The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: The University Club hosts a performance-dinner by the Wisconsin Brass Quintet dinner this coming Wednesday, Sept. 18. Later this season, dinners for the Pro Arte String Quartet and the Wingra Woodwind Quintet will be held. Plus, the Ancora Quartet performs tonight at 7:30 p.m. on Regent Street and Edgewood College singer Kathleen Otterson performs at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday — NOT Saturday.

REMINDER: The FREE concert by the Ancora String Quartet (below top) with three guest wind players takes place tonight at 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street. Here is a link to my previous post, in which I originally, and embarrassingly, left out the starting time and had the wrong street:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/classical-music-the-ancora-string-quartet-will-perform-a-free-concert-of-rarely-heard-quartets-for-winds-and-strings-this-friday-night/

ALSO: Edgewood College mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson (below bottom) performs her recital at 2:30 p.m. on SUNDAY — NOT Saturday as The Ear mistakenly posted originally.

Here is more about her program:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/classical-music-edgewood-college-mezzo-soprano-kathleen-otterson-will-perform-a-recital-of-songs-by-gustav-and-alma-mahler-berlioz-rossini-and-andre-previn-this-coming-saturday-afternoon/

I apologize for both of the above errors and inaccuracies.

By Jacob Stockinger

A series of three $40 dinner-performances at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s University Club (below), at 803 State Street across from the Library Mall, will be held over the new concert season.

The first one is next Wednesday, Sept. 18, starting at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails, and will feature the Wisconsin Brass Quintet (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot), which last year marked its 40th anniversary as artists-in-residence at the UW-Madison School of Music. It starts playing at 7:30 p.m. Members are UW faculty members and include: John Aley and Jessica Jensen, trumpets; Daniel Grabois, horn; Mark Hetzler, trombone; and John Stevens, tuba. (You can hear the quintet perform with the UW Brass Ensemble in a YouTube video at the bottom.)

Here is the music program: “Canzona Bergamasca” by Samuel Scheidt (1587-1653), arranged by Conrad De Jong; “Kyrie” from “Messe de Nostre Dame” by Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377), arranged by Daniel Grabois; “Mouse, pl. mice” by Raymond Dempsey (b. 1933); “Psalm 27” by Joseph Blaha (b. 1951); “Cinema Paradiso” by Ennio Morricone (b. 1928); and “Vuelta del Fuego” by Kevin McKee (b. 1980).

The WBQ event is the first of three presented during the academic year. The Pro Arte Quartet (below top, in a photo by Rick Langer) will perform on Jan. 30, 2014 and the Wingra Woodwind Quintet (below bottom) will perform on May 8, 2014.

A partnership between the UW School of Music, Arts Outreach and the University Club make these events possible, according to Art Outreach director Mary Perkinson. They are non-profit and designed solely to provide community outreach for the various music groups.

The Arts Outreach Program, established in 1979, works hand-in-hand with the School of Music to share the expertise of its three faculty ensembles-in-residence with young musicians and community audiences around the state.

The UW-Madison continues to commit resources to support the Pro Arte String Quartet, the Wingra Woodwind Quintet and the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, having been the first American public institution of its kind to have artists-in-residence. In addition to performing as part of the School of Music Faculty Concert Series, each ensemble travels to Wisconsin high schools and concert halls, working with young musicians and performing for local concert series patrons.

To learn more about Arts Outreach or to book a faculty clinic or concert visit artsoutreach.wisc.edu, email mperkinson@wisc.edu, or call 608-890-4560

Here are the gourmet menu details about the generous dinner-performance  (the dinner is served at 6:30 p.m) at the University Club (below), which is open to the public for lunch and features terrific food, as The Ear knows from personal experience, with the Wisconsin Brass Quintet:

Wednesday, 9/18/13

University Club, 803 State St., Madison

 5:30 Cocktails & hors d’oeuvres

6:30 Dinner (three courses – scroll down for menu)

7:30 Concert

– Reservations Required –
Make your reservation online!

Reservations ($40 each)

608-262-5023

www.uclub@uclub.wisc.edu

MENU

FIRST COURSE  

Golden Beet Salad
Lemon dressed field greens with roasted fennel toasted
almonds & poached golden beets

SECOND COURSE

Osso Bucco
Braised veal shank with demi-glace & fried leeks accompanied by
duchesse potatoes & honey garlic glazed carrots

Roasted Pheasant
MacFarlane Farms roasted pheasant, fresh herb roasted
fingerling potatoes & braised brussel sprouts

Pumpkin Ravioli
House made ravioli filled with roasted pumpkin, tossed in a sage pine nut
cream reduction & garnished with shaved black truffle

THIRD COURSE

German Chocolate Cake
Chocolate cake with coconut pecan filled layers &
a chocolate butter cream frosting

The WISCONSIN BRASS QUINTET has presented concerts and master classes throughout the U.S., including performances at Carnegie Hall, international brass conferences, and major universities and conservatories. Their performances and recordings have been acclaimed by nationally recognized musicians and critics. Barry Kilpatrick writes for the American Record Guide, “I’ve reviewed over 250 brass recordings in the past five years, and this is one of the very best. The WBQ is a remarkable ensemble that plays with more reckless abandon, warmth, stylistic variety, and interpretive interest than almost any quintet in memory.” 

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