OAKLAND

Following its 2025 world premiere, the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir (PEBCC) will bring back “Echoes of Eureka,” a landmark choral opera by internationally acclaimed Artistic Director Eric Tuan, for a limited series of 2026 performances — highlighted by a major April 18 media and community event in Oakland.

Originally debuting at PEBCC’s annual “Making History” concert, “Echoes of Eureka” is said to have left audiences profoundly moved, earning a sustained standing ovation and widespread critical praise for its emotional depth, artistic ambition and historical resonance.

Tuan — recognized for his synthesis of music, narrative and social inquiry — has crafted a seven-movement work that redefines the possibilities of contemporary choral storytelling. The opera traces the story of “Charley” Wei Lum, a young Chinese immigrant in 1880s California, whose community in Eureka was violently expelled amid rising anti-Chinese sentiment. Through a striking fusion of music, poetry and movement, the work illuminates the injustice endured and the extraordinary resilience that followed — including early legal battles that helped shape U.S. civil rights history.

Grounded in rigorous historical research and developed in collaboration with scholars, poets and community organizations, “Echoes of Eureka” stands as a bold, genre-defying achievement — one that bridges past and present. The work invites audiences into a deeply reflective space, exploring themes of belonging, solidarity and the ongoing struggle for inclusion.

The PEBCC will perform “Echoes of Eureka” at 4 p.m. April 18 in the Oakland Asian Cultural Center at 388 Ninth St., Suite 290 in Oakland and at 4 p.m. Sunday in Los Altos in Christ Episcopal Church at 1040 Border Road. Admission to both concerts is free.

The April 18 Oakland performance will serve as the concert’s primary photo opportunity, featuring strong, compelling visual and storytelling elements with youth singers in motion with choreography, surrounding the audience for an immersive choral experience. The event is ideal for press coverage, video, and photography, and showcases community engagement with civic and cultural partners.

PEBCC officials also look toward the future appearance of “Echoes of Eureka” at the upcoming Golden Gate International Choral Festival in July, placing the opera within a broader calendar of significant international arts programming. For more details online, visit piedmontchoirs.org/spotlight-echoes-of-eureka.

— PEBCC

National Coalition of 100 Black Women’s annual luncheon Friday

The National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc. — Oakland Bay Area Chapter (NCBW OBAC), is proud to announce the 28th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Business & Community Recognition Luncheon & Empowerment Forum scheduled this week for Friday.

The event will take place in the Oakland Marriott City Center at 1001 Broadway in Oakland. This year’s theme, “Legacy in Motion: Celebrating Resilience and Impact,” reflects the chapter’s commitment to advocacy, empowerment and positive change within the Bay Area communities they represent. For more information visit onehundredblackwomen.com online.

— NCBW OBAC

PIEDMONT
Sustainable Living Award recipients to be honored next week

Get inspired by three Piedmont households who’ve made major home upgrades that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and model what the transition away from fossil fuels can look like at the household level.

The 2026 Sustainable Living Award honorees show that there is no single path to more sustainable living. Their stories reflect different starting points, different motivations, and different routes to electrifying their homes. Hear their stories and celebrate them at next week’s Design and Sustainability Awards Gala starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Piedmont Community Hall at 711 Highland Ave.

The Sustainable Living Awards, now in their third year, add a new dimension to the city Planning Commission’s longstanding Design Awards program, which recognizes home renovation projects that reflect the highest level of design excellence among all the Commission has reviewed.

The addition of award categories showcasing green improvements is part of the City’s ongoing commitment to helping community members incorporate more sustainable choices into their homes and daily lives. Visit piedmont.ca.gov/news/design_awards_gala_april_2026 online for more details.

— city of Piedmont

Lantern Projects donations aid those in need in developing world

Recent contributions to Piedmont-based nonprofit Lantern Projects have provided desks and benches to those in need in the developing world, along with school uniforms and supplies, aquaponic building repairs, food, a solar pump, dog-sterilization supplies, water. medical supplies and more.

All funds received go to the projects, and every donation really helps. Lantern Projects is currently requesting donations to fund beds and bedding in Nepal (project #539), house-building supplies in India (project #540), cybersecurity in Kenya (project #541) and more. For further details or to donate, visit lanternprojects.org/projects online.

— Lantern Projects

To submit an item for the Montclarion and Piedmonter’s “In brief” section, which is now usually published in print on each month’s second Friday, please email it, at least three days before print publication, to njackson@bayareanewsgroup.com. Each item should be 90 to 180 words and include a short headline along with the name of the group or individual to credit for it.