The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: The Oakwood Chamber Players explores “The Americas” – with music by Dvorak, Morten Lauridsen, Amy Beach, Ignacio Cervantes and Paquito D’Rivera — this coming Saturday and Sunday.

By Jacob Stockinger

Say the phrase “American” music, and it sounds confining or restricting, at least stylistically

But that is certainly not the case, as the deeply talented and always reliable Oakwood Chamber Players (below) – many of whom play with other well-known concert groups in the area – will demonstrate in two performances of an eclectic concert of chamber music.

The Oakwood Chamber Players of Madison, Wisconsin will present two concerts with works from North, Central and South America this coming weekend.

The concerts are at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, at the Oakwood Village University Woods Auditorium (below top), 6209 Mineral Point Road; and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3, at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum Visitors Center.

Tickets are available at the door: $20 for general admission, $15 for seniors and $5 for students.

Visit www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com for more information.

The Americas concerts will showcase composers, eras and combinations of instrumentation ranging from jazz to string quartets to Latin American dances.

Six works by six different composers will be featured during the concerts including:

• “Tropical Airs” for Woodwind Quintet by Paquito D’Rivera (below), a Grammy award winner with works ranging from jazz to bebop to large-scale symphonic works.

• “Contre Qui, Rose” for string quartet by Morten Lauridsen (below), a contemporary composer known for his evocative and close harmonies in choral works.

• “Pastorale” for woodwind quintet by Amy Beach (below), the US’s first successful female composer who was influenced by the Romantic era.

• The famous “American” String Quartet by Antonin Dvorak (below), which was created shortly after a trip to the Midwest, where the composer had a summer home in Spillville, Iowa, and was likely influenced by American folk music.

• “Six Cuban Dances” for wind quartet by Ignacio Cervantes.

The Oakwood Chamber Players is a group of Madison-area professional musicians who have rehearsed and performed at Oakwood Village for 30 years.

The Oakwood Chamber Players are a professional music ensemble proudly supported by Oakwood Lutheran Senior Ministries and the Oakwood Foundation, in collaboration with Friends of the Arboretum, Inc.