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The Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts has received a three-year, $580,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to engage more students and other audiences in classical music.

“We have a long-standing belief in the power and beauty of classical music to enrich lives,” said Don Roth, executive director of the Mondavi Center, which is entering its 10th season.

The award is the largest grant from a foundation to the Mondavi Center since the Center for the Arts Campaign that led to the center’s construction.

Roth said the grant “will give us the opportunity to deepen our work” of audience engagement, by funding four key areas of focus:

Programming — Presenting new and challenging classical works in new formats and nontraditional spaces, such the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, with cabaret setting.

Artist residencies — Bringing established classical artists and orchestras onto campus and into the community.

Audience engagement — Providing online enrichment tools that offer context, connection and feedback opportunities.

Student engagement — Launching the Aggie Arts Classical Music Initiative, a student-driven program, “to connect �ٺ���Ƶ students to the power of classical music.”

“The funds will allow us to pursue aspirations and initiatives that otherwise would not be possible to implement in the current economic environment,” Roth said. “We are grateful that the Mellon foundation has been willing to invest in such ideas and that they retain a belief in the importance and power of classical music.”

The grant counts as part of The Campaign for �ٺ���Ƶ, a universitywide initiative to inspire 100,000 donors to contribute $1 billion in support of the university’s mission and vision.

The Mellon foundation's total support to �ٺ���Ƶ, for a variety of initiatives, including the Mondavi Center’s classical music project, exceeds $5 million.

More at the Mondavi

• Return to Forever IV — The much honored jazz-rock fusion ensemble is making one of its storied returns to action, almost 40 years after appearing on the scene. Driven once again by the powerful engine of Chick Corea’s keyboards, Stanley Clarke’s bass and Lenny White’s drums, RTF IV takes to the road in the company of French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, veteran of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Australian guitarist Frank Gambale, described by the Mondavi Center as "fiery-fingered." Zappa Plays Zappa — founded by Dweezil Zappa, son of the late Frank Zappa — shares the bill. 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, Jackson Hall.

Tickets are available , or by visiting or calling the Mondavi Center box office, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787. Box office hours: noon-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and one hour before ticketed events.

SummerMusic on the Quad

"Imagine a scene from a Bollywood movie, smack in the middle of a thumping nightclub — swirling colors, the rhythm of pounding feet and the relentless energy of brilliant beats." This is Non Stop Bhangra — as described on the NSB , heralding the Indian dance party held monthly in San Francisco.

On Saturday, Aug. 13, DJ Jimmy Love and the Dholrhythms Dance Company bring their celebration of Punjabi folk music and dance to UC Davis.

Non Stop Bhangra is the second and final program in this year's free SummerMusic series presented by the Mondavi Center. The series opened July 16 with the Cajun sounds of Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys, drawing an estimated 1,000 people to the Quad.

The NSB show is set to open with a dance lesson for the audience. Dance performances will follow, with Love spinning a mix of bhangra, hip-hop, reggae and electronica.

The Quad opens at 6 p.m. for picnicking, and NSB begins at 7:30 p.m. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the campus.

Tickets are available , or by visiting or calling the Mondavi Center box office, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787. Box office hours: noon-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and one hour before ticketed events.