For 35 years, almost as long as the University of California, San Diego has stood on a La Jolla bluff overlooking the Pacific, a dogged group of arts lovers has been bringing performing artists to the eucalyptus-scented campus. Charged with a dual mission of serving the students and offering programs of interest to the larger community, those campus employees, working closely with student interns, have showcased acts as diverse as the Chieftains and Donald Byrd Dance, the Flying Karamazovs and Laurie Anderson, Kodo and Ghazal. And with support from the Robert and Sonia Hamburger Family Endowment, University Events presents an annual chamber-music series. This season brings five groups, including the local debut of the Amadeus Trio and the hotly anticipated return of the Emerson String Quartet . I really think that a university should present artists who aren' t well-known.
Discovery is important.
This season, which celebrates the university's 40th anniversary , is the strongest in recent memory. And it gives some local performers a chance to reach a wider audience. After a successful show last season at Mandeville Auditorium, UCSD dance-makers Jean Isaacs and Patricia Rincon return in October with a new, collaborative piece featuring guest artists from the theater and music departments. In May, Casbah regular El Vez, a self-styled Mexican Elvis with a sociopolitical Las Vegas edge, takes the spotlight. And we try to interest the students and everybody else.