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Classical music: Meet Alexander Gonzalez, the new assistant band director at the UW-Madison who is also a UW alumnus
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following press release from the UW-Madison about its new assistant band director. Like many of his musician colleagues at the UW-Madison, he is likely to see his duties curtailed because of the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19.
After the completion of a national search, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music is pleased to announce the hiring of Alexander Gonzalez (below, in a photo by Robb McCormick) as the new assistant director of bands.
Gonzalez will conduct the Tuesday Night University Band, assist the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, direct the Men’s Hockey Band, and teach courses in conducting.
Gonzalez comes to Wisconsin after studying conducting at Ohio State University as a Doctorate of Musical Arts candidate, where he worked with all concert ensembles and the marching band. Alongside his studies, he was the director of the Professional School Orchestra and taught conducting at Capital University’s Conservatory of Music.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alexander and his wife Haley to the University of Wisconsin Marching Band family,” said Associate Director of Bands Corey Pompey (below). “Alexander is a supremely gifted musician and pedagogue whose role is integral to the success of our band program. He is thoughtful, engaging and direct. Our students will benefit in immeasurable ways from what he has to offer.”
Prior to his studies in Ohio, Gonzalez was a public school educator in Colorado and Florida, where he taught an array of courses at middle school and high school levels.
While participating in his Master’s degree in Wind Conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was the director of the Middleton High School Symphony Orchestra’s Wind Octet and worked in education and community outreach with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Alexander Gonzalez conducting the UW-Madison’s University Band in Michael J. Miller’s “Tribute for Band” in Mills Hall in 2014.)
“I am beyond excited to return to a place I consider home,” said Gonzalez (below). “The bands at UW-Madison were integral in forming the educator I am today. And I am equally excited to create a musical environment where present and future students can feel as loved, challenged and respected as I did.”
Gonzalez holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Florida and is an active member in the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, the National Band Association, Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.
“Professor Gonzalez brings with him a wealth of knowledge from his background in teaching music at the public school and college levels,” said Director of Bands Scott Teeple (below). “He is an extraordinary musician, pedagogue and individual. Alexander’s contributions to the UW Band program and the Mead Witter School of Music will deepen the musical experiences of our students. We consider ourselves fortunate to have him as a member of our team.”
Tags: #AlexanderGonzales, #AssistantDirector, #AssociateDirector, #Bachelor'sDegree, #BadgerBasketball, #BadgerFootball, #BadgerSports, #BandMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapitalUniversity, #CollegeBandDirectorsAssociation, #CollegeGraduate, #CommunityOutreach, #ConcertBand, #ConservatoryofMusic, #CoreyPompey, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DoctorofMusicalArts, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FootballTeam, #GraduateSchool, #HighSchool, #IceHockey, #JacobStockinger, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarchingBand, #Master'sDegree, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MichaelJ.Miller, #MiddleSchool, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MillsHall, #MusicEducation, #Musicfaculty, #NationalAssociationforMusicEducation, #NationalBandAssociation, #NationalSearch, #OhioStateUniversity, #PressRelease, #PublicSchool, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TheEar, #UniversityofFlorida, #UWHockey, #UWMarchingBand, #WindMusic, #WindOctet, #YouTubevideo, active, Alexander Gonzalez, alumus, announce, Arts, assistant director, associate director, audience, Bachelor's degree, background, Badger, Badger basketball, band, basketball, benefit, blog, cancel, candidate, Capital University, challenged, colleague, college, College Band Directors National Association, community, community outreach, completion, composer, Concert, Concert Band, Conducting, conductor, Conservatory of Music, consider, Corey Pompey, coronavirus, course, covid, create, curtail, deepen, direcotr, direct, DMA, Doctor of Musical Arts, duties, educator, engaging, ensemble, environment, excited, experience, Facebook, Family, feel, Florida, football, fortunate, fraternities, fraternity, future, gifted, graduate, Graduate School, high school, hiring, Hispanic, hockeu, Home, ice hockey, immeasurable, individual, integral, Jacob Stockinger, knowledge, Latino, Latinx, level, like, link, loved, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, masters degree, Mead Witter School of Music, member, Michael J. Miller, Middle school, Middleton High School, Mills Hall, Music, Music education, music faculty, musical, Musician, National Association for Music Education, National Band Association, national search, new, news, night, offer, Ohio, Ohio State University, Orchestra, outreach, pandemic, pedagogue, place, post, posting, postpone, present, press release, professioal, program, public school, respect, respected, return, role, school, share, Sports, students, studies, success, supreme, symohony, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, teach, team, The Ear, thoughtfuo, thrilled, tribute, Tuesday, United States, University of Florida, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Concert Band, UW Marching Band, UW-Madison, ways, wealth, wife, wind music, wind octet, winds, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: FREE Handel aria concert by area high school singers is this Saturday afternoon at Capitol Lakes
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, will feature flutist Marilyn Chohaney, of The Oakwood Chamber Players, with pianist Joseph Ross and clarinetist James Smith. The program is salon music by Arnold Bax, Florent Schmitt, Claude Debussy and Dmitri Shostakovich. Sorry, no titles have been given. The concerts run from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
On this coming Saturday afternoon, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. at Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, 333 West Main Street – two blocks off the Capitol Square — there will be an hour-long program featuring five young singers performing Handel arias.
There will also be a guest performance of a Handel duet by the Handel Aria Competition’s new artistic director Sarah Brailey (below top) and founding artistic director Cheryl Bensman-Rowe (below bottom).
You can hear Brailey, who won the Handel Aria Competition in 2015 and is now doing graduate work at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music while pursuing her growing career, in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Karlos Moser, professor emeritus of the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music’s opera program, will accompany on the piano.
The performance is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
“Our goal is to encourage high school singers in the Madison, Wisconsin area to explore works from Handel’s vocal repertoire,” says Brailey.
All participating high school singers will receive a $100 Handel Aria Competition scholarship towards voice lessons or membership in the Madison Youth Choirs.
The high school singers who will perform are: Allana Beilke from Madison West High School; Daphne Buan from Verona Area High School; Ava DeCroix from Middleton High School; Cecilia League from McFarland High School; and Virginia Morgan from Madison West High School.
The students are all very active in the local arts scene and have participated in Wisconsin Badger All-State Choir, the Madison Opera Youth Apprentice Program, the Madison Symphony Chorus, the 50th anniversary Wisconsin School Music Association State Honors Treble Choir, and have won numerous awards in the National Association for Teachers of Singing Student Auditions and the State Solo and Ensemble Festival.
The program will include selections from operas and oratorios “Agrippina,” “Joshua,” “L’Allegro,” “Semele” and “Solomon.”
Tags: #All-State, #AllanaBeilke, #ArnoldBax, #ArtisticDirector, #AvaDeCroix, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOpera, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapitolLakes, #CapitolLakesRetirementCenter, #CeciliaLeague, #ChamberMusic, #CherylBensman-Rowe, #ChoralMusic, #ClarinetMusic, #ClaudeDebussy, #DaphneBuan, #DmitriShostakovich, #EmeritusProfessor, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FlorentSchmitt, #FluteMusic, #FreeAdmission, #FridayNoonMusicale, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GraduateStudent, #GraduateWork, #HandelAriaCompetition, #HandelOpera, #HandelOratorio, #HighSchool, #HighSchoolSingersShowcase, #JamesSmith, #JosephRoss, #KarlosMoser, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWestHighSchool, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #MarilynChohaney, #McFarlandHighSchool, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MusicEducation, #MusicTeacher, #OakwoodChamberPlayers, #OperaAria, #OperaDuet, #OratorioAria, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #SalonMusic, #SarahBrailey, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VeronaHighSchool, #VeronaWisconsin, #VirginiaMorgan, #VocalDuet, #WisconsinBadgerAllStateChoir, #WisconsinSchoolMusicAssociation, #YoungArtists, #YouTubevideo, Agrippina, Allana Beilke, Arnold Bax, Artistic director, Arts, audience, audition, Ava DeCroix, awards, Badger, Baroque, blog, Capitol Lakes, Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, career, Cecilia League, Chamber music, Cheryl Bensman Rowe, choral music, clarinet, Classical music, composer, Daphne Buan, Debussy, director, duet, Early music, ensemble, Facebook, festival, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Florent Schmitt, flute, flutist, forward, free, Friday, Friday Noon Musicale, George Frideric Handel, graduate student, Handel Aria Competition, high school, High School Singers Showcase, honors, Jacob Stockinger, James Smith, Joseph Ross, Joshua, Karlos Moser, L'Allegro, like, link, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison West High School, Madison Youth Choirs, Marilyn Chohaney, McFarland, McFarland High School, member, membership, mezzo-sorpano, Middleton, Middleton High School, Music, Music education, music teacher, new, Oakwood Chamber Players, opera, Opera aria, oratorio, performer, Pianist, Piano, post, posting, professor, program, repertoire, Retirement, salon music, Sarah Brailey, scholarship, Semele, Shostakovich, singer, solo, Solomon, soprano, state, Student, tag, Teacher, title, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, Verona, Verona High School, Virginia Morgan, vocal music, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Badger All State Choir, Wisconsin School Music Association, won, young, young people, YouTube
Classical music: Do you hear “On, Wisconsin” in this piece of classical music? Do you know of others?
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ALERT: In the era of #MeToo and #Time’sUp, it is hard to think of a better and more appropriate program than the FREE all-female concert at the UW on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Mills Hall.
That’s when the acclaimed UW faculty violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino (below) and guest pianist Jeannie Yu will perform works by Amy Beach, Cecile Chaminade, Rebecca Clarke and Lili Boulanger. Sorry, but The Ear can find no mention of specific works on the program.
For more background and biographical information about the performers, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/faculty-recital-soh-hyun-altino-violin/
By Jacob Stockinger
There he was.
On an ordinary afternoon, The Ear was just sitting at home listening to Wisconsin Public Radio.
On came the rarely heard Sonata for Clarinet by the French composer Camille Saint-Saens (below). It is a late work, Op. 167, written in 1921 and rarely performed.
And right away: BAM!!!
The neglected work sounded familiar.
That’s because the opening theme sure sounds like the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s fight song “On, Wisconsin!” which, with modified lyrics, is also the official state song of Wisconsin.
You can hear the familiar tune in the unfamiliar work’s first movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Is its appearance by accident or chance?
Is it a deliberate borrowing?
Today seems like an ideal day for asking the question, listening to the music and then deciding because it is a football Saturday. (The New Mexico Lobos and the Wisconsin Badgers will fight it out starting at 11 a.m. in Camp Randall Stadium (below, in a photo by Jeff Miller for the UW-Madison). It will be televised on BTN or the Big Ten Network).
Maybe history can help answer the question.
Here is the Wikipedia entry for “On, Wisconsin” with the history and lyrics of the song that was composed in 1909 — 11 years before the Saint-Saens clarinet sonata.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On,_Wisconsin!
The Ear could swear he has heard the same theme in other classical works, maybe even one by Mozart. But he can’t recall the name of that work or others.
Can you?
If you can, please leave the name of the composer and work, with a link to a YouTube video if possible, in the cOMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble performs works by less well-known composers this Saturday night
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By Jacob Stockinger
Fans of Baroque music can take their experience beyond such standard fare as Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel if they attend a concert this weekend by the veteran Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, which has long used period instruments and historically informed performance practices.
The WBE concert of Baroque chamber music is this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue, 300 East Gorham Street, in James Madison Park in downtown Madison.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a Badger Football game on Saturday, so it may take a little longer than usual to get to the Gates of Heaven.
Members of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below) include: Mimmi Fulmer, soprano; Nathan Giglierano, baroque violin; Brett Lipshutz, traverse and recorder; Eric Miller, viola da gamba; Consuelo Sañudo, mezzo-soprano; Monica Steger, traverso, recorder and harpsichord; Anton TenWolde, baroque cello; and Max Yount, harpsichord.
Tickets at the door only: $20 for adults, $10 for students.
Here is the program:
- Benoît Guillemant (fl. 1746-1757) – Preludio in D Major, from: Trois Suites d’airs harmonieux et chantant pour la flûte traversière avec un accompagnement de violon obligé (1757-1760)
- Barbara Strozzi (below, 1619-1677) “L’Eraclito Amoroso”
- Benoît Guillemant – Marche in D Major
- Dieterich Buxtehude (1637/39-1707) Sonata for violin, gamba and cembalo, Opus 1, No. 2
- Benoît Guillemant – Aria Gratioso in D Major
- Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) “Chiome d’Oro”
INTERMISSION
- Benoît Guillemant – Tambourino 10 in D Major
- François Bouvard (1684-1760) Enigme – cantata à voix seule avec accompaniment de violon, flute et la basse continue
- Benoît Guillemant – Amoroso in D Major
- Benoît Guillemant – Sonate en quatuor pour deux flûtes, un violon oblige et la basse continue, Opus 1, No. 3
- Benoît Guillemant – Tambourino 20 in d minor
- Claudio Monteverdi (below) from: Scherzi Musicali a tre voci, Venice 1607; “Lidia spina del mio core”; “Dolci miei”; “Damigella tutta bella”
For more information: 238 5126, email: info@wisconsinbaroque.org, or visit www.wisconsinbaroque.org
A reception will be held at 2422 Kendall Ave., second floor, after the concert.
Tags: Antonio Vivaldi, Arts, Bach, Badger, Barbara Strozzi, Baroque, Bouvard, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Claudio Monteverdi, Dietrich Buxtehude, Early music, flute, football, game, Gates of Heaven, George Frideric Handel, Guillemant, harpsichord, historically informed performance practices, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison, Mezzo-soprano, Music, period instruments, recorder, Sonata, song, soprano, Suite, traverso, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble
Classical music: Founder Bruce Croushore explains how the “Grace Presents” series of FREE concerts came about and what it offers for the future.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Bruce Croushore is leaving Madison this month.
Croushore founded Grace Presents, a monthly FREE concert series that features performances of eclectic music. He agreed to answers questions about his role as a local music entrepreneur or amateur impresario.
Croushore, a retired corporate attorney, and his wife Michele Hilmes, who retired last month from her position as Professor in the Communication Arts Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are moving to New York, where they met and married 38 years ago and where their daughter, her husband and their infant grandson live.
What motivated you to start Grace Presents?
It occurred to me for years that Grace Church’s historic and beautiful nave or sanctuary (below top) is the right size and has pleasant acoustical properties for music performed by soloists and small ensembles.
Having attended concerts in churches in cities in the US and in Europe, I figured Grace -– a lovely and peaceful space ideally situated (below bottom) on Madison’s Capital Square and on the music venue axis from Monona Terrace to Overture Hall and on to Mills Hall -– is perfectly suited for a concert series.
How did you piece together Grace Presents?
To put it together, I figured the series first needed the support of Grace’s clergy, staff and lay leadership, which came quickly and unanimously in March of 2011, with some caution about staff time demands.
Next, I held a meeting of several folks I knew in Madison’s music community to seek their input on feasibility, frequency, format, timing and programming. Their questions and comments helped launch the series, which in a fit of rare creativity I dubbed, “Grace Presents.”
How is Grace Presents managed and operated?
Out of the planning meetings arose a task force without whose support and hard work the Grace Presents series would not have advanced. Members of the task force worked diligently, not only at the concerts but also in start-up efforts to negotiate a mission statement and work out processes and procedures.
More goes on behind the scenes in organizing and presenting a concert series than one might imagine. I feel the scheme we devised suits our purpose well.
In a stroke of fortune, Laura Weiner (below) came on board as our first program coordinator. Laura is a gifted horn player who was working at the time on a Master’s degree at the UW-Madison School of Music and who was a leader in the “Classical Revolution” movement in Madison.
She brought the energy, organizational skills and musical connections Grace Presents needed in its inaugural season. (Below are violinist Laura Burns, of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and pianist Jess Salek playing the complete violin sonatas of Johannes Brahms, whose “Liebeslieder” Waltzes can be heard in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Did the series take off as you had hoped?
That first experimental season began in June 2011 and met with success. We tried different days of the week and different times of the day. We also experimented with varied programs, from a UW-Madison student brass quartet to Caravan, a local gypsy swing band.
Very importantly, we stuck to the guiding principles of charging no admission but paying an honorarium to all performers and keeping the music secular and eclectic. The quality of the performances was outstanding and attendance was gratifying.
Over the years, the task force realized that noon on Saturdays, especially when the Dane County Farmers’ Market is open, works best, as does keeping the concerts between 45 and 60 minutes long.
Scheduling was and remains a challenge because of conflicts such as events at the Overture Center and around the Capitol Square, as well as Badger football games. We surveyed the first concertgoers – and we have surveyed all that followed – and found that diverse programming has wide appeal.
What did you learn over Grace Presents’ seasons?
Despite satisfying turnouts and positive comments on the surveys, we learned quickly that Grace Presents could not be sustained by free-will donations tossed into a basket at the concerts.
With Laura Weiner’s diligence in researching and writing a proposal, we had the good fortune to obtain a grant from Dane Arts near the end of the first season. That grant, along with a few generous individual donations and gifts from Grace Church, allowed us to meet our obligations. Funding for the following seasons came from the same sources. (Below are the Madison Bach Musicians performing a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach.)
What does the future look like for Grace Presents?
The 2015 season line-up features many gifted musicians who perform a wide variety of music genres. Some members of Grace Presents’ voluntary task force attend Grace Church and others do not.
This is in keeping with the series’ mission of offering quality yet informal performances of secular music to the broader Madison and Dane County community, at no charge.
It also provides an attractive, historic and acoustically pleasing space to artists who perform a wide range of music and who are paid a decent honorarium.
The current program coordinator, Andrea Mauch (below), has the drive, charm and savvy required to move the series to the next level. She is talented in using the Internet and social media to promote Grace Presents. I am especially grateful to Andrea and to task force members Lynn Morgan (the current chair), Tino Balio, Bill Foote, Kia Karlen and Ginny Shannon for all they do to keep the Grace Presents concert series going strong.
They’ll do a great job maintaining the series on a sound footing. I pray it remains for years to come “a masterpiece of eclecticism,” as John McPhee once described Bill Bradley’s graceful hook shot.
For more information, you can go to this link:
Tags: Arts, Bach, Badger, Baroque, Bill Bradley, Campus, Cantata, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Classical Revolution, concerto, corporate lawyer, Early music, entrepreneur, football, George Frideric Handel, hook shot, Horn, Internet, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, lawyer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, Music, Orchestra, Piano, secular, secular music, social media, swing, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, vocal music, Waltz, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
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