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Pacific Union College's music ensembles are presenting "The Bold and Beautiful Music of Brahms," a centennial celebration of the life of Brahms (1833-1897), on Saturday, April 5, in the Pacific Union College Church. The concert begins at 4 p.m., and admission is free.The concert features a number of Brahms' compositions, including his Alto Rhapsody for alto soloist and men's chorus, excerpts from his well-known Requiem, and several shorter works for organ, piano, strings and mixed chorus. Brahms' works will be performed by Pacific Union College's men's chorus, conducted by Assistant Professor of Music Gennevieve Brown-Kibble; the Pacific Union College String Ensemble, conducted by Associate Professor of Music LeRoy Peterson; mezzo-soprano soloist Ellen Cowan, a recent graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music; pianists Lynn Wheeler, professor of music, and Helen Chang, a freshman music major; and Professor of Music Del Case on the Pacific Union College Church's Rieger pipe organ....

Tackle the challenging terrain overlooking the Napa Valley on Sunday, April 20, when Pacific Union College hosts its annual mountain bike race, the Napa Valley Dirt Classic.The Dirt Classic's hilly and forested 22 mile race circuit is made up of smooth to medium rough trails, service roads, double track, and single track. The race is sanctioned by the National Off-Road Bicycle Association, and all NORBA rules apply. A one-year racing license is required for those competing in the categories of pro, expert, and sport. These will be available on race day for $35 from NORBA officials. One-day racing licenses will also be sold for $3 on race day for those competing in the beginner class. ANZI-Snell approved helmets are mandatory during race and race day practice. Emergency medical technicians will be present on the course and at the finish line. The first male and the first female finishers will each receive a $100 purse. Prizes for second and third place are $60 and $30, respectively. All participants will receive a race T-shirt....

The community is invited to join Pacific Union College as it celebrates Cultural Diversity Week from May 5-9. This year's celebration features three events: the Spring Festival, a lecture by Judge Don Chairez, and a bilingual musical play by Teatro Milagro.The college's Spring Festival, which takes place from 4-8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, features the multicultural food and entertainment of Pacific Union College's campus clubs. It takes place in the college's Pacific Auditorium, and admission is free. Food can be purchased at the booths set up by the clubs. For more information, call Rita Hoshino at (707) 965-7121.On Thursday, May 8, Judge Don Chairez of the Eighth Judicial District Court will speak in the college's Dauphinee Chapel. The program begins at 9 a.m., and admission is free.The final event of Cultural Diversity Week is a dramatic performance on Friday, May 9, by Teatro Milagro, the Northwest's largest Latino arts and culture organization. Teatro Milagro will perform the bilingual musical play Corazón Gitano at Pacific Union College's Paulin Hall. Corazón Gitano, which means "Gypsy Heart" in English, dramatizes the marginalization of the Spanish gypsies....

Pacific Union College's Napa Valley Musical Theatre is presenting the musical comedy Hello, Dolly! on April 3, 5, 6, and 7 at Lincoln Theater, Veterans' Home of California in Yountville. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company in St. Helena and Napa, and they will also be available at the door.Set in early 20th century New York, Hello, Dolly! is a choreographed and fully-orchestrated musical comedy of matchmaking and meddling. Dolly Gallagher Levi, played by junior graphic design major Heather McDonald and by Sarah Takii, is supposed to find a wife for the miserly millionaire Horace Vandergelder, played by senior liberal studies Matthew Payne (who is also the play's producer). But when Dolly decides she wants to marry Vandergelder herself and to persuade him to take his clerk as a partner and allow his niece to marry, things get complicated very rapidly."Besides all of the matchmaking, one of the hidden points of the story is that people should use their money to help young people and society as a whole," said director Mark Phillips, senior communications major. Phillips sees Hello, Dolly! as an opportunity for good fun and entertainment for both students...

Pacific Union College's Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform its final concert of the school year at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, in the college's Paulin Hall. Admission is free.The concert, which includes contemporary masterworks and established standards of wind ensemble literature, takes the audience on a musical tour of four continents. Robert W. Smith's Africa: Ceremony, Song and Ritual is based on the folk music of Western Africa and uses an expanded percussion section. Courtly Airs, written in 1995 by Ron Nelson, is a collection of short pieces in the style of various European countries. The award-winning Las Playas de Rio is a collection of movements, each named after a beach in Rio de Janeiro and each expressing the beauty and flavor of Brazilian music. From North America, John Philip Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever will be joined by Percy Grainger's Children's March, a light-hearted exploration of the tune "Over the Hills and Far Away." And finally, the concert's centerpiece, Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night, is not associated with any one continent, but is a tribute to the survivor of child abuse. It portrays the elements of loneliness, loss of innocence, and enduring hope....