Sacramento State’s 11th annual festival of the arts, which will be held April 3-12, will feature a variety of international and local talent. Highlights of this year’s festival will include artists, authors and performers, all of whom are extraordinarily gifted and educated in a variety of artistic genres.

With more than 20,000 students, faculty and members of the community attending last year’s festival, expectations for this year’s event are high. “The festival is always improving,” says Roberto Pomo, a CSUS instructor and interim director of the School of the Arts. “We have a rich artistic community at CSUS.”

Music lovers, be aware: the festival brings you some great sounds

The fantastic CSUS Jazz Ensemble will perform with guest Ingrid Jensen on trumpet at 8 p.m. on April 5 in the Music Recital Hall. Known to play with incredible grace, power and sensitivity, the critically acclaimed young musician has gained international recognition as critics placed her in the top 25 younger generation players on the scene today. Since her first CD release in 1995, “Vernal Fields,” she has been busy impressing jazz audiences worldwide with her ultra-hip style. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors.

Other musical talents include the award winning Guarneri String Quartet. Known for their rich sound, the group has performed together since 1964, and will perform once again in the Music Recital Hall as part of the New Millennium Concert Series on April 8 at 8 p.m. Tickets for the performance are $25.

What about creative works of art?

“I absolutely love the wonderful works of Wayne Thiebaud,” says Rhonda Franks, an administrative employee for the School of the Arts.

Wayne Thiebaud, a internationally acclaimed artist and CSUS alumnus, offers a look at more than 40 works representing virtually his entire career from April 4-July 25 in the University Library Gallery. From paintings of rosebud cakes to a series of portraits, don’t miss out on this outstanding opportunity to enrich your life with the power of art. His work will be shown Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and the exhibit is free.

Films and Plays

Director/producer Chris Simon brings her latest film about the life of local poet Wilma Elizabeth McDaniel to the screen on April 10 in the University Union at 3 p.m. with a reception following the screening. The film, “Down an Old Road,” documents the experiences McDaniel faced as a young woman during the Dust Bowl Migration of the early 1930s.

The migrants from Oklahoma and other Great Plains states were known as “Okies,” referring to the approximately 20 percent who were from Oklahoma traveling great distances to California’s Central Valley. Don’t miss this free event that concentrates on how Simon intertwines poetry with history to explore McDaniel’s life and vision. Sacramento native Doniel Soto will bring his play “Sorta” to CSUS. Soto, an actor, playwright and the artistic director of Abandon Pictures, crafted “Sorta,” an off-the-wall comedic play that is masterfully embedded with physical theater. Soto tells the story through sound and movement, using cast members dressed as clowns in baggy pants and crazy hair to create a truly unique theater experience. Take a chance and go check out “Sorta” in Solano Hall 1010 on April 9-10. The performances will begin at 8 p.m. and tickets range from $13 for the general public to $11 for students.

Theatre and dance buffs, there’s something for you!

“They seduced and enticed me,” says senior Humberto Negrete of the Kit Kat girls in Sac State’s Theater and Dance Department’s production of “Cabaret.”

Directed by Ed Brazo and choreographed by Paul Besaw, the musical is full of exciting scenes, with high-energy music and dance that is full of passion and sexual tension. This is a must-see production that takes place in early 1930s Berlin at a sex-peddling club, a backdrop meant to stand out against the Nazi regime that was at that time sprouting just outside its doors. The show continues in the University Theater at 8 p.m. April 3-5 and 2 p.m. on April 6. Tickets are $11 for students, seniors and alumni, and $16 for general admission.

For more information on the outstanding series of events and activities for the 11th Annual Festival of the Arts, contact the School of the Arts at (916) 278-ARTS or log onto www.csus.edu/news.

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