The Well-Tempered Ear
Is it pretentious for the NFL to use Roman numerals for the Super Bowl?
15 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Today — Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023 — is Super Bowl LVII.
Or as we say in ordinary English — “57.”
(It airs at 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Fox.)
The Ear thinks it is pretentious for the NFL to use Roman numerals, which are esoteric and incomprehensible to many members of the public.
Does anyone else think so?
Using the Roman numerals in sports also seems unpractical.
Imagine the NBA using the same antiquated number system to record LeBron James’ new record for a lifetime basketball score — 33,388 points. According to Google, it would be XXXIIICCCLXXXVIII.
How convenient! And silly, no?
It seems the same kind of pretentious authenticity The Ear hears too often in Classical music where authentic foreign pronunciations often seem a sort of status symbol that says “Look at what I know and you don’t, but should.”
Not exactly the kind of effort at reaching out that classical music needs to draw bigger and younger audiences.
It’s like when non-Hungarian, American speakers say “Budapesht” when in English it is simply Budapest. And this often comes from the same people don’t usually say München for Munich, or Roma for Rome, or Paree for Paris.
Can American speakers just speak plain American English for the sake of clarity and simplicity?
And can the NFL just use either English numbers or, like the Olympics, the year to show which competition it is?
Anyway, despite such preciousness and pretentiousness, we can enjoy today’s 57th or 2023 Super Bowl championship game in Phoenix between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Here’s another easier equivalency: a beautiful long pass and a beautiful javelin throw.
Which why The Eater is offering the classical music piece “Javelin” in the YouTube video at the bottom, played by Yoel Levi conducting the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra.
Written on commission for the Atlanta Olympics by the Wisconsin-born composer Michael Torke, it soars with a grace and an energy that is made all the more understandable and moving for its lack of words and numbers.
Whatever quarterback does it, winner or loser, here’s to the thrower of the most beautiful pass today.
What do you think of the music? And of the comparison between passing a football and throwing a javelin?
And what do you think about using Roman numerals is sports and foreign pronunciations in classical music
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #Beautifulmusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #MunichGermany, #ParisFrance, #RomeItaly, #YouTubevideo, American, Arizona, Arts, athlete, athletic, Atlanta, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, audience, basketball, beautiful, big, blog, Budapest, championship, clarity, Classical music, clear, commission, Competition, composer, conductor, energy, English, esoteric, Facebook, football, game, Georgia, Glendale, grace, Hungarian, Hungary, incomprehensible, Jacob Stockinger, Javelin, Kansas City Chiefs, language, LeBron James, lifetime, loser, Michael Torke, moving, Munich, Music, National Basketball Association, National Football League, NBA, NFL, numbers, Olympics, Orchestra, ordinary, Paris, pass, Philadelphia Eagles, Phoenix, Plain, precious, pretentious, public, quarterback, record, Roman numerals, Rome, score, share, simple, simplicity, Sports, Super Bowl, symphony, tag, The Ear, throw, understand, video, winner, Wisconsin, words, Yoel Levi, young, YouTube
Beethoven helps LeBron James break a big basketball scoring record
7 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Sometime this coming week — maybe even by the time you read this — basketball superstar LeBron James (below) will break the all-time scoring record for the NBA.
The current record of 38,387 points is held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (known earlier in his career as Lew Alcindor) who he broke the previous record held by Wilt Chamberlain on April 5, 1984. Abdul-Jabbar, who is famous for his “skyhook,” retired at 42 in 1989 and is now 75.
At 38, James — who is just 63 points away from the record as of this writing — still has many years to play and score.
Based on what the James (below, in action) — who is also the first player to become a billionaire while playing in the NBA — usually scores each game, professional sports watchers expect he will surpass Abdul-Jabbar at a game against the Milwaukee Bucks this coming Thursday night, Feb. 9, in Milwaukee.
When he does, you will no doubt hear about it. It will be big news since the previous NBA scoring record has lasted for almost 34 years.
James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, is known as a very disciplined, even obsessive, player who even follows a special diet to stay in shape.
What’s more, according to reports, James — who took his first piano lesson from the famous Chinese pianist Lang Lang — also listens to classical music. He especially likes to listen to Beethoven (below) after he listens to hip-hop while in the weight room, and then leaves to get ready and “calm down” before a game and heading out to the court.
Here is a link to that story on ClassicFM:
What Beethoven pieces do you think LeBron James listens to in order to calm down before a game? Symphonies? Concertos? Chamber music? A lot of Beethoven seems more aggressive than relaxing to The Ear. But the slow middle movement of the Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” (played by Lang Lang in the YouTube video at the bottom) seems like a good choice.
Maybe James will even somehow read this and let us know his favorite works by Beethoven and other classical composers.
Do any other readers or athletes listen to classical music as part of their athletic training, preparation and activity? Do a lot of the runners who are listening to something through ear buds listen too classical music?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ClassicFM, #EmperorConcerto, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #LangLang, #People'sRepublicofChina, #TheEar, Abdul Kareem-Jabbar, article, Arts, Asia, athlete, athletic, basketball, Beethoven, billionaire, blog, California, career, Chamber music, China, Classical music, composer, concerto, court, diet, discipline, Emperor Concerto, Facebook, famous, first, game, hip-hop, Jacob Stockinger, LA, Lang Lang, LeBron James, lesson, Lew Alcindor, link, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Lakers, Ludwig van Beethoven, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Bucks, Music, National Basketball Association, NBA, news, obsessive, Obsessive–compulsive disorder, Orchestra, Pianist, Piano, piano lesson, pieces, practice, PRC, preparation, professional sports, rap, reader, record, score, share, Sonata, Sports, story, superstar, symphony, tag, The Ear, training, United States, video, weight, weights, Wilt Chamberlain, Wisconsin, working out, works, YouTube
Classical music: Meet Alexander Gonzalez, the new assistant band director at the UW-Madison who is also a UW alumnus
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
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: A busy Sunday at the UW is highlighted by a FREE band concert and a public reception to mark the retirement of legendary band master Mike Leckrone
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
ALERT: The Madison-based Avanti Piano Trio will give two FREE public concerts this weekend. The first one is TONIGHT at 7 p.m. at Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, 333 West Main Street, off the Capitol Square; the second one is on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 302 Wisconsin Avenue. Members of the trio are violinist Wes Luke, cellist Hannah Wolkstein and pianist Joseph Ross. The program includes works by Leon Kirchner, Ernest Bloch, Claude Debussy and Johannes Brahms.
By Jacob Stockinger
As the semester and academic year come to a close, concerts usually get packed into the schedule.
This coming Sunday, April 28, is no different – except that one event is clearly the headliner.
Mike Leckrone (below, in a photo by UW Communications) – the legendary and much honored director of bands and athletic bands at the University of Wisconsin-Madison – is retiring after 50 years.
Sunday marks a last appearance. He will conduct the UW Concert Band one last time and then be honored with a public reception.
The athletes and athletic fans love him. The students and band members love him. The alumni love him.
And, yes, the School of Music loves him. After all, not many band directors do what he did when he asked the late UW-Madison violin virtuoso Vartan Manoogian to perform the popular Violin Concerto by Felix Mendelssohn with a band instead of an orchestra. But Manoogian agreed — and said he loved the experience.
Also, not many band directors could start an annual spring concert in Mills Hall with an audience of some 300 and then saw it grow decades later into a three-night extravaganza that packs the Kohl Center with some 50,000 people and gets seen statewide on Wisconsin Public Television.
One time years ago, The Ear — who was then working as a journalist for The Capital Times — interviewed Leckrone. It was a busy year when he and the Marching Band were going with the football and basketball teams to the Rose Bowl and the March Madness tournament.
Mike Leckrone was charming and humorous, open and candid. The interview was so good, so full of information and human interest, that it was picked up by the Associated Press and distributed statewide and nationally.
That’s how big Mike Leckrone’s fan base is. Other schools and bands envied him.
All honor, then, to this man of action and distinction who was also creative and innovative.
Here is more information – but, alas, no program — about the FREE band concert on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Mills Hall:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-concert-band-spring-concert-2/
For really detailed biographical background about Mike Leckrone and his achievements, go to:
https://news.wisc.edu/mike-leckrone-a-legendary-career/
And here is a statement by Leckrone himself about his approach to teaching and performing as well as his plans for retirement. (You can hear an interview Leckrone did with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
http://ls.wisc.edu/news/hitting-the-high-notes
Now you may think Leckrone can’t be followed.
But just this past week, the UW-Madison announced that Corey Pompey (below) is Leckrone’s successor. Here is a link to the official announcement, with lots of background about Pompey:
https://news.wisc.edu/new-marching-band-director-to-take-the-baton/
What else is there to say except: Thank you, Mike!
On, Wisconsin!
As for other events at the UW on Sunday:
At 4 p.m., in Mills Hall, University Bands will perform a FREE concert. Darin Olsen, O’Shae Best and Cole Hairston will conduct. No program is listed.
At 8 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Madrigal Singers (below top) will perform a FREE concert. Bruce Gladstone (below bottom, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) will conduct. No word on that program either.
Tags: #AcademicYear, #AssociatedPress, #AvantiPianoTrio, #BadgerBasketball, #BadgerFootball, #BadgerSports, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BruceGladstone, #BuckyBadger, #CapitolLakes, #CapitolSquare, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianReligion, #ClaudeDebussy, #CollegeStudent, #ConcertBand, #CoreyPompey, #ErnestBloch, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #FirstUnitedMethodistChurch, #HannahWolkstein, #HumanInterest, #JohannesBrahms, #JosephRoss, #KohlCenter, #LeonKirchner, #MadrigalSingers, #MarchingBand, #MarchMadness, #MikeLeckrone, #MilwaukeeJournal-Sentinel, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #OnWisconsin, #OrchestralAccompaniment, #PianoTrio, #RoseBowl, #ThankYou, #TheCapitalTmes, #TheMusicMan, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWMarchingBand, #VartanManoogian, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinVirtuoso, #WesLuke, #WisconsinPublicTelevision, academic year, action, alert, announcement, Associated Press, athlete, athletic fans, audience, Avanti Piano Trio, Badgers, band, base, basketball, big, biography, blog, Bruce Gladstone, Bucky Badger, Capitol Lakes, Capitol Square, cellist, Cello, choral music, Christianity, church, Claude Debussy, Concert Band, concerto, conduct, Corey Pompey, creative, director, distinction, envy, Ernest Bloch, event, Facebook, fan, fans, Felix Mendelssohn, First United Methodist Church, football, forward, free, Hannah Wolkstein, human interest, innovation, innovative, interview, Johannes Brahms, Joseph Ross, Kohl Center, Leon Kirchner, like, link, Madison, Madrigal Singers, March Madness, marching band, member, Methodist, Mike Leckrone, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Milwaukee Wisconsin, nation, nationally, NCAA, NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, official, On, On Wiscosnin, Orchestra, performer, performing, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, public, reception, Religion, retire, Retirement, retiring, Rose Bowl, semester, share, sing, singer, Sports, Spring, statement, statewide, Student, Sunday, tag, teaching, thank you, The Capital Times, The Music Man, time, Trombone, University of Wisconsin, UW Marching Band, Vartan Manoogian, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtuoso, Wes Luke, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Public Television, work, WPT
Classical music: Meet J’Nai Bridges who went from the dream of playing professional basketball to the reality of singing professional opera
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
Baseball season is done.
Football season is almost over.
Basketball season is here.
So it seems an appropriate time for The Ear to share a great story about sports and classical music that he recently saw on the PBS NewsHour.
It is also a good story about good luck to run today, on Friday the 13th, a date that is traditionally synonymous with bad luck.
The story concerns J’Nai Bridges (below) who started out wanting to be a professional basketball player.
That dream fell apart dramatically and suddenly — though she doesn’t reveal if it was an injury or some other cause.
But then good luck unexpectedly stepped in.
During her senior year in high school, she signed up for choir as an elective and her teacher immediately recognized her gift.
She started late, but she had the right attitude to stay open to new discoveries and new possibilities.
Turns out she possesses a world-class mezzo-soprano voice. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Bridges singing an aria from “Carmen” by Georges Bizet .)
And now she has gone on to a career in opera and is a rising star singing major roles in major opera houses around the world.
The Ear thinks that Bridges’ words reflect wisdom that others should share in.
For one, her moving story also highlights the importance of a liberal arts education, where you can try out many different subjects you have no idea about and see what you like and how you do. That gives students a chance to explore their untapped interests and potential.
It also runs contrary to some of the current politicians who want to reform secondary and higher education into a kind of trade school or vocational training ground for work and careers.
It also is a fine summary of the role that music plays both for the performer and for the audience.
Here is a link to the moving and informative story:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/sports-gave-way-singing-rising-star/
Tags: aria, Arts, bad luck, Baseball, basketball, Bizet, career, Carmen, Choir, chorus, Classical music, elective, football, Friday the 13th, high school, higher education, injury, J'Nai Bridges, Jacob Stockinger, luck, Madison, Mezzo-soprano, Music, Music education, Newshour, opera, PBS, PBS Newshour, politician, secondary education, sing, singer, Sports, trade school, vocal music, vocational education, work, YouTube
Classical music: These women composers should be household names
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
It may be known more for basketball, for March Madness and the Big Dance.
But March is also Women’s History Month.
Before it ends, The Ear wanted to share a terrific story about women composers that appeared in the Smithsonian Magazine.
It discusses women composers who should be household names like Johann Sebastian Bach or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Who are they?
Can you guess their names and match them to the photos?
Have you heard their works?
Read the story and see for yourself.
Here is a link:
And at bottom is a YouTube video with a beautiful and tuneful example of one woman composer as well as background about a great but unknown female American violinist, who is championed by the Chicago violinist Rachel Barton Pine (below), who herself has performed several times with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
And leave what you think about a specific composer or women in music in general in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Amy Beach, Arts, Bach, Barbara Strozzi, basketball, Big Dance, Chamber music, Chicago, Clara Schumann, Classical music, Elizabeth Maconchy, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison, March Madness, Music, NCAA, NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, Orchestra, photos, Piano, Rachel Barton Pine, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Women's History Month, YouTube
Classical music education: Let us now praise and support student musicians even as we cheer on the University of Wisconsin Badgers basketball team playing against the University of Arizona Wildcats in tonight’s NCAA’s “Elite Eight” game. Here are the winners of the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s 2014 Bolz Young Artist Competition and “Final Forte” concert. PLUS, WYSO’s Art of Note fundraiser is tonight.
Leave a Comment
ALERT: Tonight is the gala Art of Note annual fundraiser for the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO). It will be held at CUNA Mutual at 5910 Mineral Point Road, on Madison’s far west side, from 6 to 10 p.m. and features great food and many items for auctions as well as performances by student music groups. For more information, visit:
http://wyso.music.wisc.edu/support-wyso/art-of-note/
By Jacob Stockinger
Even as many Badger eyes will be turned tonight to the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA’s annual March Madness “The Big Dance” national college basketball championship in Anaheim. California, tonight at 7:49 p.m. CDT on TBS (Turner Broadcasting System) with the hopes that the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers will win over top-seeded University of Arizona Wildcats and go on to advance to the “Final Four” and further — we would do well to remember the students who excel in other fields besides athletics but who receive far less media coverage and much less popular acclaim than they deserve.
Take student classical musicians, for instance.
Chances are you already know the news if you were there in person Wednesday night at “The Final Forte” in Overture Hall at the Overture Center, or if you heard the performances that were broadcast live on Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio.
But now it is official, complete with the press release from the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below) that names the results of the state annual teenage concerto competition called the Bolz Young Artist Competition.
The four instrumentalists performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, under guest conductor James Smith of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, who filled in for MSO music director John DeMain.
The four finalists who competed in two preliminary rounds and who are pictured below in a photo by James Gill, were (from the left):
Violinist David Cao, 15, who attends James Madison Memorial High School in Madison. He played the first movement of the Violin Concerto in D Minor by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. He took First Prize and $2,000. (you can hear a YouTube video of the first movement of this demanding concerto at the bottom.)
Violinist Bethany Moss, 17, is a senior home-schooled in Appleton, Wisconsin. She performed the third movement of the Violin Concerto in B Minor by French composer Camille Saint-Saens. She received an Honorable Mention.
Pianist Bobby Levinger, 17 is a senior at Central High School in La Crosse. He played the first movement of the Piano Concerto in A Minor by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. He received an Honorable Mention.
Marimba player Ephraim Sutherland, 15, is a sophomore at Viroqua High School. He performed the Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra by French composer Emmanuel Sejourne. He received Second Prize and $2,000.
Cao and Sutherland also performed as soloists with the Madison Symphony Orchestra at the MSO’s Spring Young People’s Concert on Thursday, March 27, which area school children attended. (Below is a photo by Greg Anderson of a previous Young People’s Concert.)
Do you agree with the results?
If you have an observation to make about the competition and performances, or wishes to leave the contestants, please use the COMMENTS section of this blog.
Major funding for this concert is provided by Diane Ballweg, Larry and Julie Midtbo, Fred and Mary Mohs, The Berbeewalsh Foundation, and The Boldt Company, with additional funds from the A. Paul Jones Charitable Trust, Stephen D. Morton, Mildred and Marv Conney, James Dahlberg and Elsebet Lund, Kato L. Perlman, Sentry Insurance Foundation, W. Jerome Frautschi, and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.
Tags: Arts, Badgers, basketball, Classical music, concerto, CUNA Mutual, Elite Eight, Emmanuel Sejourne, Grieg, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Memorial High School, John DeMain, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, March Madness, marimba, marimba concerto, NCAA, NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, Orchestra, Overture Center, percussion, Piano, Piano concerto, Saint-Saens, Sibelius, The Big Dance, University of Arizona, University of Arizona Wildcats, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, Wildcats, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin Youth Symphony, WYSO, YouTube
Recent Comments
 | samanthacrownoversbc… on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
 | Ronnie on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
 | welltemperedear on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
 | Polly Kuelbs on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
| welltemperedear on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 