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Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang will be the guest of honor at the 10th Annual New Music Concert on Sunday, Feb. 19, at California Lutheran University. Lang, one of America’s most performed composers, will participate in a question-and-answer session at 2 p.m. in Samuelson Chapel. CLU faculty, students and guest performers will then present Lang’s choral and instrumental music. For the first time, the concert will also feature Areté Vocal Ensemble, the innovative professional ensemble of vocal artists in residence at the university.

The composer received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for music for “the little match girl passion,” which was commissioned by Carnegie Hall. Pulitzer juror and Washington Post columnist Tim Page said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been so moved by a new, and largely unheralded, composition.”

Lang is deeply versed in the classical tradition but committed to music informed by modernism, minimalism and rock. “There is no name yet for this kind of music,” wrote Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed.

The New York Philharmonic, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet and a range of other groups have performed his music in venues including Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and the Barbican Centre. His compositions have been featured in theater productions and as accompaniment to the choreography of Twyla Tharp, The Netherlands Dance Theater and the Paris Opera Ballet.

Lang is also the co-founder and co-artistic director of New York’s legendary music collective Bang on a Can.

The concert will include “lend/lease,” “the anvil chorus” and “memory pieces.” The CLU Choir will sing “again,” Areté will perform “oh graveyard,” and the women of Areté will perform “I lie,” “i live in pain” and “this condition.” Wyant Morton will conduct.

Donations given in memory of Suzanne Freeman, a longtime CLU staff member who died in August, helped fund the concert. Donations will be accepted at the door.

The chapel is located off of Campus Drive south of Olsen Road on the Thousand Oaks campus. For more information, call the Music Depart­ment at 805-493-3306 or visit http://www.callutheran.edu. For more information about Lang, visit http://davidlangmusic.com.

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The Oak Park Unified School District is accepting requests for Senior Exemptions for the Measure C Parcel Tax. Senior citizens 65 years old or older may go to the District’s Support Services Office at 5801 E. Conifer Street, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to get an exemption form. You may call to request a form be mailed to you by calling 818-735-3206.

Seniors must bring to the Oak Park Unified School District Support Services Office the completed and signed form along with your 2011-2012 tax assessment bill with parcel number and address shown and proof of your age.

Accepted forms of proof of age are drivers license/State I.D. card, passport or birth certificate. This must be your primary residence, rental properties are not eligible for exemption. All exemptions must be submitted and verified by June 8, 2012. It must be renewed annually in order to maintain eligibility.

For more information contact: Dr. Anthony Knight, Superintendent OPUSD at (818) 735-3206.

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Auditions for a classic fairytale “Sleeping Handsome” by D.M. Larson will begin this Saturday at Center Stage Agoura at 3pm. Actors from ages 7 to 17 may audition. The Storyline: The Kingdom’s handsome and impossibly arrogant Prince falls under an evil witch’s sleeping spell, and can only be awakened by a Princess. This program is free to all actors. Tickets to the performances will be $10. Rehearsals will be on Saturday from 1-4 for 12 weeks, with additional rehearsals as scheduled. This show will have two casts and several performance dates which will be announced when we are fully cast. Come on down and audition! For more information visit www.centerstageagoura.com. The theater is at 28311 Agoura Rd, Agoura Hills.

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Oak Park High School presents two versions of the hilarious Neil Simon classic, “The Odd Couple,” this weekend. The male version opens tonight, Thurs., Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. and repeats at 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 4.

The female version, with the two male lead characters written as women, will run at 7 p.m. Fri, Feb. 3 and 2 p.m. Saturday.

All shows are in the school Pavilion, 899 N. Kanan Road. The public is invited.

“The Odd Couple” opened on Broadway in 1965 with Walter Matthau as the messy Oscar Madison and Jack Lemmon as the prissy Felix Ungar. The two reprised their roles in the 1968 movie.

A TV version with Tony Randall as Felix and Jack Klugman as Oscar ran from 1970 to 1975, followed by a less successful series in 1982-83 with Ron Glass (Felix) and Demond Wilson (Oscar).

When several actresses asked Simon to write a comedy for them, he revamped the play for women. The female version opened on Broadway in 1985 with Rita Moreno as Olive Madison and Sally Struthers as Florence Ungar.

While the two plays have the same story line—Felix/Florence moves in with the divorced Oscar/ Olive when the neatnik’s spouse files for divorce—the two variations have their differences, such as the women playing Trivial Pursuit in place of the guys’ poker night.

The female version has more profanity, which the audience will hear because the school is contractually bound not to change the dialogue.

Senior Megan Donahue plays Olive in the female version and sophomore Kyra Stevens portrays Florence. Both have acted in several previous OPHS shows, but “Odd Couple” is the first time they’ve worked closely with each other on stage.

Actors in the male version are Michael Weisman, Drew Gregory, Matt Tallman, Kevin Pondt, Eliron Hershko, Chris Steiner, Bridgette Garb and Rachel Berman.

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The 16th season of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival will feature performances of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Much Ado About Nothing” at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

“Much Ado About Nothing” will be performed June 29 through July 1, July 6 through 8, and July 13 through 15. “Romeo and Juliet” will be staged July 20 through 22, July 27 through July 29, and Aug. 3 through 5. All shows begin at 8 p.m. in scenic Kingsmen Park.

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company has not performed “Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s famous tragedy of young love, since 2000. “Much Ado About Nothing,” one of the Bard’s best-loved comedies, was last presented in 2002. The previous shows were among the most popular in the history of the festival.

Company veterans Kevin P. Kern, artistic director of the Pensacola Shakespeare Festival, and Brett Elliott, associate artistic director of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival, will return to direct “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Romeo and Juliet,” respectively. Both men have been involved in the festival since its beginning and have directed productions in recent seasons.

The festival is one of the area’s most popular outdoor theatrical events. Visitors are immersed in the Shakespeare experience as the festival grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for pre-show picnicking and entertainment.

Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is the professional theater company of California Lutheran University. The nonprofit organization also coordinates apprentice programs for professional and aspiring Shakespearean actors, an educational tour program in local schools, and summer theater camps for youth.

General admission is $20 for adults and free for those under 18. For more information, visit http://kingsmenshakespeare.org or call 805-493-3014.

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Freedom Park, rain or shine, will be the launching pad for an unprecedented grassroots

campaign for Congress. Volunteers from throughout Ventura County and the region will

be gathering to join in a campaign that candidate Linda Parks says is “not about her.”

Parks, a past mayor of the city of Thousand Oaks and current member of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, will officially kick off her campaign for the new 26th Congressional District this Saturday, January 21, at noon.

“My campaign is about families, neighbors, Americans, coming together to send a message

to the nation that we don’t want extreme partisanship, and we don’t want politicians who

are bought and paid for,” Parks said.

Parks will not being taking any contributions from PACs, corporations, unions,

or political parties, just from individuals.

The 2012 Congressional race in Ventura County will be a national battleground with the political parties and Political Action Committees (PACs) making it one of the most expensive campaigns in California’s history. Parks says that at the kickoff she’ll be offering a challenge.

The public is invited to the launch, which will be followed immediately with what Parks calls an “envelope stuffing party” as part of the grassroots campaign. Freedom Park, and the meeting hall where the kickoff and stuffing party will be taking place, is located on Eubanks Street next to the Camarillo Airport.

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A Kansas City organist and teacher is presenting a free concert and master class at California Lutheran University.

John Ditto, music director and organist at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City for almost 30 years, will lead the organ master class at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11.

Ditto will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, in the third and final concert in the Orvil and Gloria Franzen 2011-2012 Organ Program Series celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Borg Petersen Memorial Organ in CLU’s Samuelson Chapel.

The organist is an associate professor emeritus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, where he spent 29 years. Previously, he was an associate professor of music at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo.

Ditto earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Drake University, a master’s degree from the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in musical arts from the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. He has served as organist and choirmaster for churches in Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri and New York.

The Ventura County Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is sponsoring the master class. Organists interested in playing for Ditto may contact CLU’s University Organist Kyle Johnson, who studied with Ditto at the conservatory, at 805-493-3332 or kejohns@callutheran.edu.

Both events will be held in Samuelson Chapel, located south of Olsen Road near Campus Drive on the Thousand Oaks campus.

Donations will be accepted. For more information, call the Music Department at 805-493-3306 or visit http://www.callutheran.edu.

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California Lutheran University will honor Martin Luther King and others who promote peace and social justice with chapel and Peace Pole services on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

The chapel service will begin at 10:10 a.m. in Samuelson Chapel. It will feature gospel and inspirational music highlighting the idea of starting within oneself to make a change in the world. Students and members of the staff and community will recite the “I Have a Dream” speech given by the late civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

Following the service, the university will affirm its commitment to peace and challenge attendees to do the same at the CLU Peace Pole in the chapel rose garden.

The chapel is located south of Olsen Road near Campus Drive in Thousand Oaks.

The Office of Campus Ministry, Black Student Union and Multicultural Programs are sponsoring the free event. Call 493-3489 for more information.

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California Lutheran University will host its popular Chinese New Year celebration from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, in Soiland Recreation Center.

The festive event will celebrate the Year of the Dragon with a traditional lion dance, Chinese acrobats and gong fu demonstrations. There will be dancing, singing and Chinese music. Authentic Chinese food will be served, vendors will sell items ranging from jewelry to plants, and volunteers will write people’s names in Chinese. The event will also feature exhibits on history and art, including Chinese brush paintings and other works by local artists. Door prizes and traditional red envelopes will be distributed.

China will enter the 4,709th year on Jan. 23. A creature of legend, the dragon is the ultimate symbol of success and happiness. It represents power and wealth and the Chinese are eager to have children during the Year of the Dragon.

Chinese New Year is the most important of the Chinese holidays. The holiday lasts 15 days and focuses on bringing good luck for the new year.

According to legend, Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian. To protect themselves, villagers put out food to satisfy the Nian. Later, finding that the beast feared the color red, they hung red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. Today, adults give red envelopes, often containing money, to children to symbolize wealth and prosperity in the coming year. Lanterns symbolize the brightness of spring. In dragon and lion dances, a group of dancers parade under elaborately decorated dragon or lion costumes to scare away bad luck.

CLU’s Languages and Cultures Department and Multicultural Programs are sponsoring the free event.

Soiland Recreation Center is located in Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, which is near the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus. For more information, contact Daniel Lawrence at 805-493-3489 or lawrenc@callutheran.edu.

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The 2011 Nordic Spirit Symposium at California Lutheran University will explore life in the post-Viking era, from architecture to magic to politics.

“After the Vikings – Before the Reformation: Scandinavia in Transition” will be held Feb. 10 and 11 on the Thousand Oaks campus. The public is invited to join in the spirit of a symposium, which blends music, dining and the free exchange of ideas to enhance the pleasure of learning.

Several authorities from the United States and Europe will discuss Nordic culture and religion on Feb. 10 and 11 in the Preus-Brandt Forum.

On Feb. 10, Tracey Sands, a former Ventura County resident who now works for the Centre for the Study of the Cultural Heritage of Medieval Rituals at the University of Copenhagen, and clothing historian Michelle Nordtorp-Madsen of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota will give presentations. Sands will speak about how saints were called upon in support of various political causes during the contentious period of the Kalmar Union. Nordtorp-Madsen will share images of Scandinavian garments and accessories.

On Feb. 11, Harvard University professor Stephen Mitchell will discuss word magic and its role as a survival tool for those living in early northern Europe.

Other presentations will cover wooden statues, the development of Christian kingdoms from pagan Viking principalities, and the evolution of the construction of Christian churches.

A reception will kick off the event at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in the Scandinavian Center. The symposium will conclude with dinner and a performance of bassoon, accordion and piano music at 7 p.m. Feb. 11 in Lundring Events Center.

CLU and the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation are sponsoring the symposium. Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in San Francisco, the Norway House Foundation and the Consulate General of Finland in Los Angeles provided grants.

For prices, schedules and registration, call 805-778-0162 or email seeallan@hotmail.com. Discounts are available until Jan. 19.