Symphony residency features Egghead Music Walk

The Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Davis will host a three-day residency with the St. Louis Symphony.

The residency will feature events on the UC Davis campus and throughout the Sacramento region meant to engage students and community members.

One highlight is the Egghead Music Walk on Friday, March 15 at 2 p.m. at UC Davis.

This free outdoor concert features six world-premiere pieces composed by UC Davis music faculty and performed by members of the St. Louis Symphony on site at the six Egghead sculptures at UC Davis.

The sculptures were created by artist Robert Arneson, who was a UC Davis faculty member for four decades.

“If you think of the statues you see on many university campuses, they are usually serious and solemn and noble,” said Don Roth, executive director of the Mondavi Center and former executive director and president of the St. Louis Symphony. “There is something very ‘Davis’ about the Eggheads — truly great art, but with a bit of a smile and a wink. I knew the work of this great Davis artist would be inspiring to our wonderful UC Davis composers. I can’t wait to hear the six world premieres of their Egghead inspired pieces, played by some of the best orchestral musicians in the world, as we stroll from statue to statue.”

The Egghead Music Walk will begin at 2 p.m. on the UC Davis campus at the “See No Evil/Hear No Evil” Egghead sculpture on the south side of Mrak Hall. After performing the first piece, the musicians and audience will proceed in turn to each of the five remaining Egghead sculptures on campus.

The concert will conclude with a reception at the final Egghead location.

For a map of the Egghead Walking Tour visit mondaviarts.org/eggheadwalk.

Members of the St. Louis Symphony will perform the six original compositions written the UC Davis Department of Music faculty and commissioned by the Mondavi Center. Each piece will last between three and five minutes and together will form a full suite of music. The performance is open to the public and free of charge.

Other St. Louis Symphony residency activities include a school matinée performance for students from area schools, master classes, a side-by-side rehearsal with the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, free performances at various locations in Davis and Sacramento and a performance at the Crocker Art Museum on Sunday, March 17 at 3 p.m.

All activities lead up to the final performance with the full St. Louis Symphony on Sunday, March 17 at 7 p.m. at the Mondavi Center.

The St. Louis Symphony residency is made possible by the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

For more information about the St. Louis Symphony residency activities visit www.mondaviarts.org.

Tickets for all 2012–13 Mondavi Center performances are on sale now at 866-754-2787 and at mondaviarts.org. A full schedule and images are available for download at mondaviarts.org/pressroom.