UCSC Orchestra—Bravada and Tchaikovsky
2026-03-03 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Join the UC Santa Cruz Orchestra, conducted by Bruce Kiesling, for a winter concert, featuring Flagello’s Bravada and selections from Tchaikovsky, including the Overture–Fantasy from Romeo and Juliet and Solemn Overture from The Year 1812.
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ADMISSION
– General admission
– Free for UCSC students (ticket required).
– Tickets will be available here online through Eventbrite only.
– Follow the Music Dept on Eventbrite for notices and updates.
– Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start time.
– Ticket holders not seated at least 5 minutes before the advertised start time may forfeit their ticket/seat and no refund will be issued.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $11 cash/credit via the on-site parking attendant
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS)
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

Random With A Purpose (RWAP) XXXlV—The Experiment
2026-03-05 19:30 - 21:00, 2026-03-06 19:30 - 21:00, 2026-03-07 19:30 - 21:00, 2026-03-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Second Stage, Second Stage, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Random With A Purpose is a popular annual student-directed and -choreographed dance showcase.
Per directors Lydia Wallman and Brennah Lyons, this year’s production, The Experiment, “serves as a platform for collaborators to develop work that does not yet exist in the physical world and to investigate elements of community and features a cast that reflects UC Santa Cruz’s diverse student population through a wide range of dance styles and perspectives.”
Admission

General admission $5–$20 “Pay What You Like”
FREE for UCSC undergrads (ticket required).
Tickets available on Eventbrite.
Doors open 30 minutes prior to the event start time.
Ticket holders not seated at least 5 minutes before the advertised start time may forfeit their ticket/seat and no refund will be issued.

Advisories
This performance is approximately 90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission and includes: flashing lights and mature language.
Event dates

Fri. Feb. 27: 7:30 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 28: 7:30 p.m.
Sun. Mar. 1: 2:00 p.m.
Thu. Mar. 5: 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Mar. 6: 7:30 p.m.
Sat. Mar. 7: 7:30 p.m.
Sun. Mar. 8: 2:00 p.m.

Parking

Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $11.00 cash/credit card via the on-site parking attendant
Arts parking lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event
Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
Refer to Transportation & Parking Services for more information.

This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

Lila Downs in Quarry Amphitheatre (March 6th)
2026-03-06 19:00 - 22:00 | Upper Quarry Amphitheater, 15 McLaughlin Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Tickets are on sale at quarryamphitheater.com, starting at $67.50 for general admission, and $118.26 VIP seating.

Born in 1968, Lila Downs is one of Latin America’s most influential voices, an artist with a singular sound and magnetic stage presence. Rooted in Oaxaca and shaped between Mexico and the United States, she weaves Mexican tradition with jazz, cumbia, folk, and contemporary rhythms. Her music is both celebration and conscience; she’ll turn the redwood backdrop into a gathering—intimate, fearless, and deeply human—where culture is honored, stories are reclaimed, and audiences are invited to feel, dance, and remember.

Barnstorm Presents--"Gloria," by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
2026-03-06 19:30 - 21:00, 2026-03-07 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-03-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Theater Arts B100 Studio Theater, 453 Kerr Rd, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, United States
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Gloria is a razor-sharp comic drama about ambition, office warfare and hierarchies, where the only thing that matters is selling out to the highest bidder. This funny, trenchant and powerful play follows an ambitious group of editorial assistants at a notorious Manhattan magazine, each of whom hopes for a starry life of letters and a book deal before they turn thirty. But when an ordinary workday becomes anything but, the stakes for who will get to tell their own story become higher than ever.
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ABOUT BARNSTORM
UC Santa Cruz students experiment with and create their own innovative theater and gain a sense of operating and creating art in the Barnstorm Theater Company, a student-run theater arts production company established in 2004.
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ADVISORIES
– Ticket holders not seated at least 10 minutes before the advertised start time may forfeit their ticket/seat and no refund will be issued.
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Fri. March 6: 7:30 p.m.
Sat. March 7: 2:00 p.m. matinee
Sat. March 7: 7:30 p.m.
Sun. March 8: 2:00 p.m. matinee
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ADMISSION
– Tickets issued here through Eventbrite; Follow the Dept. of Performance, Play & Design and Barnstorm on Eventbrite for notifications and updates.
– Free for UCSC undergraduate students (ticket required).
– General admission “Pay What You Like” options $5–20.
– A limited number of tickets/seats may be available at the door, even after online ticket sales end or reach full capacity.
– Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start time.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $11 cash/credit via the on-site parking attendant when present (no attendant will be present for the Sat. March 7 matinee).
– Additional parking by permit or ParkMobile.
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event.
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– UCSC affiliates must purchase their permits before arriving at the event in order to receive their discounted UCSC rate. Attendants will only sell the non-affiliate-priced permits.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS).
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

CANCELLED—UCSC Wind Ensemble—Spirits and Legends
2026-03-06 19:30 - 21:30 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
Event update: this event is cancelled as of 6:30PM on Friday, March 6. Ticket holders will receive refunds automatically via Eventbrite. Please contact artsevents@ucsc.edu with questions or concerns.
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UCSC Wind Ensemble presents Spirits and Legends; a concert featuring music for Wind Ensemble on themes of past or present legends or spirit journeys. Featuring music from “Spirited Away” by Joe Hisaishi, “The Dream of Angus” by Rolf Rudin, “Sound and Smoke” by Viet Cuong, and music by Carlos Chavez, Julie Giroux, and Richard Wagner.
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ADMISSION
– General admission.
– Free for UCSC students (ticket required).
– Tickets available online through Eventbrite only HERE.
– Follow the Music Dept on Eventbrite for notices and updates.
– Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start time.
– Ticket holders not seated at least 5 minutes before the advertised start time may forfeit their ticket/seat and no refund will be issued.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $11 cash/credit via the on-site parking attendant
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– UCSC affiliates must purchase their permits before arriving at the event in order to receive their discounted UCSC rate. Attendants will only sell the non-affiliate-priced permits.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS)
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.

After Hours: MIKE Live at the Quarry (Student-Only Concert)
2026-03-07 19:00 - 22:00 | Upper Quarry Amphitheater, 15 McLaughlin Drive, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
MIKE headlines an exclusive hip hop concert for UC Santa Cruz students on Saturday, March 7 at the Quarry Amphitheater. Presented by the Division of Student Affairs and Success (DSAS) Leadership and Involvement Team, this event is part of the new After Hours series, created to expand opportunities for student connection, creativity, and engagement beyond traditional campus hours.
Special guest Lil Kayla opens the show.
Doors: 7 p.m. | Show: 8 p.m.
Tickets: $10 (UCSC students only, while supplies last)
Location: Quarry Amphitheater
Follow @ucsc.dsas on Instagram for updates.
Questions: involved@ucsc.edu

You Belong Here: The programs and services described here are open to all, consistent with state and federal law, as well as the University of California’s nondiscrimination policies. Every initiative—whether a student service, faculty program, or community event—is designed to be accessible, inclusive, and respectful of all identities.
To learn more, please visit UC Nondiscrimination Statement or Nondiscrimination Policy for UC Publications.

The Trial of Spock—An Opera Workshop
2026-03-08 16:00 - 18:00 | Music Center Recital Hall, 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064
The creators of The Trial of Spock—An Opera In Three Acts present concert performances of five scenes from an opera-in-progress at the UC Santa Cruz Music Center Recital Hall.
Captain Christopher Pike is gravely injured. Lieutenant Spock is behaving strangely. Charged with protecting Pike in his state of extreme need,Vulcan Commodore T’or suspects that Lieutenant Spock—once Captain Pike’s science officer—is up to no good. Spock’s Captain, James T. Kirk, doesn’t see the trouble until far too late, and soon Spock holds all of them prisoner aboard a ship destined for the “forbidden planet” Talos IV. He refuses to say a word about their fate—not until his superiors agree to give him his trial. Under oath, and with strange evidence, Spock tells the story of Captain Pike’s first visit to Talos IV, where illusion and artificial experiences plunge Pike and fellow captive Vina into uncharted dimensions of their memories, and their concepts of self.
Join sopranos Nicole Koh, Sheila Willey, and Emily Sinclair; tenors Alex Boyer and Nicolas Vasquez-Gerst, baritones Joseph Calzada and Michael Kuo, and the Del Sol Quartet, as they distort the myth of Orpheus, in order to re-think our presumed relationships to freedom and reality, and its augmentations.
Music by Ben Leeds Carson; libretto by Perre DiCarlo & Ben Leeds Carson and Lincoln & Lee Taiz; with contributions from John de Lancie, based on teleplays by Gene Roddenberry.
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to the public
– Tickets required and available online through Eventbrite
– Follow the Music Dept on Eventbrite for notices and updates.
– Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes prior to event start time.
– Ticket holders not seated at least 5 minutes before the advertised start time may forfeit their ticket/seat and no refund will be issued.
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PARKING
– Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $11 cash/credit via the on-site parking attendant
– Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event
– Visitors with DMV placards or plates may park for free in DMV spaces, Medical spaces, or ParkMobile spaces without additional payment, or in timed zones for longer than the posted time.
– UCSC affiliates must purchase their permits before arriving at the event in order to receive their discounted UCSC rate. Attendants will only sell the non-affiliate-priced permits.
– More information provided by UCSC Transportation & Parking Services (TAPS)
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Fri, March 8, 4:00 p.m., UC Santa Cruz Music Center Recital Hall
The Trial of Spock—An Opera Workshop
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Fri, March 13, 7:00 p.m., Kuumbwa Jazz Center
How to Live Long and Prosper—Lessons from a Star Trek Opera
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This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law.
