Hot Picks 02.24.22

Les Femmes

A superstar all woman-identifying cast performs the works of award-winning, living, women composers. The players are Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu (violin), Michelle Djokic (cello), Gabriela Diaz (viola) and Ayane Kozasa (viola). The program includes “Entr’acte” by Caroline Shaw, “The Trojan Women” (the Hecuba and Cassandra sections) by Lisa Bielawa, the movement “Quiet Art” from “Impressions for String Quartet” by Jennifer Higdon Leyendas and “An Andean Walkabout” by Gabriela Lena Frank. Prior to the concert, the musicians visit three schools in Seaside not just to perform, but to use their scripted open rehearsals to address conflict resolution (the goal is to use collaborative processes in making music to raise empathic awareness and build peaceable communities). [AP]

7pm Thursday, Feb. 24. SandBox, 440 Ortiz Ave., Sand City. $35; must be fully vaccinated; reserve a spot by writing to sandboxsandcity@gmail.com. More at sandboxsandcity.com.

Cats, Cats, Cats

This annual all-breed cat show features “125 officially, but about 140 really,” according to longtime show organizer Carol Barton revealing the number of outstanding felines that will take part on the 45th edition of “Steinbeck Visits Steinbeck Country,” the cat show organized by East of Eden Cat Fanciers of Pacific Grove. (In case you are wondering, Steinbeck is a cat, too – the club’s mascot drawn many years ago and now the club’s logo.) The cats will be shown in eight classes, including purebred kittens, non-pedigreed cats and preliminary and advanced new breeds. Sound like a lot? It’s never too many for a cat lover, laughs Barton, who herself, when asked about how many cats she has, answers: “A few more than it is allowed.” [AP]

10am-4pm Saturday, Feb. 26 and Sunday, Feb. 27. Monterey Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairground Road, Monterey. $7; $5/seniors, children 12 and under. 375-0801, montereycountyfair.com.

Local Treasure

Big Sur artist Emile Norman, who died in 2009 at age 91, became so famous nationally that PBS, in 2006, aired a documentary about his life and work. The latter was mostly prints and sculptures, or hybrids of various art forms, and the newly formed Emile Norman Arts Foundation will be showcasing some of that work Feb. 26-27 at the historic Miller Adobe in downtown Monterey, which was built in the 1870s and is adjacent to the Monterey Museum of Art. The foundation exhibit, which will be open for a two-day run, is an opportunity for those who knew Norman to share and record their stories about the iconic artist – and for those who didn’t know Norman to learn about him. [DS]

1-3pm Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 26-27. Miller Adobe, 580 Calle Principal, Monterey. Free. emilenormanartsfoundation.org.

Three for the Ages

It’s to the point where people should use the Horszowski Trio for comparative purposes. Tom Brady is the Horszowski Trio of football, for example, or Jamón Ibérico is the Horszowski Trio of cured ham. Think that’s a little off the wall? Well, the chamber orchestra masters are able to cast a spell over the most hardened music critics that – let’s just say it gets weird. They’ve been described as “lithe,” “supple” and “intoxicating.” Snap out of it, guys. This is an auditorium. Admittedly, the ensemble can leave an audience spellbound. Pianist Rieko Aizawa was the last pupil of Mieczysław Horszowski (yes, the you-know-what of pianists), and that’s where the group finds their inspiration and name. For their Sunset Center appearance the trio – Jesse Mills with a violin and Ole Akahoshi on cello – will raise Shostakovich’s “Piano Trio #1, Opus 8,” to new heights. Same with Debussy’s “Piano Trio in G Major” and pieces by Leonard Bernstein and Arno Babadjanian. Just be careful. Their music can take you places. [DF]

7:30pm Saturday, Feb. 26. Sunset Center, San Carlos Street and 8th Avenue, Carmel. $48-$54. 625-2212, chambermusicmontereybay.org.

Funny Stuff

Beer plus bricks – usually that’s a recipe for a good old-fashioned rumble. At XL Public House, however, they style it as Bricks N’ Beer and it’s a rollicking good time, with jokes being thrown left and right, guests doubled up on the floor being pummeled with one-liners. The monthly comedy night returns with a whole gang of comedians headlined by Bay Area stand-up veteran Corde Snell, who bills himself as the only Black vegan. He seems to enjoy making fun of his heft as a vegan, as well. And talking about the world it opened up for him (“I didn’t even know Sprouts existed before I became vegan”). Also on the docket are a trio of comics from Chicago – Gabriel Alvizo, Ricardo Angulo and Suhjkit Singh – another Bay Area favorite, Teddy Hull, plus Molly Stene and Michael Booth. On this night they are the Salinas Seven. Let’s get ready to rumble. [DF]

9-11pm Saturday, Feb. 26. XL Public House, 127 Main St., Salinas. By donation. 800-7625, facebook.com/XLPublichouse.

Kid Stars

This concert features the winners of Youth Music Monterey County’s Honors Concerto Competition: Cayden Bloomer (oboe) and Juliet Oliver (marimba). They’re led by Music Director Danko Druško, and also local celebrity Joseph W. Heston, the retired president of KSBW, who guest-conducts “The Star Spangled Banner.” The program features music by Beethoven, Mozart, Mussorgsky, Saint-Säens, Schubert and Strauss (senior). YMMC supports two orchestras, a chamber music program, a brass ensemble, a woodwind ensemble, and in-school teaching and performance opportunities throughout Monterey County. The Junior Youth and Honors Orchestras are led by Druško and include approximately 100 student musicians. [AP]

3pm Sunday, Feb. 27. Sunset Center, San Carlos Street and 8th Avenue, Carmel. $19.99/adults; $4.99/students; $9.99/seniors. 375-1992, youthmusicmonterey.org.

All Politics Are…

Leon Panetta is the kind of politician whose career seems to have happened in a bygone golden era of bipartisanship. Sometimes that makes the themes for his annual lecture series, hosted by The Panetta Institute for Public Policy, feel a little bit more philosophical than practical. This year’s four-part series explores “The 2022 Midterm Elections and the Future of Our Democracy.” Given we’re barely a year past an insurrectionist attempt at the White House, that future feels perilous – but that should make for vigorous discussion. The kickoff to this year’s series features a couple of voices well versed in the practical side of politics: political strategists James Carville and Karl Rove, who have led wildly successful campaigns for Democrats and Republicans, respectively. Maybe they’ll talk about the good old days, when these guys were upending politics without storming the Capitol; maybe they’ll read the crystal ball on the future; or maybe it’s just a chance to hear some of the pros talk about the inside baseball of politics. Any which way, attending the 2022 series (via webinar) costs $100 per event; sessions will be viewable online at a later date for free. [SR]

6-7:30pm Monday, Feb. 28. Via webinar; call to purchase tickets and get a link to attend. $100. 582-4200, panettainstitute.org.

HOT PICKS by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, Dave Faries, Celia Jiménez, Pam Marino, Christopher Neely, Agata Popęda, Sara Rubin and David Schmalz.