For a list of finalists, go to lamorindaarts.org/idol/2016-finalists.
Cash prizes will be awarded, ranging from $200-$750, with a soloist award for the most audience votes — who is not a category winner — receiving $300.
For more information, go to lamorindaarts.org.
Bedford Gallery kicks off season with ‘ReTooled’
The Bedford Gallery’s 2016-2017 exhibition season starts Sept. 18, with its “ReTooled” Highlights from the Hechinger Collection.”
There will be more than 40 paintings, sculptures, works on paper and photographs detailing the materials and processes of 20th century art. The show profiles 28 artists from the Hechinger Collection, including many nationally recognized.
The opening reception is from 3 to 5 p.m. at the gallery, inside the Lesher Center of the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, in Walnut Creek.
And in the Alcove Gallery is an adjunct show, “Blade Runner: ReTooling the Saw as Art,” featuring 20 artists from the Bay Area who use blades as a surface for painting, or to make 3-D objects,
Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, and 6 to 8 p.m. when there are evening performances in the Lesher Center. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for youth ages 13-17; and free for kids 12 and under, for those with a same-day performance ticket, as well as members of the Diablo Regional Arts Association and Friends of the Bedford.
There is also free general admission on the first Tuesday of every month.
For more information, go to bedfordgallery.org.
California Symphony opening night set
The California Symphony’s opening night for its 2016-1027 season begins at 4 p.m. Sept. 18, at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.
Tickets start at $42. Visit the arts center box office or go to http://bit.ly/2aw3wBj.
The opening night performance, under the direction of Donato Cabrera, features Pleasanton native Annie Wu, performing on the flute in Mozart’s “Flute Concerto in G.” Also scheduled to be performed is “Network,” by former composer-in-residence Kevin Puts; and Rachmaninoff’s “Symphony No. 2.”
The arts center is located at 1601 Civic Drive.
Final Moraga Commons Park seasonal concert
The finale of the Concerts at Moraga Commons Park is from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in conjunction with the Pear Festival.
Residents are invited to bring a picnic supper or get a burger at the Snack Shack — cooked by volunteers of the Moraga Park Foundation — and then sit on the grassy hillside in front of the band shell for an evening of music. Blankets and lawn chairs are OK to bring.
The Tune Riders will be performing. The concert is at 1425 St. Marys Road, in Moraga.
For information, visit http://moragaparks.org/concert.html.
Book signing, reception at Heather Farm garden
There will be a book signing and reception for Larry Weaner’s “Revolutionary Landscapes” at the Gardens at Heather Farm.
The event is Sept. 29, at the garden, 1540 Marchbanks Drive, in Walnut Creek.
The lecture is at 7 p.m., followed by the book signing and reception at 8 p.m.
The cost is $25 for the general public, and $20 for garden and garden conservancy members.
For more information and to register, visit www.gardenshf.org or call 925-947-1678.
Musical about nation’s birth comes to Lesher
In time for election season, Contra Costa Musical Theatre brings the musical “1776,” about the statesmen involved in the birth of our nation, to the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, in Walnut Creek.
From Oct. 7-Nov. 5, performances will be held in the Hofmann Theatre. For showtimes and tickets — which start at $45 — to this Tony Award winner, go to the Lesher Center ticket office, call 925-943-SHOW (925-943-7469) or visit www.lesherartscenter.org.
‘Love Letters’ coming to Rheem Theatre Oct. 8-9
“Love Letters” comes to the New Rheem Theatre on Oct. 8-9, for three performances.
The play, starring Tony Dow of “Leave it to Beaver” fame, and Beverly Washburn, seen in “Old Yeller,” centers on the lives of two friends over a 50-year span, each reading letters describing hopes, dreams, disappointments and victories of their mostly separate lives.
Showtimes are at 7 p.m. Oct. 8, and at 2 and 6 p.m. Oct. 9, at the theater, 350 Park St., in Moraga. Tickets are $25.
For more information, call 925-388-0752 or visit lamorindatheatres.com/2813/EVENTS.
Email submissions to Cathie Gatison at cgatison@bayareanewsgroup.com.