Arts Division

Events from this organizer

Today

  • UCSC Family Opera—Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”

    UCSC Family Opera
    Music Center Recital Hall 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    Voice students, accompanied by Luke Shepherd on piano, perform an abridged version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. This is a family-friendly production of Mozart’s most famous fairytale. Duration is approximately 1 hour with music and dialogue presented in English. The two matinee performances showcase two different casts. — ADVISORIES – Loud noises (thunder sound effects) […]

    FREE and open to the public.
  • Photo of people barn dancing

    Barn Dance at the Hay Barn

    Barn Dance at the Hay Barn
    Hay Barn 94 Ranch View Road, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

    The UCSC Celtic Music Ensemble performs live during a beginner-friendly, gender-neutral, darn good barn dance. Attendees are invited to dance, and partners are not needed. — ADMISSION – Open admission; tickets/registration not required. – FREE and open to the public. – Donations of any amount are welcomed and appreciated to support to support live music […]

    FREE and open to UCSC affiliates

  • Unexpected Returns: The Historic Entanglements of Fire, Settlement, and Stewardship in the Santa Cruz Mountains

    Intersections of Climate Change
    Institute of the Arts and Sciences 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz, United States

    Join UCSC  faculty members Miriam Greenberg and Andrew Matthews as they discuss the deep regional histories of fire, from indigenous burning, settler ranching, fire suppression, and much more. This event is part of Intersections of Climate Change,  a series organized with the Friedlaender Lab in conjunction with Weather and the Whale. ADMISSION – FREE and […]

    FREE and open to the public

  • Random With A Purpose (RWAP) XXXlV—The Experiment

    Random With A Purpose (RWAP) XXXlV
    Second Stage Second Stage, Santa Cruz, CA

    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 […]

    Free – $20

  • Random With A Purpose (RWAP) XXXlV—The Experiment

    Random With A Purpose (RWAP) XXXlV
    Second Stage Second Stage, Santa Cruz, CA

    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 […]

    Free – $20

  • Random With A Purpose (RWAP) XXXlV—The Experiment

    Random With A Purpose (RWAP) XXXlV
    Second Stage Second Stage, Santa Cruz, CA

    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 […]

    Free – $20

  • Random With A Purpose (RWAP) XXXlV—The Experiment

    Random With A Purpose (RWAP) XXXlV
    Second Stage Second Stage, Santa Cruz, CA

    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 […]

    Free – $20
  • The trial of spock hero image

    The Trial of Spock—An Opera Workshop

    The Trial of Spock
    Music Center Recital Hall 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    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 […]

    FREE and open to the public

  • “The Cigarette Surfboard” screening with filmmaker Ben Judkins (Kresge ’17)

    Join Banana Slug alumni filmmaker Ben Judkins (Kresge ’17, film and digital media) and “ciggy board” creator Taylor Lane for a screening of their award-winning documentary, The Cigarette Surfboard (presented by the California Coastal Commission’s Whale Tail Grant). 5:00-6:00 PM | alumni meet & greet with light refreshments 6:00-7:35 PM | film screening 7:35-8:30 PM | filmmaker discussion 8:30-9:00 PM | mingle REGISTER ABOUT […]

    Free

  • A Musical Journey with UCSC Music Ensembles —Percussion, Celtic, Classical Guitar, Horns, Central Asian, Experimental

    Music Center Recital Hall 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    Audiences are invited to the free winter quarter chamber concert at the Music Center Recital Hall at UC Santa Cruz to hear selections from multiple ensembles, including the following: UCSC Percussion Ensemble William Winant, director UCSC Celtic Chamber Music Ensemble Bill Coulter, director UCSC Classical Guitar Ensemble Christopher Mallet, director William Coulter, steel string guitar […]

    FREE and open to the public
  • Close-up view of musicians' hands playing trumpets. Focus on the foreground.

    UCSC Jazz Combos

    Music Center Recital Hall 400 McHenry Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    UCSC Jazz Combos present a fall quarter concert

    Free – $12

  • Winter 2026 Open Studios

    Elena Baskin Visual Arts Center Baskin Service Road, Santa Cruz, CA

    Art Department students exhibit their art work throughout studios and classrooms at the Elena Baskin Visual Arts Center at UC Santa Cruz. The Open Studios event features student art work in a variety of media, including: – Drawing – Painting – Print media – Sculpture – Photography – Environmental art – Electronic art/new media — […]

    FREE and open to the public.
  • Black and white photo of spock's head

    Questions that Matter – How to Live Long and Prosper: Lessons from a Star Trek Opera

    The Trial of Spock
    Kuumbwa Jazz Center 320-2 Cedar St, Santa Cruz, United States

    What do we need to live a fulfilling life? This essential question of the humanities feels especially pressing now, on the precipice of profound changes to our planet, our bodies, and our sense of human exceptionality. Join us for a conversation — and a music-and-drama masterclass — about speculative fiction from the Star Trek world, […]