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This week, catch concerts with composer and saxophonist Stephanie Chou, Grammy-winning jazz violinist Mads Tolling and a “Meeting of Acoustic Women;” enjoy a classic musical with “Fiddler on the Roof” at Palo Alto Players; celebrate Diwali in Menlo Park; visit artists in their studios in Palo Alto and mark Gallery House’s grand re-opening in Menlo Park.
Stephanie Chou
Composer, saxophonist, singer and educator Stephanie Chou blends Chinese musical influences with Western jazz and pop. She comes to Palo Alto with her quintet (Andy Lin on erhu and viola, Hyuna Park on piano, Bryan Copeland on bass and Ronen Itzik on drums) for a performance presented by Earthwise Productions. Chou holds a BA in mathematics and completed graduate studies in music composition, according to her website. Her song cycle “Comfort Girl,” which is being developed into an opera and a studio recording, about the lives of Chinese “comfort women” forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army during WWII, “is not only a groundbreaking fusion of East-West musical traditions, but has also sparked public dialogue on a formerly taboo subject that still resonates globally for women today,” her website says.
Nov. 10, 8:30 p.m., Palo Alto Art Center Auditorium, 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto; $20; eventbrite.com.
‘Fiddler on the Roof’
Tradition! For its next production, Palo Alto Players presents one of the giants of the musical theater pantheon, “Fiddler on the Roof,” which boasts classic songs such as “Matchmaker” and “If I Were a Rich Man.” The show follows Tevye (played in this version by Joey McDaniel), a poor milkman living with his wife and five daughters in a tight-knit, traditional Jewish community in increasingly antisemitic imperial Russia. As his eldest daughters come of age, Tevye must grapple with a changing world while trying to honor his traditional values.
Nov. 8-24 (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays), Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto; $35-$60; paplayers.org/event/fiddler-on-the-roof/.
Mads Tolling
Grammy-winning jazz composer and violinist Mads Tolling plays two shows at Palo Alto’s Meyhouse. Currently a member of Bob Weir’s Wolf Bros/Pack Band (for which he’s written arrangements of Grateful Dead tunes) and formerly a member of Turtle Island Quartet, he’s also formed his own groups: Mads Tolling Quartet and Mads Tolling & The Mads Men. Tolling grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark, is now based in San Francisco, and has performed widely.
Nov. 8, shows at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.; Meyhouse, 640 Emerson St., Palo Alto; $50 (requires a $20 food/drink minimum); meyhouserestaurant.com.
Springline’s Festival of Light Diwali Celebration
Springline Menlo Park’s Festival of Light event, in celebration of Diwali, includes all-you-can-eat food and drinks from Burma Love and New Delhi Restaurant; live entertainment by Deepa (Dhol drum), The Noorani Dance Company (Kathak dance), (Hindustani classical musician) Shayanthi and Reddy2dance (dancer Shruthi Reddy); music from DJ Dinnu; and a marketplace including henna artists, handcrafted clothing by VAHN Designs, contemporary Indian jewelry by Studio Anai and Maujh, and a photo opportunity hosted by Parivar Bay Area, which according to the event website is America’s only transgender-led, transgender-centering South Asian organization. The event is 21+.
Nov. 8, 6-10 p.m., Springline Menlo Park, 1300 El Camino Real, Menlo Park; $45;
eventbrite.com.
Artist Open Studios
The city of Palo Alto’s Cubberley Artist Studio program invites the community into over 20 artists’ workspaces at the Cubberley Community Center to see works in a variety of disciplines, including installation, mixed-media, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, film, textile, woodworking and performance. In addition, the day features special activities hosted by other community groups based at the center, including a book sale from Friends of the Palo Alto Library, button- and t-shirt-making; face-painting, bucket golf, and a fall market.
Nov. 9, 1-5 p.m., at Cubberley Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. cityofpaloalto.org.
‘Meeting of Acoustic Women’
Singer/songwriters Emily Zisman and Karen Soo Hoo and guitarist KatGrüvs (Kat Gallardo) will perform at a concert billed as “Meeting of Acoustic Women,” benefitting Aragon High School’s music department. Soo Hoo originally hails from Texas and plays a mix of jazzy pop and bluesy rock. Gallardo is an acoustic fingerstyle guitarist whose stage name is a nod to her innate sense of groove, honed from years playing jazz, funk and rock groups. Zisman offers honest and philosophical lyrics with a sound that has drawn comparisons to Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris and Norah Jones.
Nov. 9, 7 p.m., Odd Fellows Bay View Lodge No. 109, 839 Main St., Redwood City; $15 in advance/$25 at the door; eventbrite.com.
Gallery House Homecoming
Gallery House, which relocated to downtown Menlo Park in May after 65 years in Palo Alto, marks its grand re-opening with a reception. The cooperative gallery features works by 23 local artists in a variety of media, including painting, photography, ceramics, jewelry and textile arts. The reception showcases the work in the gallery’s latest show, “In the Moment,” which opened earlier this week.
Reception takes place Nov. 9, 6-9 p.m., at Gallery House, 826 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park. galleryhouse.art.
