Aki Takahashi in Santa Cruz
For those who've not ventured over the hill since the opening of the Music Center Recital Hall at UC Santa Cruz and the renovation of Sunset Center in Carmel, a couple of promising events deserve attention. The first is on Nov. 3, when cutting-edge pianist Aki Takahashi presents her classical credentials in a Schubert sonata, then tears into a feast of newer fare by Peter Garland, Hi Kyung Kim, Andrew Imbrie, Morton Feldman, and arrangements from the "Hyper Beatles Collection." The intimate (and adjustable) Recital Hall sports great acoustics. Nov. 3, 8 p.m., Recital Hall, UC Santa Cruz, $14-$40, (831) 459-2159, www.artslectures.ucsc.edu. (S.M.)

Andrew Imbrie's 85th Anniversary Celebration
Berkeley composer Andrew Imbrie, whom SFCV's Robert Commanday called "a composer apart," is honored with a concert by Japanese pianist Aki Takahashi, less than a week after her performance in Santa Cruz. On the program is To My Son (a premiere), Duet for Two Friends, and Mukashi Mukashi — Once Upon a Time by Andrew Imbrie, along with works by Hi-Kyung Kim, Toru Takemitsu, and Michio Mamiya. Nov. 8, 12:15 p.m., Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley, free, (510) 642-4864, http://www.music.berkeley.edu. (M.B.)

Composer Portrait: John Zorn
Composer-performer John Zorn, a longtime member of NYC's downtown scene, works in styles from heavy metal to jazz to classical. This concert features his Mysterium Cycle, consisting of four pieces written for different chamber ensembles, plus Evocation of a Neophyte. Nov. 12, 3 p.m., Hertz Hall, U.C. Berkeley, $32, (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu . (L.H.)

sfSoundSeries
sfSoundSeries presents music for electronic instruments by Bay Area composer John Bischoff, Luigi Nono, Morton Feldman, Matt Ingalls, and John Ingle. The performance includes the premiere of Edge Sonic and as part of the series featuring composer-performers, Bischoff, Ingalls, and Ingle will all participate in parts of the concert — Ingalls on clarinet, Ingle on saxophone, and Bischoff on various electronica. Nov. 13, 8 p.m., ODC Theater, San Francisco, $7-$12,(415) 863-9834, www.sfsound.org. (L.H.)

Fancy Fretwork
The U.K.-based Fretwork, which the Independent newspaper called "the world's leading viol consort," make a rare appearance in the Bay Area thanks to the San Francisco Early Music Society, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. On the program is an equally rare concert of secretly Jewish composers, the Lupos and the Bassanos, who Henry VIII brought from Italy in 1540, thinking they had converted to Christianity. They served the Tudor and Stuart courts for more than a hundred years, and in the process revolutionized English music. This promises to be the highlight of the SFEMS fall season, although Voces Musicales' promising Renaissance Christmas, Dec. 15-17, should also give Fretwork a run for its money. Nov. 11, 8 p.m., St. John's Presbyterian Church, Berkeley; Nov. 12, 3:30 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church; Nov. 13, 8 p.m., First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto; $22-$25, (510) 528-1725, www.sfems.org. (M.B.)

Bronfman, Shaham, and Harrell
Lovers of the piano trio repertoire won't want to miss this great lineup at Cal Performances on Nov. 1: pianist Yefim Bronfman, violinist Gil Shaham, and cellist Lynn Harrell. Exceptional players separately and together, they'll be presenting the Schubert Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 898, Op. 99, and the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50. Nov. 1, 8 p.m., Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, $30-$52, (510) 642-9988, www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents. (H.T.)

PBO and Jake Heggie
Philharmonia Baroque will premiere Jake Heggie's To Hell and Back, the group's first-ever commission. Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and Broadway singer Patti LuPone join conductor Nicholas McGegan and the players in this tale of Persephone's underworld adventures. Nov. 2, 8 p.m., Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, Palo Alto; Nov. 3, 8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; Nov. 4, 8:00 p.m. and Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m., First Congregational Church, Berkeley; $29-$67, (415) 392-4400, www.philharmonia.org. (M.V.C.)

The Laurel Ensemble
The recently formed Laurel Ensemble, now in its second year, performs music by Shostakovich, Kodály, and Martinu. Ensemble members Sarah Holzman (flute), Christina Mok (violin), Jenny Douglass (viola), and Krisanthy Desby (cello) are joined by pianist Lori Lack and violinist Adrienne Herbert. Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., Live Oak Park, Berkeley, $12, (510) 644-6893, www.laurelensemble.com. (L.H.)

An Evening of Janácek
Pianist Carol Isaac and friends play three works by the great and idiosyncratic Czech composer Leos Janácek: V Mlhách ("In the Mist"), Concertino for piano and small chamber orchestra, and On an Overgrown Path. Nov. 13, 8 p.m., Old First Church, San Francisco, $12-$15, (415) 474-1608, www.oldfirstconcerts.org. (L.H.)

Volti
Volti, the adventurous new-music chorus, sings a concert of music from Denmark, Finland, and Estonia. It should be a fascinating program, given the living classical and choral music cultures of those northern countries. The composers include Arvo Pärt and Einojuhani Rautavaara, and the less-known Pekka Kostianen, Olli Kortekangas, Veljo Tormis, and Per Nørgård. Nov. 4, 8 p.m., St. Gregory of Nyssa, San Francisco; Nov. 5, 4 p.m., St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley; Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m., Acalanes High School, Lafayette, $8-20, (415) 824-7393, www.voltisf.org (L.H.)

MTT, Mackey, Mahler . . . and Schoenberg
There's an MTT spectacular opening on November 2: Steven Mackey's Lost and Found, Schoenberg's Cabaret Songs (from 1901 — so fear not, they're in tonal Viennese-pops style), and Mahler's Fourth Symphony. Soprano Measha Brueggergosman is soloist for the Schoenberg and Mahler. Nov. 2-4, 8 p.m.; Nov. 5, 2 p.m.; Davies Hall, San Francisco (Nov. 5 performance at Flint Hall in Cupertino), $25-$114, (415) 864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org. (H.T.)

Oakland East Bay Symphony
The Oakland East Bay Symphony opens its season with a program that features American composers, including Joan Tower's Made in America, written last year and scheduled for upcoming performances in all 50 states. Also on the program: the Gershwin favorite Rhapsody in Blue and Copland's Symphony No. 3 (including the famous Fanfare for the Common Man). Nov. 10, 8 p.m., Paramount Theatre, Oakland, $12-$54, (510) 444-0801, www.oebs.org (M.V.C.)

Alexander Barantschik
San Francisco Symphony concertmaster Alexander Barantschik joins the Academy Orchestra in concerti by J.S. Bach. The orchestra — students and alumni from the S.F. Conservatory of Music and members of the San Francisco Symphony — will be conducted by Andrei Gorbatenko. Barantschik will play the 1740 "ex David" Guarneri del Gesu violin, usually kept at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and once owned and played by Jascha Heifetz. The program includes Mozart's Overture to the Marriage of Figaro and Prokofiev's dazzling "Classical" Symphony No.1. Nov. 12, 2 p.m., Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, $15-$35, (415) 345-7575, www.sfacademyorchestra.org. (C.G.)

Community Women's Orchestra
The Community Women's Orchestra was founded in 1985 to perform both standard repertory works and works by women composers. Their upcoming concert features Jennifer Higdon's Blue Cathedral and Martha Stoddard's March and Fanfare, as well as some of Dvorák's ever-popular Slavonic Dances. Nov. 12, 4 p.m., Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church, Oakland, $10, www.communitywomensorchestra.org. (L.H.)

The Barber of Seville
Rossini's evergreen comedy returns to the San Francisco Opera in a modern-dress production that features an onstage motorcycle and a giant revolving house. Barber is, among other things, the dramatic predecessor of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, and tells the story of how Count Almaviva won his Rosina. (The love between the couple here is what the Countess is so wistful about in Mozart's masterpiece.) Nathan Gunn stars as the clever barber Figaro, John Osborn debuts in the bravura role of Count Almaviva, and Merola alumna Allyson McHardy is back as the charming and strong-minded Rosina. Oct. 31; Nov. 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 17, 26, and 30, times vary, War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, $25-$245, (415) 864-3330, www.sfopera.com (L.H.)

Don Giovanni
Pacific Union and the Presidio Trust are presenting free concerts, starring young local artists, at the Presidio. In this anniversary year, Mozart's masterpiece Don Giovanni will be performed far and wide. But you will have few opportunities to catch it up close and personal, with piano-only accompaniment, as in these two performances. You may get to hear some stars in the making — and keep an eye on the rest of the concert series, too. Nov. 2, 3, 8 p.m., Golden Gate Club, The Presidio, (415) 447-6274, www.presidio.gov (L.H.)

Every Man Jack
Composer Libby Larsen and librettist Philip Littell have teamed up in a new opera about Jack London. Every Man Jack will premiere at the Sonoma City Opera as part of the Green Music Festival. It stars baritone Rod Gilfry in the title role. Nov. 11-12, 15, 18-19; times vary, Person Theatre, Sonoma State University, $58-$99, (877) 778-3378, www.sonomacityopera.org. (M.V.C.)