Dudamel to lead international youth orchestra

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel cuts an impressive figure in his day job as the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. But for sheer visceral excitement, nothing beats the spectacle of Dudamel leading an orchestra of young instrumentalists on the way up.

As a product of El Sistema, Venezuela’s fabled national musical education program, Dudamel has long been a champion of young musicians. His Berkeley visit, presented by Cal Performances, finds him in front of a youth orchestra drawn from 22 countries worldwide as part of his “Encuentros” (“Encounters”) program.

Joining the orchestra is the bassist, vocalist and composer Esperanza Spalding to perform a selection of her songs. Also on the program is a new work by the trumpeter and composer Giancarlo Castro D’Addona — Dudamel’s fellow El Sistema alumnus — and Dvorák’s “New World” Symphony.

Gustavo Dudamel: With Esperanza Spalding and Encuentros Orchestra. 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4. $45-$150. Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley. 510-642-9988. www.calperformances.org “Young, Gifted and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art”: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Through Dec. 19. Free; tickets timed, reservations recommended. UC Davis’ Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, 254 Old Davis Road, Davis. 530-752-9623. www.manettishremmuseum. ucdavis.edu

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Danny Clinch