The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Rehearsals for the Madison Summer Choir’s 10th anniversary concert, featuring the Mass in D minor by Bruckner on July 18, start this Monday and Tuesday nights

By Jacob Stockinger

Each year since 2008, founder Ben Luedcke (below top) directs and rehearses the annual Madison Summer Choir (below bottom), which took the place of a summer choral concert dropped and defunded by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The choir sings a cappella as well as accompanied by piano and orchestra.

Membership and rehearsals start TOMORROW, June 11.

The choir rehearses on Monday and Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Mills Hall at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music. The rehearsals last for six weeks.

Then on Wednesday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue, across from Camp Randall Stadium, the Madison Summer Choir plus a pick-up orchestra will perform the Mass in D Minor by Anton Bruckner. (You can hear the opening Kyrie movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Sorry, no word has been received about ticket prices and availability, or about other possible works on the program.

For information about auditions, rehearsals and membership fees, go to:

http://www.madisonsummerchoir.org/join-us.html

Here is a link with more information about concerts this summer and in past summers:

http://www.madisonsummerchoir.org/concerts.html

Here is a link to the home website, where under “People” you can find background and a biography of Ben Luedcke and the names of the members in last summer’s choir:

http://www.madisonsummerchoir.org