Rossmoor News, Wednesday, September 30, 2026, page 3B

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Rossmoor News • September 30, 2026 3B

N E W S E A S O N , 2 0 2 6 - 2 0 2 7 ! SIERRA CHAMBER SOCIETY

A few changes, but dates remain the same! Welcome to our 40th year of bringing you fabulous

music from the best Bay Area musicians!

As always, free refreshments including freshly baked chocolate chip cookies! Tickets: Senior $30, Regular $35, Children 12 and under $25, cash or check at door, credit purchase available at sierrachamber.com.

Grace Presbyterian Church 21OO Tice Valley Walnut Creek, CA All concerts 3 pm Sundays

October 25, 2026 Max Richter – String Quartet “On the Nature of Daylight” Karl Weigl – String Quartet Felix Mendelssohn – String Quartet No. 6. Op.80

December 20, 2026 Claude Debussy – Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp Camille Saint-Saëns – Fantasie Marcel Tournier – Promenade Caleb Burhans – Keymaster for Flute, Violin and Harp Plus a holiday medley! featuring Jennifer Ellis, Harp

February 7, 2027 Karl Reineke – Trio for Oboe, Horn, and Piano Mystery Works by the likes of Manuel de Falla and Malcolm Arnold Johannes Brahms –Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano In E-flat Major. Op. 40 featuring Marc Shapiro, piano

April !8, 2027 Robert Schumann – Romances. Op. 94 Beethoven Serenade for String Trio in D-Major. Op. 8 Brahms – Piano Quartet No. 2 in A-Major. Op. 26 featuring Elizabeth Schumann, piano

June 6, 2027 Erwin Schulhoff – 5 Pieces for String Quartet Henriëtte Bosmans – String Quartet Robert Schumann – Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major. Op.44 featuring Marc Shapiro, piano

RAA announces upcoming art classes in painting, drawing

By Rossmoor Art Association

Beginners, intermediate and more advanced artists can take great classes and workshops given by Rossmoor Art Association (RAA) instructors. There’s art instruction in drawing, acrylics, oil and watercolor painting, plus live model sessions. Almost every week, new classes are announced.

All classes are held at the Gateway RAA art studios unless otherwise noted. Rossmoor residents and guests are invited to join the fun and make new friends in a non-judgmental art class. Visit www.rossmoorart.com for all class details.

Upcoming classes: “Acrylic Painting” with Marcy Wheeler, Thursdays, Oct. 1 to Nov. 5, 2:30 to 5 p.m., Studio 2.

“Playing with Collage and Gel Plates with Acrylics” with Marcy Wheeler, Fridays, Oct. 2 to Nov. 6, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Studio 2.

“Figure Lab with Posed Model” with monitor, Wednesdays, Nov. 11 to Dec. 16, 1 to 4 p.m., Studio 2.

“Still Life-Fruit, Flora, Food in Oil/Acrylic” with Carol Tarzier, Thursdays, Nov. 12 to Dec. 17, 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., Studio 2.

“Landscapes from Photographs” with Carol Tarzier, Fridays, Nov. 13 to Dec. 18, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., Studio 1.

The student artwork of Marcy Wheeler’s classes can be viewed in Art Studio 1 at Gateway.

By Published and Aspiring Writers

What makes a place home? This universal question is the one Rossmoor author Amal Moulik will explore in a talk to the Published and Aspiring Writers of Rossmoor about his just-published memoir, “Crushed Azaleas: Shards from a Privileged Childhood.”

Moulik will share his story of growing up as the child of a diplomat for the newly independent India and later for a United Nations organization, a childhood that from the outside might seem charmed. But Moulik will offer a more complicated view.

The program will be Saturday, Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. in the Fairway Room at Creekside Clubhouse, and for writers challenged by the emerging world of publishing, Moulik will weave into his talk his experiences with a hybrid publisher, a collaborative model where the author shares production cost with a publisher, which provides editing, design, printing and distribution services.

The program is open to all Rossmoor residents. PWR members attend free; nonmembers pay $5 at the door.

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised across Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy and India, Moulik acknowledges experiencing cultures and places most children could only imagine, but also writes poignantly of how the constant movement left him with a persistent question: Where was home?

In “Crushed Azaleas,” Moulik tells his

story through a series of vivid vignettes. His memories evoke postwar cities, rituals and privileges of diplomatic life, friendships left behind, and experiences of growing up as both participant and outsider in diverse cultures.

Beneath that cosmopolitan surface was a more difficult family life with a demanding father whose approval had to be earned and a mother he describes as struggling with deep depression. As a boy, he found refuge in music, memory and the cultures surrounding him.

Moulik also will explore the experiences behind the process of turning memories – some joyful, some painful – into memoir.

Moulik’s story raises questions familiar even to those who have never crossed an international border: How does childhood shape us? What does it mean to belong? And what, ultimately, makes a place home?

Published and Aspiring Writers of Rossmoor strives to bring together residents interested in writing and the world of publishing, as well as avid readers interested in storytelling. Its programs feature authors, journalists and other writers discussing their work, their craft and their experiences getting words into print.

Annual dues are $30. Those joining after July 1 pay $15 for the remainder of the year. Those joining after Oct. 1 pay $30, covering the remainder of the current year and all of the following year.

Rossmoor author Amal Moulik to discuss a childhood lived between worlds

D’Ambrosio to perform movie, theater songs By Brian Pennebaker Special events coordinator

Franc D’Ambrosio will perform his show “An Evening with San Francisco’s Favorite Phantom: Franc D’Ambrosio In Concert” on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Event Center.

The show will feature songs from his movie, Broadway and theater roles … and more.

D’Ambrosio made his Broadway debut in the first revival of “Sweeney Todd.” D’Ambrosio was then cast in “The Godfather III” as the opera-singing son of Al Pacino and Diane Keaton, and sang the Academy Award-winning theme song, “Speak Softly Love,” on the original motion picture soundtrack. Immediately after, D’Ambrosio was cast in the title role of “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Best-known for his portrayal of the lead role in An-

drew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award-winning musical, D’Ambrosio performed as the famed masked man more than 2,100 times. Affectionately known as the “Iron Man of the Mask,” D’Ambrosio held the title of “The World’s Longest-Running Phantom” for more than a decade, bringing over 5 million theatergoers to their feet during a 6½-year run. In 2020, D’Ambrosio was knighted by order of the president of the Republic of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, in a private ceremony at the Italian Consulate General in San Francisco.

His official title, “Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia,” is the highest honor the Italian government can bestow on a foreigner, and is conferred upon Italian expatriates who have greatly contributed to the preservation of the Italian spirit, culture and national prestige abroad.

Tickets for this concert are $22 on the MyRossmoor portal, by calling 1-925-988-7700 or in person at Gateway Administration. This concert is sponsored by Rossmoor Recreation.

‘An Evening with San Francisco’s Favorite Phantom’ comes to the Event Center on Saturday, Oct. 3

Photos on this page

A woman stands in an art studio filled with framed and pinned student paintings displayed on the walls and easels. Caption: The student artwork of Marcy Wheeler’s classes can be viewed in Art Studio 1 at Gateway.