Classical
The Berkeley Symphony Orchestra is one of the best-kept musical secrets in the country. Conducted by rising star Kent Nagano, the Berkeley Symphony puts on an adventurous program of works by contemporary composers like John Adams, leavened with Brahms, Beethoven and Bruckner. Nagano’s reputation attracts the highest echelon of soloists. The Berkeley Symphony performs at Zellerbach and Hertz Halls on the U.C. campus, as well as in San Francisco. Further information can be found at http://www.berkeleysymphony.org/.

In Oakland, the Oakland East Bay Symphony is drawing very favorable notices under Maestro Michael Morgan. A student of Leonard Bernstein, Morgan and the OEBS are as inclined to take chances as their colleagues in Berkeley: every program on the 2000-2001 schedule has at least one selection by a contemporary composer, and the season features quite a few world premieres of newly commissioned works. OEBS concert-goers’ risk/reward ratio is sweetened considerably by the venue: the completely renovated Paramount Theater is an art deco temple—a feast for the eyes, inside and out. The OEBS’ schedule is available, along with other information, at www.oebs.org. The Berkeley-based Chamber Symphony of the West performs a classical and baroque repertoire, often in conjunction with the San Francisco Choral Society and other area choruses, at the First Congregational Church, at 2345 Channing Way. The First Congregational Church also regularly plays host to other top-notch regional ensembles, like San Francisco’s noted Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (+1 415 252 1288, www.philharmonia.org) and th  Sonos Handbell Ensemble (+1 510 531 4780, www.sonos.org).

The epicenter of the Period Instrument movement is in North Berkeley: MusicSources (the Center for Historically Informed Performances) puts on a series of concerts highlighting period instruments and performance styles. MusicSources is located at 1000 The Alameda (+1 510 528 1685, www.sfems.org/musicsources). A number of other chamber performances and recitals are held throughout the week at local venues such as the Berkeley Piano Club (+1 510 843 6003), Universalist Church of Berkeley (+1 510 525 0302) and the Crowden School (+1 510 644 2299).

Jazz, Rock and Folk
The place for jazz in the East Bay—and, in fact in the Bay Area— is Yoshi’s, located in Oakland’s Jack London Square. The one club to consistently book top-drawer East Coast talent like Joshua Redman, McCoy Tyner and Arturo Sandoval, Yoshi’s may also be the only jazz club in the country where you can have sushi served at your table.

The spring and fall San Francisco Jazz Festival has discovered Oakland’s Paramount Theater, the perfect Jazz Age venue for larger ensembles with flashier staging. The SFJF draws jazz luminaries from across the country and around the world. Emeryville’s Kimball’s East features soul-jazz, R&B and blues legends like Jimmy McGriff and Nancy Wilson. Grittier Oakland blues can be dug at Eli’s Mile High Club. The Ivy Room (in Albany, just to the north of Berkeley) also books great local blues talent. Downtown Berkeley jazz clubs Jazzschool and Jupiter pack ’em in on weekends. Jupiter, with its garden court, is particularly popular on summer and late autumn evenings.

Berkeley has long been a mecca for folkies. In West Berkeley, The Starry Plough and the Freight and Salvage clubs feature acoustic talent from around the country. Nearby on San Pablo Avenue, Ashkenaz goes a bit more in the folk-rock direction, while Blake’s On Telegraph offers the full range of rock, jazz-rock and folk-rock.

La Pena Cultural Center books an eclectic mix of Latin rhythms, blues, and uncategorizable but always danceable sounds from all over the world.

Rock headliners play the Berkeley Community Theater or the Greek Theater. Acts on the scale of the Rolling Stones play the Oakland Coliseum.

U.C. Department of Music
(510) 642 4864

Cal’s Department of Music sponsors free noon concerts and other performances, which are complemented by Hertz Hall’s perfect acoustics. Recitals are frequently held in the intimate settingof Morrison Hall’s Elkus Room (125 Morrison)