It will be a meeting of the media — very diverse media — when Stanford composer Mark Applebaum's "Concerto for Florist and Ensemble" is performed on Friday, May 15.
Held outdoors in the Cantor Arts Center's inner courtyard, the free event will feature not only a group of musicians but also "performance florist" James DelPrince. As the new-music improvisers play, DelPrice will work with flowers, prairie grasses, skewered green apples, barbed wire, artichokes and other materials. His instruments: pruning shears and glue gun.
Applebaum's piece, billed by Stanford Lively Arts as "mercurial and vibrant," will be played by Mark Dresser on bass, Terry Longshore and Steven Schick on percussion, Brian McWhorter on trumpet, Tom Nunn on sound-sculpture, Jane Rigler on flute and Scott Rosenberg on saxophone.
Applebaum is associate professor of composition and theory at Stanford; DelPrince is associate professor of floral design and interior plantscaping design at Mississippi State University.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. concert, held at 328 Lomita Drive at Stanford. Go to livelyarts.stanford.edu.
Science
USGS open house
Scientists unite next weekend to give the community a taste of what projects and developments are happening at the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park.
On May 16 and 17, the USGS's ninth triennial open house takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with exhibits, educational presentations and live entertainment featuring jazz, bluegrass and folk music. The scientists from the Menlo Park campus have a lot to share about earthquakes, water quality, volcanoes, coastal and marine geology, the San Francisco Bay ecosystem and other topics.
Hands-on exhibits will include "Dress Like a Marine Geologist," "Creatures of the Arizona Desert Dust" and "Make Your Own Earthquake." Numerous speakers will give presentations in hopes of helping audiences gain perspective on and appreciation of the Earth.
The event is at 345 Middlefield Road in Menlo Park; admission is free. For more information go to openhouse.wr.usgs.gov/index.html# or call 650-329-4390.
Dance
Stanford Powwow
The Mother's Day weekend means drums and dancing in the Eucalyptus Grove at Stanford University: It's time for the 38th annual Stanford Powwow.
The free event, which runs May 8 through May 10, is filled with a variety of music and dance events for all ages, with "grand entry" times planned for Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Dances generally run from 7 to 11 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Bright outfits and headdresses add even more color to the event.
Other planned activities include a 5K race and a one-mile run/walk on Saturday and a basketball tournament on Sunday. The powwow is sponsored by the Stanford American Indian Organization.
For more details, call 650-723-4078 or go to powwow.stanford.edu.
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