, realized that the Theatre's large seating area (of about 6,500) made it economically feasible to invite big-name artists of national and international standing such as Bernhardt. Major stars of the time such as Margaret Anglin
and Maude Adams
brought notoriety to the campus through the Hearst Greek Theatre, in conjunction; the theatre also burnished their reputations as well.
Soon after the Greek Theatre opened, University faculty and administration realized the need for a smaller stage suited to productions requiring an intimate setting. In 1917, the campus gained a 1,050-seat (now reduced to 700) auditorium with the opening of Wheeler Hall
, in the heart of the university campus. Wheeler Hall's auditorium immediately became a vital performance venue overseen by the Musical and Dramatic Committee, where it was possible to increase the variety of chamber music and recital programs offered, as well as drama, lectures and other entertainments.
Though members of the Drama, Music and Dance departments realized that Wheeler Auditorium was not the ideal venue for the performing arts on all occasions, several uncompleted projects and, later, the financial strains of The Great Depression delayed the completion of a venue designed for such performances. The opening of Alfred Hertz
Memorial Hall in 1958, with its formidable collection of organs and superior acoustics, was marked by the May T. Morrison Music Festival, a presentation of 11 programs between April 15 and May 22, 1958, presented by the Committee on Drama, Lectures and Music. Music critic Alfred Frankenstein
claimed Hertz Hall to be the finest auditorium in California.
Seeing that Wheeler Auditorium and Hertz Hall were not suited for presenting drama and dance, Zellerbach Hall
was built in 1968. Zellerbach Hall consists of two main theaters: the 2,015-seat Auditorium and the 500-seat, multiform Playhouse. The Playhouse was conceived as a laboratory in which students can learn all aspects of the dramatic arts.
, first facilitated the university's ambitions through their donation of funds that enabled the erecting of Hearst Greek Theatre. What the Greek Theatre made possible was realized through numerous persons who served as Chair of the multi-monikered Committee of faculty members that oversaw performing arts presentation on campus.
Samuel J. Hume (1918-1924), Director of the Greek Theatre and Chair of the Musical and Dramatic Committee: As a student at UC Berkeley, Hume had developed strong roots in theater. Succeeding Armes after his death, Hume established year-round programming for the Greek Theatre, Wheeler Hall and Harmon Gymnasium, as well as various off-campus sites. He created fall and spring seasons of modern and classic drama productions at Wheeler Hall, and created the Prize Play Contest to stimulate new work among California playwrights, enlisting George Jean Nathan
, Eugene O'Neill
and Susan Glaspell
to judge the entries. Hume also organized the Western Association of Art Museum Directors to route the touring of exhibits to the western states.
William Popper (1924-1945), Chair of the Committee on Music and Drama: Following Hume's departure, the University merged the Greek Theatre management and the Musical and Dramatic Committee, to form the Committee on Music and Drama. The eight-member group of faculty members selected Popper as chair and, illicitly, the director. During Popper's tenure, due to the rise of campus art clubs, there was an increase in the number of artists visiting campus and the expanded use of the University space for performance. The new Committee established basic ideals and procedures, with priority of performing arts presentation set upon education. Popper's assiduous record-keeping kept the program on budget, even throughout the Depression and World War II. He was the first director to suggest that an endowment be established to supplement the budget, in order to reduce the pressure for financial success.
Betty Connors (1945-1979), Director of the Committee for Arts and Lectures: Following suggestions that the campus have a distinct concert presenting unit, the University approved the position of Director (initially "Secretary") through the University Extension; the first salaried position devoted exclusively to the management of concerts on campus. The first person to fill the position was Betty Connors, a recent UC Berkeley graduate of the Department of Music. Throughout her tenure, Connors sought to prioritize the educational aspects of the performing arts while also steadily increasing the scope of arts presentation. Lectures by poets and writers, including Thomas Mann, Dylan Thomas and W.H. Auden, came to the fore, and the campus saw a broadening of musical tastes as represented by folk, jazz and early-music events. Connors was also able to facilitate the expansion of the performing arts program thanks to the addition of Hertz and Zellerbach Halls. The artists she brought to campus included harpsichordists Ralph Kirkpatrick
and Gustav Leonhardt
, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich
, pianists Glenn Gould
and Rudolf Serkin
, soprano Birgit Nilsson
, mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne
, French mime Marcel Marceau
, theater artists Jean-Louis Barrault
and Madeleine Renaud
, Jerzy Grotowski
's Polish Theatre Lab, sitarist Ravi Shankar
, Maurice Béjart
's Ballet of the 20th Century, the Joffrey Ballet
, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and jazz artists Dave Brubeck
and Louis Armstrong
, among many, many others. Also during Connors's tenure, the organization was renamed the Committee for Arts and Lectures—or "CAL"—in 1959.
Susan Farr (1980-1986), Director of Cal Performances: With 35 years of Betty Connors's success preceding her, Farr believed her priority for the campus was to sustain the existing presenting program. She sought out resources to meet the increasing costs of presenting, and negotiated contracts with Bill Graham Presents and other promoters of popular music for the use of the Hearst Greek Theatre. Farr also supported the touring of contemporary dance ensembles and brought to Berkeley a variety of troupes including Bella Lewitzky
Dance Company, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
and Pilobolus Dance Theater, in addition to classical dance ensembles. Cal Performances, as it then began to be called, introduced Bay Area audiences to numerous folk dance and music ensembles. Additionally, Farr founded the Student Committee for the Arts to encourage campus participation in Cal Performances.
Robert Cole (1986-2009), Director of Cal Performances: Cole, a musician and conductor, was selected by a committee of the Academic Senate who felt that both the University and Cal Performances would be best served by the appointment of an individual with a specialty in the field. Cole's appointment relieved the former faculty Committee for Arts and Lectures of programmatic responsibility and moved artistic authority to the newly hired Director of Cal Performances. Chancellor Michael Heyman established a new advisory committee to guide Cole and appointed former Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Haas School of Business
, Earl Cheit, to chair.
For Cole, one of the chief attractions of the position of Director of Cal Performances was the organization's proximity to the UC Berkeley Department of Music. Cole made it a priority to seek the music faculty's advice in expanding the presenting program on campus and, in particular, enlisted their ideas to develop a festival of early music. In 1990, Cole founded the Berkeley Festival & Exhibition of early music, now a biennial weeklong festival presented in association with the UC Berkeley Department of Music, the San Francisco Early Music Society and Early Music America.
By establishing long-term relationships with university faculty and important artists, commissioning and producing new works and discovering new talent, Cole wanted to position Berkeley to become a major arts hub. His programmatic philosophy is reflected in the relationship that Cal Performances has built with artists such as Mark Morris Dance Group, which has appeared at Cal Performances annually since 1987.
Under Cole's leadership, Cal Performances also commissioned or co-commissioned new work from artists including Peter Sellars
; choreographers Merce Cunningham
, Twyla Tharp
, Bill T. Jones
and Pascal Rioult; the Kronos Quartet
; actor/director Robert Lepage
; and storyteller/musician Laurie Anderson
. Notable commissions and world premieres presented by Cole include John Adams's song-play, I Was Looking at the Ceiling, and Then I Saw the Sky, with libretto by UC Berkeley poet June Jordan
, directed by Peter Sellars (1995); and 1996's Nur Du (Only You) by German expressionist choreographer Pina Bausch
and her Tanztheater Wuppertal. In 2004, Cal Performances hosted the world premiere of Silk Road, co-commissioned with Yo-Yo Ma
's Silk Road Project
.
Cole spotted and presented numerous artists before their rise to fame. In 1991 Cole presented the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli
. Then a little-known singer who did not fill Hertz Hall when she made her West Coast recital debut, today she is one of the most sought-after stars on the opera stage. Among the artists Cole presented in their first U.S. or West Coast appearances early in their careers are Bryn Terfel
, Ian Bostridge
, Maxim Vengerov
and Vadim Repin
, and Jonathan Lemalu
.
Cole has been recognized within campus and worldwide for his achievements at Cal Performances. David Littlejohn wrote, "Cole's programming of Cal Performances has been more adventurous than Lincoln Center's and broader in scope than that of the Brooklyn Academy of Music
." In 1997 UC Berkeley Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien
awarded Cole the Berkeley Citation, the campus's highest administrative award. In 1995 Cole was made Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by France's Minister of Culture and Francophilia, and he received the William Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters in 1998.
In 2007, Cole announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2008/2009 season.
, and prior to that the Senior Director of Artistic Planning at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
.
At the New York Philharmonic, Tarnopolsky worked extensively with Music Director Lorin Maazel
, Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert and other pre-eminent conductors and artists in creating the artistic profile of the New York Philharmonic. From 1999 to 2006, Tarnopolsky was Director of Programming, and later, Senior Director of Artistic Planning, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) where he collaborated with Music Director Daniel Barenboim on all aspects of the CSO's programming, and was responsible for Symphony Center Presents, the CSO's prominent presenting series, which programs some 60 piano recitals, visiting orchestra performances, chamber music, contemporary music, and other programs annually. There he also created the CSO's new music series, MusicNOW; brought the West-Eastern (Arab-Israeli) Divan Workshop and Orchestra to Chicago; spearheaded collaborative projects with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
, the Art Institute of Chicago
, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
, Northwestern University
and University of Chicago
, among others; and he programmed the CSO's training orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and led the artistic planning of the CSO's education and community programs. Tarnopolsky was previously a producer for the BBC Symphony Orchestra
and BBC Singers
(1997-1999), and has written extensively about music, including material for liner notes, program notes, and articles for magazines and other publications. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in music and musicology, respectively, from the University of London
, King's College
.
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Founding and Early Expansion
The San Francisco earthquake and fire of April 18, 1906 proved momentous to the rise of this arts institution in Berkeley. Sarah BernhardtSarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
's landmark performance in Jean Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
's Phèdre
Phèdre
Phèdre is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677.-Composition and premiere:...
on May 17, 1906, at the William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre was a testament to the restorative powers of the performing arts for the thousands of citizens who had been impacted by the earthquake, and the atmosphere of expectancy surrounding the appearance of "The Divine Sarah" was rewarded by her decision to donate the proceeds of her performance to the Emergency Relief Fund. Bernhardt's wild popularity combined with the Greek Theatre's spectacular design and atmosphere, set in motion the tradition of performing arts presentation in Berkeley. In the words of theater director Samuel Hume, it was the event that "placed the Greek Theatre definitely in the field of the commercial theatre."
William Dallam Armes, Chair of the Musical and Dramatic Committee, realized that the Theatre's large seating area (of about 6,500) made it economically feasible to invite big-name artists of national and international standing such as Bernhardt. Major stars of the time such as Margaret Anglin
Margaret Anglin
Mary Margaret Anglin was a Canadian-born Broadway actress, director and producer whom Encyclopædia Britannica calls "one of the most brilliant actresses of her day."...
and Maude Adams
Maude Adams
Maude Ewing Kiskadden , known professionally as Maude Adams, was an American stage actress who achieved her greatest success as Peter Pan. Adams's personality appealed to a large audience and helped her become the most successful and highest-paid performer of her day, with a yearly income of more...
brought notoriety to the campus through the Hearst Greek Theatre, in conjunction; the theatre also burnished their reputations as well.
Soon after the Greek Theatre opened, University faculty and administration realized the need for a smaller stage suited to productions requiring an intimate setting. In 1917, the campus gained a 1,050-seat (now reduced to 700) auditorium with the opening of Wheeler Hall
Wheeler Hall
Wheeler Hall is a building on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California. Home to the English department, it was named for the philologist and university president Benjamin Ide Wheeler.The building was opened in 1917...
, in the heart of the university campus. Wheeler Hall's auditorium immediately became a vital performance venue overseen by the Musical and Dramatic Committee, where it was possible to increase the variety of chamber music and recital programs offered, as well as drama, lectures and other entertainments.
Though members of the Drama, Music and Dance departments realized that Wheeler Auditorium was not the ideal venue for the performing arts on all occasions, several uncompleted projects and, later, the financial strains of The Great Depression delayed the completion of a venue designed for such performances. The opening of Alfred Hertz
Alfred Hertz
Alfred Hertz , a German conductor born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. As a child, he contracted infantile paralysis and walked with a cane after that....
Memorial Hall in 1958, with its formidable collection of organs and superior acoustics, was marked by the May T. Morrison Music Festival, a presentation of 11 programs between April 15 and May 22, 1958, presented by the Committee on Drama, Lectures and Music. Music critic Alfred Frankenstein
Alfred Frankenstein
Alfred Victor Frankenstein was an art and music critic, author and professional musician.He was the long-time art and music critic for the San Francisco Chronicle...
claimed Hertz Hall to be the finest auditorium in California.
Seeing that Wheeler Auditorium and Hertz Hall were not suited for presenting drama and dance, Zellerbach Hall
Zellerbach Hall
Zellerbach Hall is a multi venue performance facility on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. It was designed by architect and professor Vernon DeMars and completed in 1968...
was built in 1968. Zellerbach Hall consists of two main theaters: the 2,015-seat Auditorium and the 500-seat, multiform Playhouse. The Playhouse was conceived as a laboratory in which students can learn all aspects of the dramatic arts.
Leadership History
Cal Performances descends from a lineage of people and organizations both within and outside the committees to make UC Berkeley an epicenter for the performing arts. Phoebe Apperson Hearst and her son, William Randolph HearstWilliam Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
, first facilitated the university's ambitions through their donation of funds that enabled the erecting of Hearst Greek Theatre. What the Greek Theatre made possible was realized through numerous persons who served as Chair of the multi-monikered Committee of faculty members that oversaw performing arts presentation on campus.
A History of Chairs and Directors, Listed by Date of Leadership
William Dallam Armes (1903-1918), Associate Professor of American Literature, Director of the Greek Theatre and Chair of the Musical and Dramatic Committee: Armes was responsible for moving the Hearst Greek Theatre from the realm of campus functions to a nationally known stage for renowned artists. After the success of Sarah Bernhardt's first visit, Armes rallied to bring the top artists to the Greek Theatre.Samuel J. Hume (1918-1924), Director of the Greek Theatre and Chair of the Musical and Dramatic Committee: As a student at UC Berkeley, Hume had developed strong roots in theater. Succeeding Armes after his death, Hume established year-round programming for the Greek Theatre, Wheeler Hall and Harmon Gymnasium, as well as various off-campus sites. He created fall and spring seasons of modern and classic drama productions at Wheeler Hall, and created the Prize Play Contest to stimulate new work among California playwrights, enlisting George Jean Nathan
George Jean Nathan
George Jean Nathan was an American drama critic and editor.-Early life:Nathan was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana...
, Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
and Susan Glaspell
Susan Glaspell
Susan Keating Glaspell was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, actress, director, novelist, biographer and poet. She was a founding member of the Provincetown Players, one of the most important collaboratives in the development of modern drama in the United States...
to judge the entries. Hume also organized the Western Association of Art Museum Directors to route the touring of exhibits to the western states.
William Popper (1924-1945), Chair of the Committee on Music and Drama: Following Hume's departure, the University merged the Greek Theatre management and the Musical and Dramatic Committee, to form the Committee on Music and Drama. The eight-member group of faculty members selected Popper as chair and, illicitly, the director. During Popper's tenure, due to the rise of campus art clubs, there was an increase in the number of artists visiting campus and the expanded use of the University space for performance. The new Committee established basic ideals and procedures, with priority of performing arts presentation set upon education. Popper's assiduous record-keeping kept the program on budget, even throughout the Depression and World War II. He was the first director to suggest that an endowment be established to supplement the budget, in order to reduce the pressure for financial success.
Betty Connors (1945-1979), Director of the Committee for Arts and Lectures: Following suggestions that the campus have a distinct concert presenting unit, the University approved the position of Director (initially "Secretary") through the University Extension; the first salaried position devoted exclusively to the management of concerts on campus. The first person to fill the position was Betty Connors, a recent UC Berkeley graduate of the Department of Music. Throughout her tenure, Connors sought to prioritize the educational aspects of the performing arts while also steadily increasing the scope of arts presentation. Lectures by poets and writers, including Thomas Mann, Dylan Thomas and W.H. Auden, came to the fore, and the campus saw a broadening of musical tastes as represented by folk, jazz and early-music events. Connors was also able to facilitate the expansion of the performing arts program thanks to the addition of Hertz and Zellerbach Halls. The artists she brought to campus included harpsichordists Ralph Kirkpatrick
Ralph Kirkpatrick
Ralph Kirkpatrick was an American musician, musicologist and harpsichordist. He is most famous for his chronological catalog of Domenico Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas.-Life and work:...
and Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...
, pianists Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould
Glenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
and Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin , was a Bohemian-born pianist.-Life and early career:Serkin was born in Eger, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire to a Russian-Jewish family....
, soprano Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson
right|thumb|Nilsson in 1948.Birgit Nilsson was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works...
, mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
, French mime Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau was an internationally acclaimed French actor and mime most famous for his persona as Bip the Clown.-Early years:...
, theater artists Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
and Madeleine Renaud
Madeleine Renaud
Madeleine Renaud was a distinguished actress and a major figure in French theater in the 20th century. She was born Lucie Madeleine Renaud in Paris and died there, aged 94, in 1994....
, Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski was a Polish theatre director and innovator of experimental theatre, the "theatre laboratory" and "poor theatre" concepts....
's Polish Theatre Lab, sitarist Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
, Maurice Béjart
Maurice Béjart
Maurice Béjart was a French born, Swiss choreographer who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He was the son of the French philosopher Gaston Berger.- Biography :...
's Ballet of the 20th Century, the Joffrey Ballet
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is a dance company in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The company regularly performs classical ballets including Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, while balancing those classics with pioneering modern...
, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a modern dance company based in New York, New York. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey...
, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and jazz artists Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, among many, many others. Also during Connors's tenure, the organization was renamed the Committee for Arts and Lectures—or "CAL"—in 1959.
Susan Farr (1980-1986), Director of Cal Performances: With 35 years of Betty Connors's success preceding her, Farr believed her priority for the campus was to sustain the existing presenting program. She sought out resources to meet the increasing costs of presenting, and negotiated contracts with Bill Graham Presents and other promoters of popular music for the use of the Hearst Greek Theatre. Farr also supported the touring of contemporary dance ensembles and brought to Berkeley a variety of troupes including Bella Lewitzky
Bella Lewitzky
Bella Lewitzky was a modern dance choreographer and noted teacher....
Dance Company, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
Lar Lubovitch Dance Company is a dance company based in New York City and founded by Lar Lubovitch in the late 1960s. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, and worldwide....
and Pilobolus Dance Theater, in addition to classical dance ensembles. Cal Performances, as it then began to be called, introduced Bay Area audiences to numerous folk dance and music ensembles. Additionally, Farr founded the Student Committee for the Arts to encourage campus participation in Cal Performances.
Robert Cole (1986-2009), Director of Cal Performances: Cole, a musician and conductor, was selected by a committee of the Academic Senate who felt that both the University and Cal Performances would be best served by the appointment of an individual with a specialty in the field. Cole's appointment relieved the former faculty Committee for Arts and Lectures of programmatic responsibility and moved artistic authority to the newly hired Director of Cal Performances. Chancellor Michael Heyman established a new advisory committee to guide Cole and appointed former Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Haas School of Business
Haas School of Business
The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as the Haas School of Business or simply Haas, is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University of California, Berkeley....
, Earl Cheit, to chair.
For Cole, one of the chief attractions of the position of Director of Cal Performances was the organization's proximity to the UC Berkeley Department of Music. Cole made it a priority to seek the music faculty's advice in expanding the presenting program on campus and, in particular, enlisted their ideas to develop a festival of early music. In 1990, Cole founded the Berkeley Festival & Exhibition of early music, now a biennial weeklong festival presented in association with the UC Berkeley Department of Music, the San Francisco Early Music Society and Early Music America.
By establishing long-term relationships with university faculty and important artists, commissioning and producing new works and discovering new talent, Cole wanted to position Berkeley to become a major arts hub. His programmatic philosophy is reflected in the relationship that Cal Performances has built with artists such as Mark Morris Dance Group, which has appeared at Cal Performances annually since 1987.
Under Cole's leadership, Cal Performances also commissioned or co-commissioned new work from artists including Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
; choreographers Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...
, Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones is an American artistic director, choreographer and dancer.-Early life:Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida and his family moved North as part of the Great Migration in the first half of the twentieth century. They settled in Wayland, New York, where Jones attended Wayland High School...
and Pascal Rioult; the Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
; actor/director Robert Lepage
Robert Lepage
Robert Lepage, is a playwright, actor, film director, and stage director from Québec City, Québec, and is one of Canada's most honoured theatre artists.- Life and work :...
; and storyteller/musician Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
. Notable commissions and world premieres presented by Cole include John Adams's song-play, I Was Looking at the Ceiling, and Then I Saw the Sky, with libretto by UC Berkeley poet June Jordan
June Jordan
June Millicent Jordan was a Caribbean American poet, novelist, journalist, biographer, dramatist, teacher and committed activist...
, directed by Peter Sellars (1995); and 1996's Nur Du (Only You) by German expressionist choreographer Pina Bausch
Pina Bausch
Philippina "Pina" Bausch was a German performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director...
and her Tanztheater Wuppertal. In 2004, Cal Performances hosted the world premiere of Silk Road, co-commissioned with Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
's Silk Road Project
Silk Road Project
Silk Road Project, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and flow of ideas among different cultures along the Silk Road. The...
.
Cole spotted and presented numerous artists before their rise to fame. In 1991 Cole presented the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best-known for her interpretation of the music of Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and classical music...
. Then a little-known singer who did not fill Hertz Hall when she made her West Coast recital debut, today she is one of the most sought-after stars on the opera stage. Among the artists Cole presented in their first U.S. or West Coast appearances early in their careers are Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....
, Ian Bostridge
Ian Bostridge
Ian Bostridge CBE is an English tenor, well known for his performances as an opera singer and as a song recitalist.-Early life and education:...
, Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov is a violinist, violist, and conductor who was born in the Soviet Union.-Youth:Born on 20 August 1974 in Novosibirsk, Russia, to a family with musical tradition....
and Vadim Repin
Vadim Repin
Vadim Repin is a Belgian Russian violinist who currently lives in Austria....
, and Jonathan Lemalu
Jonathan Lemalu
Jonathan Fa'afetai Lemalu is a New Zealand opera singer, of Samoan descent. Born in Dunedin, he sings in the bass baritone register....
.
Cole has been recognized within campus and worldwide for his achievements at Cal Performances. David Littlejohn wrote, "Cole's programming of Cal Performances has been more adventurous than Lincoln Center's and broader in scope than that of the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
." In 1997 UC Berkeley Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien
Chang-Lin Tien
Chang-lin Tien was a Chinese American professor of mechanical engineering and university administrator. He was the seventh Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley , the first Asian to head a major university in the United States.-Early years:Born in Huangpi, Wuhan, China, Tien and...
awarded Cole the Berkeley Citation, the campus's highest administrative award. In 1995 Cole was made Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by France's Minister of Culture and Francophilia, and he received the William Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters in 1998.
In 2007, Cole announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2008/2009 season.
New Leadership
Matías Tarnopolsky was appointed as the new Director of Cal Performances in 2009. He was previously the Vice President of Artistic Planning at the New York PhilharmonicNew York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, and prior to that the Senior Director of Artistic Planning at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
.
At the New York Philharmonic, Tarnopolsky worked extensively with Music Director Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
, Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert and other pre-eminent conductors and artists in creating the artistic profile of the New York Philharmonic. From 1999 to 2006, Tarnopolsky was Director of Programming, and later, Senior Director of Artistic Planning, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) where he collaborated with Music Director Daniel Barenboim on all aspects of the CSO's programming, and was responsible for Symphony Center Presents, the CSO's prominent presenting series, which programs some 60 piano recitals, visiting orchestra performances, chamber music, contemporary music, and other programs annually. There he also created the CSO's new music series, MusicNOW; brought the West-Eastern (Arab-Israeli) Divan Workshop and Orchestra to Chicago; spearheaded collaborative projects with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is an American dance company based in Chicago. HSDC performs in downtown Chicago and its metropolitan area and tours nationally and internationally throughout the year....
, the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Chicago Shakespeare Theater is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed Shakespeare series, its World's Stage touring productions, and youth...
, Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
and University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, among others; and he programmed the CSO's training orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and led the artistic planning of the CSO's education and community programs. Tarnopolsky was previously a producer for the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
and BBC Singers
BBC Singers
The BBC Singers are the professional chamber choir of the BBC. As one of six BBC Performing Groups, the 24-voiced choir has been in existence for more than 80 years. The BBC Singers have commissioned and premiered works by the leading composers of the past century, including Benjamin Britten, Sir...
(1997-1999), and has written extensively about music, including material for liner notes, program notes, and articles for magazines and other publications. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in music and musicology, respectively, from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, King's College
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
.