The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Black Marigold will mix beer and wind music, starting this Sunday afternoon on the “Sunday Live From the Chazen” concert and live webcast

By Jacob Stockinger

Beer-inspired classical music may seem a stretch at first.

But then you haven’t heard the Madison-based wind quintet Black Marigold.

And there is a historical precedent or two, including the “Coffee Cantata” by Johann Sebastian Bach and Classical Revolution Madison, which performs classic music in unusual venues such as cafes, coffee houses and bars.

In any case, Black Marigold (below) performed some of Beer Music in brew pubs and a church at the end of August.

Now the ensemble will begin its September concerts this Sunday afternoon at the Chazen Museum of Art on the UW-Madison campus.

The concert, which used to be carried live by Wisconsin Public Radio but was discontinued, is FREE at 12:30 p.m. in Brittingham Gallery No. 3 (below).

It will also be streamed live at this site:

http://www.chazen.wisc.edu/about/news/in-the-news/sunday-afternoon-at-the-chazen-with-black-marigold-sept.-4

Here are more details about the dates, venues and programs:

Music on Tap: 2016 Summer Concert Series

Upcoming Black Marigold Concerts:

•         Sunday, September 4, 12:30 p.m., Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen

•         Saturday, September 10, 3 p.m., The Malt House

•         Thursday, September 15, 7 p.m., Stoughton Public Library

All performances offer FREE admission, with free will donations accepted.

As many Madisonians geared up for this past week’s Great Taste of the Midwest, the region’s largest craft beer festival, Black Marigold logged time in the rehearsal hall instead of the beer hall, fermenting new music for the group’s end-of-summer concert series.

All September programs will feature selections from Beer Music, an epic collection of short pieces inspired by 18 local craft beers, composed by Brian DuFord for Black Marigold.

Learn more about this unique commissioning collaboration in this recent feature in The Capital Times.

Here are details of individual programs:

Summer Concert Series

Sunday, September 4, 12:30 p.m., Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen (live stream link)

Thursday, September 15, 7 p.m., Stoughton Public Library

•         Quintet in D Major, Op. 91 No. 3 by Anton Reicha

•         Partita for Wind Quintet by Irving Fine

•         Beer Music (selections) by Brian DuFord (below top)

Pub Concerts: relax and enjoy a pint with your performance!

Saturday, September 10, 3 pm, The Malt House (below  bottom)

•         Beer Music selections

•         Additional wind quintet selections

Beer Music was made possible by a grant from Dane Arts and individual donations from many friends.

For more information, visit: www.blackmarigold.com

To contact the group, use this email address:

blackmarigoldwinds@gmail.com