The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Longtime musical partners singer Kathleen Otterson and pianist Jamie Schmidt close out the season of FREE Noon Musicales this Friday.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear received the following note from Edgewood College faculty singer Kathleen Otterson and thought it worth passing along because of its timeliness and local interest:
I’d like to share a little information about the final Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison on this Friday, May 13.
I’m sorry that I don’t have a photo of pianist Jamie Schmidt and me together, but I’ve included a photo of myself and a collage of some of our printed programs (below) from over the years.
Here is our background:
Mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson and pianist Jamie Schmidt met while students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, and gave their first collaborative concert in 1996 at UW-Oshkosh, where Otterson was a member of the voice faculty.
Over the next 13 years, there were many more concerts for the duo around Wisconsin and in the Chicago area after Schmidt moved there to serve as Music Director at the American Girl Place Theater.
Kathleen Otterson (below) has been a member of the Edgewood College faculty since 1999, and Music Director at Christ Presbyterian Church since 2001.
Jamie Schmidt (below) has been touring all over the country, along with his wife and two young children, with “The Lion King,” which arrived in Madison on May 9 for a lengthy run at the Overture Center.
The two musicians will reunite to present the final Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, on Friday, May 13.
The program includes favorites from the years of their concertizing together: German Lieder, or art songs, by Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler; and American songs by Ned Rorem, Samuel Barber, Chris DeBlasio, Dominick Argento and others.
A very special part of the program is an excerpt from the song cycle “No Place, No Time,” composed by University Opera founder and UW-Madison Professor Emeritus Karlos Moser (below left, with his wife Melinda Moser), to texts of the Persian poet Rumi. Otterson and Schmidt commissioned this work from their teacher and mentor, which also features bassist, Ben Ferris.
The Friday Noon Musicales run from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium, 900 University Bay Drive, and are open to the public, FREE of charge.
Tags: American Girl, American Girl Place Theater, American music, art song, Arts, bass, Chamber music, Chris De Blasio, Chris DeBlasio, Classical music, composer, Domenick Argento, double bass, faculty, Franz Schubert, German music, Gustav Mahler, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Karlos Moser, lieder, Madison, Mezzo-soprano, Ned Rorem, Overture Center, Pianist, Piano, Rumi, Samuel Barber, singer, song, The Lion King, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Choral Arts Society Chorale of Madison performs music by Handel, Copland and John Rutter this Saturday night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement:
Madison‘s Choral Arts Society Chorale (below top), under the direction of artistic director Mark Bloedow (below bottom), will present “Choral Reflections and Celebrations!” on this Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m., at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street, Madison, the city’s near east side.
The program opens with “Hallelujah Amen” from the oratorio “Judas Maccabaeus” by George Frideric Handel (below).
Featured will be Handel’s complete “Chandos Anthem 9” (O Praise the Lord With One Consent) with chorus, soloists and guest orchestra.
Soloists from the chorale include Brigid Ryan, soprano; Abby Ryan, alto; John W. Webber, tenor; and Dean Schroeder, bass.
Other highlights include “Fill My Life with Spring” and “Where Dwells the Soul of My Love” by David Childs; “You Are My Music” by Laura Farnell for women’s choir; and “For the Beauty of the Earth” by John Rutter arranged for men’s choir; “All Things Bright and Beautiful” also by Rutter (heard conducted by Rutter in the YouTube video at the bottom); and “Stomp Your Foot” by Aaron Copland.
Tickets are 10 for adults, $5 for children and students, and will be available at the door.
More information is available at the Choral Arts Society Chorale website: www.choralartsmadison.org.
Tags: alto, Arts, bass, Choral Arts Society Chorale, choral music, Classical music, Copland, David Childs, Early music, George Frideric Handel, Jacob Stockinger, John Rutter, Laura Farnell, Lord, Madison, Mark Bloedow, Music, oratorio, Orchestra, soloists, soprano, tenor, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Oakwood Chamber Players concludes its season with performances of “Summer Splash” this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet and music by Samuel Barber is included.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement from the outstanding Oakwood Chamber Players, known for giving fine performances of programs that feature both unusual repertoire and classic works:
The Oakwood Chamber Players will round out its 2015-2016 season with a concert entitled Summer Splash on this Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 15, at 1:30 p.m.
The concerts will both be held at the Oakwood Village University Woods Center for Arts and Education, 6209 Mineral Point Road, on Madison‘s far west side near West Towne Mall.
Tickets can be purchased with cash or personal checks at the door – $20 general admission, $15 seniors and $5 students. Visit www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com for more information.
The concert will honor the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death through Six Pieces After Shakespeare by American composer Craig Bohmler (below). This piece – which was commissioned by the Oakwood Chamber Players and which is receiving its world premiere — explores some of the Bard’s most emblematic comedic and dramatic characters: flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and string bass depict the quicksilver movements of Puck, pathos of Ophelia, eeriness of Macbeth’s witches and rollicking nature of Falstaff.
The program will also include Romanesque by Argentine/French composer Reynaldo Hahn (below), a work that radiates charm with its simplicity and heart as well as its sweetly flowing melody. The expressive musical lines are even more emphasized by the melded flute and viola timbres as they join together in unison.
The complexity and artistry of Summer Music by Samuel Barber (below) make it an enduring and fascinating piece of music. Its slow and bluesy beginning shifts to flashes of dissonance with contrasting lofty and flowing lines. As the work draws to its conclusion the listener is returned to the lazily unfolding material of the start, echoing the idle quality of summertime.
Finally, the concert will close with the delightful and uplifting theme and variations movement from the beloved “Trout” Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667, for violin, viola, cello, bass and piano, by Franz Schubert (below). The work gets its nickname from the theme and variations movement based on the song “The Trout” by Schubert. (You can hear that movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Oakwood Chamber Players is a group of Madison-area professional musicians who have rehearsed and performed at Oakwood Village for over 30 years.
The Oakwood Chamber Players are a professional music ensemble proudly supported by Oakwood Lutheran Senior Ministries and the Oakwood Foundation.
Tags: Argentina, Arts, Bard, blues, brass, Cello, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, Craig Bohmler, dissonance, Falstaff, flute, France, Franz Schubert, Horn, Jacob Stockinger, Macbeth, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Oakwood Chamber Players, Oboe, Ophelia, Piano, Puck, quintet, Reynaldo Hahn, Shakespeare, splash, string bass, strings, summer, Trout Quintet, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, winds, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Today is Mother’s Day. What music would you play for your mom? Or would you, as a mom, like played in your honor?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Mother’s Day 2016.
That makes it the 102nd annual Mother’s Day celebration.
Which is why the Ear was to do reprise.
He wants to return to the Mother’s Day post he did in 2014 on the centennial of the holiday.
It has the surprisingly serious history of Mother’s Day plus a Mother’s Day quiz from NPR or National Public Radio.
And The Ear wants to ask you to list what music you would place for your mother.
Or, if you are a mother, what piece would you like to be played in your honor?
Please leave suggestions in the COMMENT section with a link to a YouTube performance if possible.
Here is the link:
And here is one of the piano pieces – the famous “Bells of Moscow” Prelude in C-sharp minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff — that The Ear’s mother loved to hear him play and used to let phone-callers who asked listen to him while he was practicing the piece:
Tags: Arts, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Compact Disc, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Mothers Day, Music, National Public Radio, NPR, opera, Piano, Rachmaninov, Rachminanoff, Sergei Rachmaninoff, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: How can the Metropolitan Opera — and others arts groups — increase attendance? New York Times critics offer suggestions.
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By Jacob Stockinger
It’s no secret that a lot of classical music organizations in the U.S. are looking for new ways to attract bigger audiences and especially younger audiences.
Even some of the world’s most prestigious organizations are feeling the pain and sensing the scare.
Take the Metropolitan Opera (below) in New York City.
Apparently, attendance at the world-famous opera company is dangerously low, putting the Met in financial and, eventually perhaps, artistic trouble.
So this past week, several of the music critics for The New York Times offered their suggestions about how to improve attendance at the Met. The suggestions include cheaper tickets, different repertoire and special events.
The story has relevance to the Madison scene, especially as many arts groups face similar challenges even at they are announcing their new seasons and seeking new subscribers.
It is also relevant to Madison both because of what yet remains to be done but also because of some of the things—like Sunday afternoon performances – that are already being done.
The Ear found it a good read, loaded with food for thought. (Below is an illustration by Peter and Maria Hoey). He hopes you agree. Here it a link:
The Ear also thinks for some groups that shorter concerts, more informal concerts and lower prices would be helpful.
Do you have ideas you care to share?
Just put them in the COMMENTS section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: artistic, Arts, attendance, audience, choral music, Classical music, finances, financial, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Music, New York City, New York Times, old, opera, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, young
Classical music: The Festival Choir of Madison performs under famed choral conductor Joseph Flummerfelt this Saturday night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following timely and important announcement:
The Festival Choir of Madison (below) and its new artistic director Sergei Pavlov – who teaches at Edgewood College — will close the current season with a special concert this Saturday night, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Christ Presbyterian Church, located at 944 East Gorham Street in downtown Madison.
The performance features one of the legendary American choral conductors, Maestro Joseph Flummerfelt (below right, with Sergei Pavlov). You can hear a long Q&A interview with Joseph Flummerfelt in the YouTube video at the bottom.
The program with the Festival Choir includes music by German composers Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms, British composer Herbert Howells, Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, Polish composer Henryk Gorecki and Scottish composer James MacMillan. Sorry, no word on individual works to be performed.
Tickets for the evening concert are available at the door and cost between $9 and $15.
Since 1971, Joseph Flummerfelt (below) has been responsible for most of the choral work of the New York Philharmonic, working closely with its music directors Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel and Alan Gilbert. Until 2004 he was Director of Choral Activities in the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey.
Joseph Flummerfelt (below) with the Westminster Symphonic Choir and New York Choral Artists has been featured in 45 recordings, including a Grammy Award-winning CD of the Symphony No. 3 by Gustav Mahler with Leonard Bernstein. His collaboration with the great American composer Samuel Barber includes the Grammy Award-winning recording of Barber’s opera “Anthony and Cleopatra.”
In 2004 Flummerfelt was awarded a Grammy for the New York Choral Artists’ recording of “On the Transmigration of Souls,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning composition written by John Adams in memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
A master teacher, Flummerfelt’s many former students occupy a number of major choral positions throughout the world. Yannick Nezet-Seguin (below) — the current music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, who, as a teenager, studied with Dr. Flummerfelt in two advanced conducting summer workshops — cites him as one of the two major influences in his life as a conductor. A 2009 New York Times article said, “Mr. Nezet-Seguin called those sessions with Flummerfelt the only significant conducting lessons he ever had.”
Flummerfelt has a special connection with Madison as well. As an undergraduate student in De Pauw University in Indiana, he was deeply inspired by a performance of a visiting choir, and the conductor of this group was Robert Fountain, the legendary Director of Choral Programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.
Also on Saturday, May 7 at 11 a.m. there will be a question/answer session for all who would like to meet the Maestro Flummerfelt. The host is Edgewood College, and the session will be at the Washburn Heritage Room in the Regina Building. This is a FREE event.
Tags: 9/11, Alan Gilbert, Anthony and Cleopatra, Arts, Brahms, Britain, choral music, Classical music, Compact Disc, conduct, Edgewood College, England, Felix Mendelssohn, Festival Choir, German music, Germany, Grammy, Great Britain, Gustav Mahler, Henryk Gorecki, Herbert Howells, Jacob Stockinger, James MacMillan, Johannes Brahms, John Adams, Joseph Flummerfelt, Kurt Mas, Kurt Masur, Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Madison, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, On the Transmigration of Souls, opera, Orchestra, Pierre Boulez, Poland, Polish music, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Robert Fountain, Russia, Russian music, Samuel Barber, Scotland, Scottish, Sergei Pavlov, singer, Singing, symphony, terrorism, terrorist attack, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, vocal music, Westminster, Wisconsin, YouTube, Zubin Mehta
Classical music: Wisconsin Public Radio will broadcast Madison Opera’s productions of “La Boheme” and “The Tales of Hoffmann” on two Saturday afternoons — May 14 and May 21
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following news alert:
Madison Opera partners with Wisconsin Public Radio to present recorded broadcasts of Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” on Saturday, May 14, and Jacques Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann” on Saturday, May 21.
Both broadcasts begin at 1 p.m. and listeners can tune into WPR on 88.7 FM or stream online at www.wpr.org/listen-live.
Each spring, two operas from Madison Opera’s season are presented by Wisconsin Public Radio to let listeners re-live the season. These broadcasts cap off the end of the season of live radio broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera that run from December through May on WPR’s News and Classical Music Network.
Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” (below top, in a photo by James Gill), the greatest love story in opera, opens the broadcast series on Saturday, May 14, at 1 p.m. Set to a ravishing score, Puccini’s classic opera tells of the lives, loves and losses of a group of young artists in a Bohemian quarter of Paris.
Critic William Wineke called Madison Opera’s November 2015 production “the best I’ve seen anywhere, including the high-definition broadcasts from the Met.”
Madison Opera’s cast features Eleni Calenos as Mimi, Mackenzie Whitney as Rodolfo, Emily Birsan as Musetta, Dan Kempson as Marcello, Alan Dunbar as Schaunard, Liam Moran as Colline and Evan Ross as Benoit/Alcindoro. John DeMain conducts, featuring the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra.
The broadcast includes intermission features with cast members and DeMain, interviewed by WPR’s Lori Skelton (below bottom).
On Saturday, May 21, at 1 p.m., the broadcasts conclude with Jacques Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann” (below in a photo by James Gill).
As he sits in a tavern, the poet Hoffmann recounts the stories of his three loves: a doll, a singer and a courtesan.
Offenbach’s masterpiece moves in a fantasy world, with showpiece arias for the bravura cast, the gorgeous barcarolle, and a truly moving tribute to what it means to be an artist. Critic John W. Barker called Madison Opera’s April 2016 production “an absolute triumph.”
Madison Opera’s cast features Harold Meers as Hoffmann, Siân Davies as Antonia, Giulietta and Stella; Jeni Houser as Olympia; Morgan Smith as The Villains; Adriana Zabala as The Muse and Nicklausse; Jared Rogers as The Servants; Thomas Forde as Luther and Crespel; and Robert Goderich as Spalanzani. John DeMain conducts the production that features the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra.
The broadcast includes intermission features with Meers, Davies, Smith and DeMain, interviewed by WPR’s Lori Skelton.
Madison Opera is a non-profit professional opera company based in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1961, the company grew from a local workshop presenting community singers in English-language productions to a nationally recognized organization producing diverse repertoire and presenting leading American opera singers alongside emerging talent.
A resident organization of the Overture Center for the Arts, Madison Opera presents three productions annually in addition to the FREE summer concert Opera in the Park – in Garner Park on the city’s far west side this year on July 23 at 8 p.m.– and a host of educational programming.
For more about Opera in the Park, visit:
http://www.madisonopera.org/performances-2015-2016/park/
Tags: Arts, choral music, chorus, Classical music, Giacomo Puccini, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, La bohème, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Music, opera, Orchestra, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio
Classical music: Madison Summer Choir auditions are on Monday and Tuesday nights, May 16 and 17, when rehearsals also start. Performance is on Saturday, June 25. Plus, a FREE concert of flute music is this Friday at noon
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, held from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the historic Landmark Auditorium of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features the Madison Flute Club Chamber Ensemble. It will perform music by Phyllis Louke, George Gershwin, Daniel Harrison, Julius Fucik and Ken Kreuser.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Summer Choir (below) has announced this summer’s auditions, rehearsals, program and concert.
The Madison Summer Choir, which was founded by and is directed by UW-Madison alumnus Ben Luedcke and which usually has about 80 voices, meets for six weeks in May and June to prepare major choral and choral-orchestral works.
This year, the featured works on the “This Is My Song: Music in the Struggle for Peace and Justice” program, will be “Die erste Walpurgisnacht” (The First Walpurgis Night) and “Verleih uns Frieden” (Grant Us Peace, a beautiful work you can hear in the YouTube video at bottom) by Felix Mendelssohn; “Finlandia,” by Jean Sibelius, and other works by Johannes Brahms ad Sven Lekberg.
Complete information about dates, music, and concert tickets can be found on the website: www.madisonsummerchoir.org
Auditions will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, May 16 and 17, when the first rehearsals begin. Auditions will take place in UW-Madison Humanities Building, Room 1351, 455 N Park St, Madison WI 53706.
Weekly rehearsals – WHICH START ON THE MAY 16 TIME — will be held weekly on the same days and times.
Returning summer choir members and members of auditioned ensembles in the area do NOT need to audition. Those who need to audition should contact the conductor. The contact email is: madisonsummerchoir@gmail.com
The concert will be in Mills Hall on Saturday, June 25, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Tags: Arts, choral music, Classical music, Daniel Harrison, Felix Mendelssohn, Finlandia, First Unitarian Society of Madison, flute, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Gershwin, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Sibelius, Johannes Brahms, Julius Fucik, justice, Ken Kreuser, Madison, Madison Flute Club, Madison Summer Choir, Orchestra, peace, Phyllis Louke, symphony, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, YouTube
Classical music: Madison Youth Choirs will perform immigrant music in “Sounds Like Home: Music in Diaspora” this Saturday and Sunday
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A REMINDER: Subscribers to the Madison Symphony Orchestra‘s current season that just ended have until May 5 — this Thursday — to renew and save their current seats. New subscribers can receive up to 50 percent off and other discounts are available. For more about the programs of the 2016-17 season and about subscribing, visit:
http://www.madisonsymphony.org/16-17
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following notice from the Madison Youth Choirs about three concerts this coming weekend:
On this Saturday, May 7, and Sunday, May 8, 2016, in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center for the Arts, the young singers of Madison Youth Choirs (below, at the winter concert in 2014) will bring to life the musical creations of several groups who have left their homelands throughout history, under a variety of circumstances.
How do we keep our traditions in a place where they may not be tolerated? How do we maintain our identities in the face of great change? How do we preserve our stories and our history for future generations?
We invite you to ponder these questions with us as we explore the rich choral work of the African-American, Indian, Cuban, Arabic, Irish, Jewish and additional musical traditions as well as several works based on the biblical diaspora as told in Psalm 137.
At the Saturday evening performance, MYC will also present the Carrel Pray Music Educator of the Year Award to Dan Krunnfusz (below), former artistic director and conductor of the Madison Boychoir and a longtime choral and general music teacher in Madison and Baraboo public schools.
MYC Spring Concert Series: “Sounds Like Home: Music in Diaspora.” Capitol Theater, Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin
Saturday, May 7, 2016, 7 p.m.: Boychoirs
Sunday, May 8, 2016, 3:30 p.m. Girl choirs; 7:30 p.m. High School Ensembles
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students ages 8-18. Children 7 and under receive free admission but a physical ticket is required for entry. AUDIENCE MEMBERS WILL NEED A SEPARATE TICKET FOR EACH CONCERT.
Tickets are available through Overture Center Box Office, and may be acquired in person at 201 State Street, Madison; via phone at (608) 258 – 4141; or online at http://www.overturecenter.org/events/sounds-like-home-music-in-diaspora
This project is generously supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, the Green Bay Packers Foundation, the Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation, the Madison Community Foundation, the Madison Gas and Electric Foundation, the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, and Dane Arts with additional funding from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation. This project is also supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC, see below in a photo by Jon Harlow on its tour to an international festival in Scotland in 2014): Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community.
Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
Here is the repertoire of the MYC 2016 Spring Concert Series “Sounds Like Home: Music in Diaspora”
Saturday, May 7, 2016, Capitol Theater, Overture Center for the Arts
7 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Purcell
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child…Traditional spiritual, arr. Burleigh
Hashivenu…Traditional Hebrew, arr. Rao
Rolling Down to Rio…Edward German
Britten
The Minstrel Boy…Traditional Irish, arr. Benjamin Britten
Super Flumina Babylonis…Giacomo Carissimi
Duke’s Place…Duke Ellington, arr. Swiggum/Ross
Holst
As by the Streams of Babylon…Thomas Campion
A Miner’s Life…Traditional Irish, arr. Houston
Combined Boychoirs (below, in a photo by Joanie Crump)
The Riflemen of Bennington…Traditional, arr. Swiggum
Babylon…Don McLean
Sunday, May 8, 2016, Capitol Theater, Overture Center for the Arts
3:30 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Girlchoirs, below in a photo by Karen Brown)
Choraliers
Babylon…Don McClean
Beidh Aonach Amarach…Traditional Irish, arr. Dwyer
Ani Ma’amin…Traditional Hebrew, arr. Caldwell/Ivory
Gospel Train…Traditional spiritual, arr. Shirley McRae
Alhamdoulillah…Traditional Arabic, arr. Laura Hawley
Con Gioia
Folksong arrangements (2, 3, 4)…Gideon Klein
Hope is the Thing with Feathers…Marye Helms
Wild Mountain Thyme…Traditional Irish, arr. Jay Broeker
Stadt und Land in stille Ruh…Traditional German canon
Capriccio
Mi’kmaq Honor Song….arr. Lydia Adams
Thou Shalt Bring Them In…..G.F. Handel
Iraqi Peace Song…..Lori Tennenhouse
Bring Me Little Water, Silvy…..credited to Leadbelly, arr. Moira Smiley
Capriccio, Cantilena, and Cantabile
Across the Water (world premiere)… UW-Madison alumnus Scott Gendel (below)
7:30 p.m. Concert (Featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
We Are…Ysaye Barnwell
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child…Traditional spiritual
Jai Bhavani…arr. Ethan Sperry
Hej, Igazitsad…Lajos Bardos
Ragazzi
An Wasserflüssen Babylon…Michael Praetorius
Uz mne kone vyvadeji (from folksong arrangements)…Gideon Klein
Son de Camaguey…Traditional Cuban, arr. Stephen Hatfield
Loch Lomond…Traditional Scottish air, arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams
Cantabile
In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles (from Alarcón Madrigals)…Roger Bourland
Riawanna…Stephen Leek
Barchuri Le’an Tisa…Gideon Klein
Kafal Sviri…Traditional Bulgarian, arr. Liondev
Cantabile and Ragazzi
O, What a Beautiful City…Traditional spiritual, arr. Shawn Kirchner
Tags: African American, Arabic, Artistic director, Arts, Baraboo, Bible, biblical, blues, BMO Harris Bank, boychoir, Britten, Bulgaria, Canon, cantabile, Capriccio, choral music, Classical music, conductor, counterpoint, Cuba, Cuban, Dane Arts, dispora, Duke Ellington, Education, folk song, German, Germany, girl choir, gospel, Green Bay Packers, Handel, Hewbrew, high school, Holst, Home, homeland, hope, immigrant, immigration, indentity, India, Indian, Iraq, Ireland, Irish, Jacob Stockinger, Jewish, Leadbelly, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Youth Choirs, Music, Music education, National Endowment for the Arts, Overture Center, peace, polyphonic, polyphony, pop music, psalm, Purcell, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Scotland, Scott Gendel, spiritual, tradition, traditional, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board
Classical music: UW-Madison composer Laura Schwendinger wins a national grant for her new opera and just completed a residency with the Richmond Symphony
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By Jacob Stockinger
Artemisia, a new opera based on the life of Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi by University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Laura Elise Schwendinger (below), is a recipient of an OPERA GRANT FOR FEMALE COMPOSERS from OPERA America, the nation’s leading champion for American opera.
The awards were announced last week and are supported by The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Seven composers and seven opera companies were awarded a total of $200,000.
Artemisia, Schwendinger’s new opera is based on the life of Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 –1656), and an important follower of Caravaggio with her father Orazio.
Artemisia was the first women member of the Accademia del Arte, Florence. When 16, Artemisia was raped by Agostino Tassi, while studying with the elder painter. Tassi was sentenced to prison, after Artemisia’s father Orazio pushed for Tassi’s prosecution, but Tassi never served time in prison.
The case overshadowed Artemisia’s achievements for years. However, today she is regarded as one of the greatest painters of her time. Below top is her “Woman Playing a Lute” (1609-1612) and her self-portrait (ca. 1630).
The opera is a co-commission by Trinity Wall Street Novus, N.Y., and by the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble in San Francisco, California.
Librettist Ginger Strand (below), is a writer and author of four books including her acclaimed new book “The Brothers Vonnegut: Science and Fiction in the House of Magic” from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Composer Schwendinger has just returned from her successful residency with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, where her “Waking Dream” was played on their 2016 Altria Masterworks Series, with principal flutist Mary Boodell as flute soloist and Steven Smith conducting at the Carpenter Theatre, Dominion Arts Center.
Her residency was made possible through Music Alive: New Partnerships, a residency program of New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras. During her week-long residency, Schwendinger gave presentations of her music to hundreds of high school students at seven schools in the Richmond area.
She also heard a rehearsal of her Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra commission “Animal Rhapsody,” as well as being interviewed on WCVE Public Radio Richmond and discussing “Waking Dream” in a pre-Richmond Symphony concert interview with Maestro Smith. (You can hear her discuss the work with Smith in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Here is a link to the interview:
http://ideastations.org/music/classical/composer-laura-schwendinger-visits-richmond-symphony
“Waking Dream” received a glowing review in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Clarke Bustard wrote:
“Laura Elise Schwendinger’s “Waking Dream” for flute and orchestra, being performed this weekend by the Richmond Symphony and its principal flutist, Mary Boodell, audibly echoes the Debussy — might even be heard as an “answer song” to the prelude — and not just because the flute is the lead voice of both pieces. Some of Debussy’s trademark orchestration techniques, such as single high notes dotting a soundscape of very low tones, shimmering string figures that evoke rippling water and pregnant or resonant silences, are what make “Waking Dream” sound so dreamy. The elaborated fanfares that are among solo flute’s chief contributions to the piece also harken back to Debussy and the Impressionists.”
Here is a link to the full review:
http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/music/article_6b058f07-7c76-5419-8bf8-4836e1117a9a.html
Tags: animal, Art, Arts, Baroque, choral music, Classical music, conductor, Debussy, flute, France, French, Ginger Strand, grant, Impressionism, Impressionists, interview, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Laura Schwendinger, Madison, Music, opera, Orchestra, painting, Radio, residency, Richmond Times-Dispatch, symphony, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Virginia, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
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