Classical music: Here is the impressive concert lineup for Semester II — the Spring Semester — for the 2013-14 season at the University of Wisconsin School of Music.

By Jacob Stockinger

It is only mid-July and Kathy Esposito, the concert manager and director of public relations at the University of Wisconsin School of Music is on the job.

Kathy has sent out the copy for the  UW School of Music’s new brochure with the dates and artists for the impressive lineup of concert during the upcoming 2013-2014 season.

You will notice that a lot of artists and groups have still not yet submitted programs. But whatever is available right now is here.

So get out your datebooks and start checking for conflicts and penciling in your favorites.

The list is long, so the first semester – the Fall Semester — appeared yesterday; only the second semester – the Spring semester — is featured TODAY.

Here is Kathy’s introduction:

Hello all,

Attached herewith is our 2013-14 season schedule, which is in the end stages of design and will be printed and mailed this August. I wanted to give you a heads-up, for obvious reasons.

You’ll notice a slew of very interesting concerts. We will feature several highly successful UW alumni, including conductor Ken Woods (below, now working in England); Nate Stampley, Broadway singer; Chris Washburne, a trombonist now based in NYC; and Ilia Radoslavov, a pianist now at Truman State University. 

Other guests include Todd Reynolds, a violinist from NYC, Taiseer Elias & Menachem Wiesenberg (presenting classical Arabic and Israeli music), duoARtia (the piano duo of Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi & Holly Roadfeldt), and Third Coast Percussion of Chicago.

Our tuba professor and SOM director John Stevens (below top) is retiring this year, and he will conduct Chicago Symphony Oecgestra’s Gene Pokorny in the work that Stevens wrote for CSO, some years ago. Opera director Bill Farlow (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) will also retire, and will present Hector Berlioz’ “Beatrice et Benedict” in his final appearance as director.

We also have much in the way of more contemporary music, both new classical and electro-acoustic, plus many masterclasses and talks that are open to the public. There’s a lot of experimentation happening all the time at the UW School of Music (SOM).

Best of all: all concerts are free – unless noted otherwise with $$. 

SEMESTER II

JANUARY

Martha Fischer, piano, and Friends will celebrate the birthday of Franz Schubert (1797-1828) with an all-Schubert program. Faculty Concert

Fri 31, Mills Hall, 8 pm

FEBRUARY

Stephanie Jutt, flute Faculty Concert

Sat 1, Morphy Hall, 8 pm

 

Les Thimmig, “The Feldman Trios” Part III Faculty Concert

Sun 2, Mills Hall, 1 pm

Prof. Les Thimmig, flutes; Jennifer Hedstrom, keyboards; Sean Kleve, percussion.

Three lecture-performances of the late-period work of American composer Morton Feldman. Final concert.

UW Symphony Orchestra with Concerto Competition Winners

Sat 8, Mills Hall, 8 pm

James Smith, conductor

Our school’s talented musicians perform with the university symphony orchestra.

John Stevens, tuba Faculty Concert

Tues 11, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

With guest artists David Perry, Sally Chisholm, Parry Karp, & Martha Fischer

Mozart’s Horn Quintet, Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer, and Brahms’s Horn Trio. All works adapted for tuba.

 

Daniel Grabois, horn Faculty Concert

Wed 12, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Works by UW composers John Stevens, Laura Schwendinger (premiere), and Les Thimmig.

UW Black Music Ensemble

Thurs 13, Morphy Hall, 8:30 pm

Richard Davis, director

An eclectic group of musicians exploring repertoire of black composers.

UW Chamber Orchestra

Tues 18, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

James Smith, conductor

Todd Reynolds, Violinist Guest Artist 

Concert: Wed 19, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Masterclasses on composing, electronic music, violin performance, & entrepreneurship: Wed/Thurs 19/20

Violinist, composer, educator, and technologist Todd Reynolds (below) is the violinist of choice for Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, and Bang on a Can, and is a founder of the string quartet Ethel. His performance and compositional style is a hybrid of old and new technology, multi-disciplinary aesthetic, and pan-genre composition and improvisation. Emerging from the classical tradition, Reynolds is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Reynolds studied with violin legend Jascha Heifetz and was principal second violin of the Rochester Philharmonic.

UW Western Percussion Ensemble

Thurs 20, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Anthony Di Sanza & Tom Ross, directors

UW Wind Ensemble

Sat 22, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Scott Teeple, director

Woodwind-Piano Duo Competition: Winners’ Recital

Sun 23, Morphy Hall, 1:30 pm

Generously supported by former UW Chancellor Irving Shain.

UW Concert Band

Sun 23, Mills Hall, 2 pm

Michael Leckrone, director

Hunt Quartet

Sun 23, Morphy Hall, 3:30 pm

Paran Amirinazari, Ju Dee Ang, Lindsey Crabb, Elspeth Stalter

The Hunt Quartet, a joint effort of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, UW and area schools, is comprised of outstanding graduate students from the School of Music who introduce students in grades K-3 to chassical music. This year’s members include Paran Amirinazari, Ju Dee Ang, Lindsey Crabb, and Elsbeth Stalter.

Hunt quartet

UW Contemporary Chamber Ensemble

Tues 25, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

UW composer Laura Schwendinger, director (below)

CCE continues its mission to present the music of living composers. This year’s featured composers include Kathryn Alexander, Suzanne Sorkin, and David Gompper.

Wingra Woodwind Quintet UW Ensemble in Residence

Thurs 27, Morphy Hall, 7:30 pm

Stephanie Jutt, flute; Kostas Tiliakos, oboe; Linda Bartley, clarinet; Marc Vallon, bassoon; Linda Kimball, horn

Christopher Taylor, piano Faculty Concert

Fri 28, Mills Hall, 8 pm

MARCH

Musicians of the Sibelius Academy, Finland Guest Artists

Aulikki Eerola, Pertti Eerola, & Eija Järvelä

In residency: March 1-8

Concert: Sat 8, Luther Memorial Church, time TBD.

Masterclasses: Please check website for details.

Three revered Finnish musicians, all from the faculty of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, will be in residency at the School of Music during the first week of March 2014 to present master classes, workshops, discussions on Finnish music education, and a concert at Luther Memorial Church on Saturday, March 8th.  This residency is made possible by support from the Vilas Trust, the Kemper Knapp Bequest, the Finlandia Foundation, the Department of Scandinavian Studies, Luther Memorial Church, and the Association of Church Musicians.

Pro Arte Quartet UW Ensemble in Residence

Sat 1, Mills Hall, 8 pm

David Perry & Suzanne Beia, violin; Sally Chisholm, viola; Parry Karp, cello

Music of Arriaga, Korngold, and Beethoven.

Piano Performance Extravaganza

Featuring Prof. Johannes Wallmann and the students of Martha Fischer, Jessica Johnson, Christopher Taylor, and Todd Welbourne.

Performances: Sat 1, Morphy Hall, all day

Masterclasses & workshops: See website for details.

UW University Bands

Sun 2, Mills Hall, 2 pm

Matthew Mireles, conductor

Winds of Wisconsin

Sun 2, Mills Hall, 6 pm

Scott Teeple, director

A premier high school wind ensemble on the UW-Madison campus.

Blue Note Ensemble, Jazz Composers’ Septet, & Contemporary Jazz Ensemble

Thurs 6, Morphy Hall, 7:30 pm

Johannes Wallmann & Les Thimmig, directors

Ilia Radoslavov, piano Guest Artist & UW Alumnus

Fri 7, Morphy Hall, 8 pm

A native of Bulgaria, pianist Ilia Radoslavov (below) earned his doctorate in piano performance at UW-Madison, where he studied with Christopher Taylor and received the Paul Collins Distinguished Graduate Fellowship. In 2009, Radoslavov was the gold medalist in the 2009 Seattle International Piano Competition and also earned first prize in the American Protege International Piano and Strings Competition, followed by a performance at Carnegie Hall’s Weil Recital Hall. Dr. Radoslavov is now on faculty at Truman State University.

Parry Karp, cello Faculty Concert

Sat 8, Mills Hall, 8 pm

With Eli Kalman, piano

Works of Beethoven, Ettore Desderi, and Shostakovich/Lera Auerbach.

John Stevens, tuba & euphonium Faculty Concert

Sat 8, Music Hall, 4 pm

A chamber music concert featuring compositions of Prof. Stevens, with guests from the Wisconsin Brass Quintet.

Tuba/Euphonium Extravaganza

Sun 9, Mills Hall, 2 pm

Matthew Mireles, director

Presenting the works of Prof. John Stevens, performed by current and former students.

UW Symphony Orchestra with guest artist Gene Pokorny

Sun 9, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

James Smith, conductor, and John Stevens, guest conductor

Performing Journey, composed by UW Prof. John Stevens.

Gene Pokorny (below) has been the tuba player in the Chicago Symphony since 1989 and was previously a member of the Israel Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition to playing film scores in Hollywood such as Jurassic Park and The Fugitive, he has played in chamber music, opera orchestras, and orchestra festivals worldwide. Journey, a concerto for tuba written by UW Prof. John Stevens, was originally commissioned and premiered in 2000 by Gene Pokorny and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

John Stevens, who will retire from UW-Madison at the end of this year, has been professor of tuba and euphonium at UW-Madison since 1985 and was director of the School of Music from 1991-1996 and 2011-2013.  He is also a member of the Wisconsin Brass Quintet. As a composer and arranger Stevens is internationally renowned for his works for brass, particularly for solo tuba, euphonium and trombone, tuba/euphonium ensemble, brass quintet, and other brass chamber combinations. In addition to Journey, Stevens’ other compositions include the Concerto for Euphonium and Orchestra composed for Brian Bowman, Symphony in Three Movements, a composition for wind band commissioned by a consortium of fourteen American universities, and Monument for solo tuba and strings, commissioned by tuba icon Roger Bobo in memory of the great LA studio tubist, the late Tommy Johnson. Stevens has been a member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association (ITEA) Executive Committee and was recently been awarded the ITEA’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor in his field.

UW Jazz Orchestra & UW Platteville Jazz Ensemble

Mon 10, Location TBD, 7:30 pm

Johannes Wallmann & Allen Cordingley, directors

Opera Workshop

Tues 11, Music Hall, 7:30 pm

William Farlow & Mimmi Fulmer, directors

UW Chamber Orchestra

Wed 12, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

James Smith, conductor

UW Percussion Studio Recital

Thurs 13, Morphy Hall, 7:30 pm

Anthony Di Sanza, Todd Hammes, & Tom Ross, directors

UW Concert Band

Tues 25, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Michael Leckrone, director

Paul Rowe and Martha Fischer Faculty Concert

Wed 26, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch performed by guest artist and UW voice almuna Julia Foster, soprano.

 Wisconsin Brass Quintet Ensemble in Residence

Sat 29, Mills Hall, 8 pm

John Aley & Jessica Jensen, trumpets; Dan Grabois, horn; Mark Hetzler, trombone; John Stevens, tuba

APRIL

James Doing & Martha Fischer, tenor & piano Faculty Concert

Thurs 3, Mills Hall, 8 pm

Marc Vallon Faculty Concert                                                                      

Fri 4, Morphy Hall, 6:30 pm

Presenting “Domaine Musicale”, an homage to Pierre Boulez’s legendary group.

Uri Vardi, cello, with Taiseer Elias & Menachem Wiesenberg Guest Artists

Sat 5, Mills Hall, 8 pm

Presenting “Fusions Continuum,” a recital of Jewish music and Arabic art music.

A master of both Eastern and Western music, oud and violin artist Taiseer Elias enjoys an international career as a performer, conductor, and composer. He is founder and conductor of the first Orchestra of Classical Arabic Music in Israel and is currently the musical director and conductor of the Arab-Jewish Youth Orchestra.

Menachem Wiesenberg is a Professor and Dean of Composition, Conducting, and Music Education at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and also a senior consultant to the Jerusalem Music Center.

Uri Vardi (below) is professor of cello at UW-Madison.

Beethoven Piano Competition: Winners’ Recital

Sun 6, Morphy Hall, 3:30 pm

Generously supported by former UW Chancellor Irving Shain.

Kostas Tiliakos, oboe Faculty Concert

Mon 7, Morphy Hall, 7:30 pm

Twisted Metal

Tues 29, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

The UW horns perform their second annual concert as Twisted Metal, a rock band playing original songs and arrangements by ensemble members.

University Opera $$

Fri 11, 7:30 pm / Sun 13, 3 pm / Tues 15, 7:30 pm, Music Hall

William Farlow, director

James Smith, conductor

Hector Berlioz, Beatrice et Benedict

Call (608) 265-ARTS (2787) for ticket info.

The Center for New Music, University of Iowa Guest Artists

Fri 11, Mills Hall, 8 pm

Presenting performances devoted to late 20th and early 21^st-century repertoire.

UW Concert Choir & UW Chamber Orchestra  $$

Sat 12, Mills Hall, 8 pm

Beverly Taylor, conductor

J.S. Bach, The Passion of St. John

The Perlman Piano Trio

Sat 12, Morphy Hall, 3:30 pm

Daniel Ma, violoncello; Alice Bartsch, violin; SeungWha Baek, piano

The Perlman Piano Trio 2012 members below) is sponsored by retired UW research scientist Dr. Kato Perlman and provides annual awards for a violinist, cellist, and pianist who present one concert each year of great masterpieces of the piano literature. The UW thanks Dr. Perlman for her support.

UW Chorale

Sun 13, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Bruce Gladstone, director

Anthony Di Sanza, percussion Faculty Concert

Mon 14, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Guitar Ensemble

Wed 16, Mills Hall, 8:30 pm

Javier Calderon, director

Black Music Ensemble

Thurs 17, Morphy Hall, 8:30 pm

Richard Davis, director

An eclectic group of musicians exploring repertoire of black composers.

Pro Arte Quartet UW Ensemble in Residence

Thurs 17, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

David Perry & Suzanne Beia, violin; Sally Chisholm, viola; Parry Karp, cello

Music of Onslow, Schoenberg, and Mendelssohn.

Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble

Sat 19, Mills Hall, 4 pm

John Stevens, director

Madrigal Singers

Sat 19, Mills Hall, 8 pm

Bruce Gladstone, director

Blue Note Ensemble, Jazz Composers’ Septet, & Contemporary Jazz Ensemble

Tues 22, Morphy Hall, 7:30 pm

Johannes Wallmann & Les Thimmig, directors

Western Percussion Ensemble

Wed 23, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Anthony Di Sanza & Tom Ross, directors

UW Wind Ensemble

Fri 25, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Scott Teeple, director

UW Choral Union  $$

Sat 26, Mills Hall, 8 pm

Beverly Taylor, director

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vespers

Call (608) 265-ARTS (2787) for ticket info.

University Bands

Sun 27, Mills Hall, 2 pm

Matthew Mireles, conductor

Contemporary Chamber Ensemble

Laura Schwendinger, director

Mon 28, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

CCE continues its mission to present the music of living composers. This year’s featured composers include Kathryn Alexander, Suzanne Sorkin, and David Gompper.

MAY

Brian Lynch, trumpet, with UW Jazz Orchestra & UW High School Honors Jazz Band Guest Artist

Thurs 1, Music Hall, 7:30 pm

Johannes Wallmann, director

Grammy Award Winner Brian Lynch is as comfortable negotiating the complexities of clave with Afro-Caribbean pioneer Eddie Palmieri as he is swinging through advanced harmony with bebop maestro Phil Woods. Having honed his chops as a member of both Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the Horace Silver Quintet, Lynch has been a valued collaborator with jazz artists such as Benny Golson, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Charles McPherson; Latin music icons as diverse as Hector LaVoe and Lila Downs; and pop luminaries such as Prince.

World Percussion Ensemble

Sat 3, Music Hall, 12 pm

Todd Hammes & Tom Ross, directors

UW All-University Strings

Sat 3, Mills Hall, 4 pm

Janet Jensen, director

UW Women’s Chorus & University Chorus

Sat 3, Mills Hall, 8 pm

Beverly Taylor, director

UW Concert Band

Sun 4, Mills Hall, 2 pm

Michael Leckrone, director

UW Chamber Orchestra

Sun 4, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

James Smith, conductor

Master Singers

Mon 5, Mills Hall, 7:30 pm

Bruce Gladstone, conductor (bel0w)

 

---