Previews

The Merola Grand Finale is the best time to see the young singers the program produces.

Carmina Burana was conceived as a stage work, a “scenic cantata,” but most of the time it is presented purely as a concert. The opera director Brian Staufenbiel adds to the fun of this performance with a little bit of dancing, some costumes and a few other “surprises”.

For the second week of Music in the Vineyards, up in Napa, the Pacifica Quartet takes over for the Borromeo.

If you were to take a chance on a concert this weekend, or get on one waiting list, or if there were a concert worth standing outside with a really winning smile and a sign pleading for spares this weekend, this is the one.

The Target Summer Pops Festival, featuring the Symphony Silicon Valley starts the final weekend in July. It’s a premier South Bay event, which takes place outdoors on the San Jose State campus, and features a variety of old-fashioned pops fare.

Eric Kujawsky is not intimidated by big pieces: He likes organizing big concerts with his Redwood Symphony. And this week he’s taking on Berlioz — not the puny Symphonie Fantastique, but the full Requiem Mass, performed in Davies Symphony Hall with soloists and over 200 choristers.

The fantastic Borromeo Quartet kicks off this summer’s Music in the Vineyards festival, the smaller, homier wine country festival.

The Midsummer Mozart Festival finishes up with a performance of the composer’s unfinished “Great” Mass in C Minor. The Pacific Mozart Ensemble joins George Cleve’s orchestra and four strong soloists for this passionate, gorgeous music.

It’s the 100th anniversary of John Cage’s birth, and a very few organizations are celebrating with retrospectives of the work of this challenging, odd composer. The festival with the most to offer is the one by sfSound at Old First Concerts.

The Hidden World of Girls, the Kitchen Sisters show that transforms to a multimedia performance at the Cabrillo Festival this week, is really about what’s hidden in a good story, and the rituals of storytelling.