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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post from the Madison Youth Choirs about their upcoming concerts this weekend:
This spring, Madison Youth Choirs singers are exploring the meaning of “Legacy,” studying works that have endured throughout history, folk traditions that have been passed on, and musical connections that we maintain with those who have come before us. Along the way, we’re discovering how our own choices and examples are leaving a lasting impact on future generations.
In our upcoming concert series in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center, 201 State Street, on this Saturday, May 11, and Sunday, May 12, we’ll present a variety of works. They include Benjamin Britten’s “The Golden Vanity,” Palestrina’s beloved “Sicut Cervus,” Sweet Honey in the Rock’s “Wanting Memories,” the final chorus of Handel’s oratorio Samson, American and Scottish folk songs, and Zoe Mulford’s powerful modern folk piece, “The President Sang Amazing Grace.”
The concert will also pay tribute to our alumni, with selections featured on the very first Madison Boychoir album, and past Cantabile singers invited to join us on stage for “Sisters, Now Our Meeting is Over.”
At the Saturday concert, MYC will present the 2019 Carrel Pray Music Educator of the Year award to Diana Popowycz (below), co-founder of Suzuki Strings of Madison.
DETAILS ABOUT “LEGACY” MYC’S SPRING CONCERT SERIES
Saturday
7:30 p.m. Purcell, Britten, Holst and Ragazzi (boychoirs)
Sunday
3:30 p.m. Choraliers, Con Gioia, Capriccio, Cantilena and Cantabile (girlchoirs)
7:30 p.m. Cantilena, Cantabile and Ragazzi (high school ensembles)
THREE WAYS TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for students. Children under 7 are free, but a ticket is still required and can be requested at the Overture Center Box Office. Seating is General Admission.
This concert is supported by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, the Green Bay Packers Foundation, the Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation and Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, charitable arm of The Capital Times, and the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation. This project is also made possible by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with additional funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
ABOUT MADISON YOUTH CHOIRS (MYC):
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, 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.
REPERTOIRE
SATURDAY
For the 7:30 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Britten
“The Golden Vanity,” by Benjamin Britten (to our knowledge, this will be the first time the work has ever been performed in Madison)
Purcell
“Simple Gifts” by Joseph Brackett, arr. Aaron Copland
“Tallis Canon” by Thomas Tallis
“Sound the Trumpet” from Come Ye Sons of Art by Henry Purcell
Britten
“Ich jauchze, ich lache” by Johann Sebastian Bach
Holst
“Hallelujah, Amen” from Judas Maccabeus by George Frideric Handel
“Sed diabolus” by Hildegard von Bingen
“Bar’bry Allen” Traditional ballad, arr. Joshua Shank
“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
Ragazzi
“Let Your Voice Be Heard” by Abraham Adzenyah
“Sicut Cervus” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
“Agincourt Carol,” Anonymous, ca. 15th century
Ragazzi & Holst
“The President Sang Amazing Grace” by Zoe Mulford, arr. Randal Swiggum
Holst
“Shosholoza,” Traditional song from Zimbabwe
Combined Boychoirs
“Will Ye No Come Back Again?” Traditional Scottish, arr. Randal Swiggum
Legacy Choirs
“Day is Done” by Peter Yarrow, arr. Randal Swiggum
SUNDAY
For the 3:30 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
“Music Alone Shall Live,” Traditional German canon
“Ut Queant Laxis,” Plainsong chant, text attributed to Paolo Diacono
“This Little Light of Mine” by Harry Dixon Loes, arr. Ken Berg
“A Great Big Sea,” Newfoundland folk song, arr. Lori-Anne Dolloff
Con Gioia
“Seligkeit” by Franz Schubert
“Blue Skies” by Irving Berlin, arr. Roger Emerson
“When I am Laid in Earth” from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell
“Pokare Kare Ana” by Paraire Tomoana
“Ah, comme c’est chose belle” Anonymous, 14th century
“Hope” by Marjan Helms, poem by Emily Dickinson
Capriccio
“Non Nobis Domine,” attributed to William Byrd
“Ich Folge Dir Gleichfalls” from St. John Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach
“Dirait-on” by Morten Lauridsen
Cantilena
“Aure Volanti” by Francesca Caccini
“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
Cantabile
“Come All You Fair and Pretty Ladies” Traditional Ozark song, adapted by Mike Ross
“Wanting Memories” by Ysaye M. Barnwell
Legacy Choir
“Music in My Mother’s House” by Stuart Stotts
For the 7:30 p.m. concert (featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
“Aure Volanti” by Francesca Caccini
“Una Sañosa Porfía by Juan del Encina
“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
“O Virtus Sapientiae” by Hildegard von Bingen
Ragazzi
“Sicut Cervus” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
“Agincourt Carol,” Anonymous, ca. 15th century
“Let Your Voice Be Heard” by Abraham Adzenyah
“The President Sang Amazing Grace” by Zoe Mulford, arr. Randal Swiggum
Cantabile
“In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles” by Roger Bourland
“Sed Diabolus” by Hildegard von Bingen
“Come All You Fair and Pretty Ladies” Traditional Ozark song, adapted by Mike Ross
“Wanting Memories” by Ysaye M. Barnwell
Combined Choirs
“Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite” by George Frideric Handel
Cantabile and Alumnae
“Sisters, Now Our Meeting is Over,” Traditional Quaker meeting song
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.
By Jacob Stockinger
Internationally recognized and Grammy Award-winning Canadian violinist James Ehnes returns to Overture Hall this weekend to perform the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO, below in a photo by Greg Anderson).
The program opens with a performance of American composer John Harbison’s The Most Often Used Chords, and closes with Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
This program is a continuation of MSO music director John DeMain’s 25th anniversary season.
Performances will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State Street, on Friday, Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 17, at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets information is below.
“Mussorgsky’s masterpiece explores the colors of the orchestra — the correlation of an artist’s visual medium through the colors of sound and music. And its finale The Great Gate of Kiev (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom), is one of classical music’s greatest hits,” says DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson).
DeMain adds: “James Ehnes (below, in a photo by Benjamin Ealovega) is a violinist who is completely to my taste. With an absolutely gorgeous sound and consummate technique, he goes to the heart of the music. He will approach the Brahms violin concerto as a violinist’s violinist, adored by the public, by his colleagues and by me for the integrity in his playing.”
On this Friday afternoon, Feb. 15, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Mills Hall, Ehnes will give a free and public master class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
DeMain continues: “We celebrate the 80th birthday of the internationally renowned — and Madison resident — composer John Harbison (below) with the first performance by the MSO of his delightful composition, The Most Often Used Chords.”
Harbison’s The Most Often Used Chords is a satirical piece of “anti-art art,” or “found object,” art. According to the composer, the found object that inspired this symphony (originally titled Fli Accordi Piu Usati) were the pre-printed “Fundamentals of Music” pages that he noticed in an Italian music-writing notebook. The work was originally composed in 1992 for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
Written in 1878, the Brahms Violin Concerto was dedicated to his friend Joseph Joachim and premiered in 1879 in Leipzig, with Joachim soloing and Brahms (below) conducting.
An equal partnership between soloist and ensemble is on full display in this concerto; it is not a piece in which the orchestra serves as mere backdrop. Rather, the violinist and orchestra are a team, collaborating and interacting to recount an elegant and nuanced musical drama.
Originally written as a piano composition, Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky was composed as a memorial to his friend, the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann, who died in 1873. The suite consists of 10 movements — each a musical depiction of one of 10 paintings by Hartmann. These movements are interspersed with a recurring promenade theme that represents a visitor strolling through the exhibition.
The arrangement by Maurice Ravel (below), produced in 1922, represents a virtuoso effort by a master composer. His instrumental colors — a trumpet solo for the opening Promenade, dark woodwind tones, the piccolo and high strings for the children’s “chicks in shells” — are widely admired. The influence of Ravel’s version may often be discerned in subsequent versions of the suite.
CONCERT AND TICKET DETAILS
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert. One hour before each performance, Randal Swiggum (below) will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticket holders.
The symphony recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations, and so they can experience the Prelude Discussion.
Program notes for the concerts, written retired MSO trombonist J. Michael Allsen, are available online: http://bit.ly/feb2019programnotes
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Major funding for the February concerts is provided by: The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club, BMO Harris Bank, Boardman and Clark LLP, Capitol Lakes, Dr. Robert and Linda Graebner, Marvin J. Levy, and Cyrena and Lee Pondrom.
Additional funding is provided by Martha and Charles Casey, and by the Wisconsin Arts Board, with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
This semester, the Madison Youth Choirs welcome guest artist Tony Memmel, a singer-songwriter and guitarist whose story of ingenuity and resilience will inspire young singers and audience members alike.
Born without a left forearm or hand, Memmel (below) taught himself to play guitar by building a homemade cast out of Gorilla Tape, and has become an internationally acclaimed musician, thoughtful teacher and ambassador for young people with limb differences. (You can hear Memmel talk about himself in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
On this coming Saturday night, Dec. 8, and Sunday afternoon, Dec., 9, at the Middleton Performing Arts Center that is attached to Middleton High School at 2100 Bristol Street, Memmel will join the Madison Youth Choirs in a Winter Concert Series called “Resilience” because it focuses on the ability to overcome challenges both visible and invisible, and along the way discover the limitless possibilities that exist inside each of us.
Here is the schedule:
Saturday, Dec. 8, at 7:00 p.m. – Purcell, Britten, Holst and Ragazzi choirs
Sunday, Dec. 9, at 4:00 p.m. – Choraliers, Con Gioia, Capriccio, Cantilena and Cantabile choir
Tickets will be available at the door, $10 for general admission; $5 for students 7-18; and free for children under 7.
These concerts are generously endowed by the Diane Ballweg Performance Fund with additional support from our sponsors, American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. This project is also supported by the Madison Arts Commission and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Madison Youth Choirs (MYC): 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.
For more information about supporting or joining MYC, go to: https://www.madisonyouthchoirs.org
HERE IS THE COMPLETE REPERTOIRE OF THE MYC 2018 WINTER CONCERT SERIES “RESILIENCE”:
SATURDAY, DEC. 8, at 7:00 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Combined Boychoirs with Tony Memmel
“Clenched Hands, Brave Demands” by Tony Memmel
“Though My Soul May Set in Darkness,” text by Sarah Williams, composer unknown
Purcell
“Who Can Sail” Scandinavian Folk Song, arr. Jeanne Julseth-Heinrich
“Hine Ma Tov” Hebrew Folk Song, arr. Henry Leck
Britten
“Jerusalem,” poem by William Blake, music by Sir Hubert Parry
“This Little Babe” from A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten
Holst
“Keep Your Lamps,” traditional spiritual, arr. André Thomas
“Out of the Deep” by John Wall Callcott
“Shosholoza,” Traditional song from Zimbabwe, arr. Albert Pinsonneault
Combined Boychoirs
“Angels’ Carol” by John Rutter
Tony Memmel
Selections to be announced
Ragazzi
“Wie Melodien” (Op. 5, No. 1) by Johannes Brahms
“The Chemical Worker’s Song” by Ron Angel, arr. after Great Big Sea
“Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight” by Abbie Betinis
Combined Boychoirs with Tony Memmel (below)
“America to Go” by Tony Memmel
SUNDAY, DEC. 9, at 4:00 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Combined Girlchoirs with Tony Memmel
“Clenched Hands, Brave Demands” by Tony Memmel
Choraliers
“Be Like a Bird,” Text from Victor Hugo, music by Arthur Frackenpohl
“Art Thou Troubled” by George Frideric Handel
“Blustery Day” by Victoria Ebel-Sabo
Con Gioia
“Bist du bei mir” by Johann Sebastian Bach from “The Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach”
“I Heard a Bird Sing” by Cyndee Giebler
“Ask the Moon” from Three Settings of the Moon by Ron Nelson
“I’ll Overcome Someday” by C.A. Tindley
“We Shall Overcome” arr. by Marie McManama and Con Gioia
“i shall imagine” by Daniel Brewbaker, text by e.e. cummings
South African National Anthem by E.M. Sontonga and M.L. de Villiers
Capriccio
“Resilience” by Abbie Betinis
“Be Like the Bird” by Abbie Betinis
“Esurientes” from Magnificat in G minor by Antonio Vivaldi
“And Ain’t I a Woman!” by Susan Borwick, adapted from a speech by Sojourner Truth
Tony Memmel
Selections to be announced by Tony Memmel
Cantilena
“Vanitas vanitatum” by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
“Chant for a Long Day” by Stephen Hatfield
“Wir eilen mit schwachen doch emsigen Schritten”(from BWV 78) by Johann Sebastian Bach
“The Storm is Passing Over” by Charles Albert Tindley, arr. Barbara Baker
Cantabile
“Ich weiss nicht”(Op. 113, No. 11) by Johannes Brahms, text by Friedrich Rueckert
“Widmung” (Op.25, No. 1) by Johannes Brahms, text by Friedrich Rueckert
“I Never Saw Another Butterfly” by Charles Davidson
Combined Choirs with Tony Memmel
“America to Go” by Tony Memmel
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By Jacob Stockinger
You have to hand it to the Madison Symphony Orchestra for embracing the community and putting on a memorable show.
When it comes to celebrating the holidays – and yes, the MSO does use the Christmas word – the MSO does so with a big variety of musical styles and a wide diversity of performers. That might explain why the concerts usually sell out year after year.
Beginning with caroling in the lobby before the concert to the sing-along finale, where music director and conductor John DeMain and the Madison Symphony Orchestra don their Santa hats (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) and more, “A Madison Symphony Christmas” is a joyous time for all.
Christmas classics are interwoven with enchanting new holiday music featuring members of the Madison Symphony Chorus, the Madison Youth Choirs and the Mount Zion Gospel Choir as well as guests soloists soprano Cecilia Violetta Lopez and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelson.
This tradition marks the embrace and start of the holiday season for many people in Madison.
Performances of “A Madison Symphony Christmas”will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State Street, on Friday night, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday night, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Dec. 2, at 2:30 p.m. Ticket details are below.
In addition, 45 minutes before each concert, audiences are invited to share the spirit of the holiday season singing carols along with the Madison Symphony Chorus.
TV PREMIERE
For the first time, “A Madison Symphony Christmas”can be experienced again in December — airing on Wisconsin Public Television (NOT Wisconsin Public Radio as mistakenly listed in an earlier edition) on Monday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m., and on Christmas Day, Tuesday, Dec. 25, at 9:30 p.m.
“Our annual Christmas concert has become a very meaningful experience for everyone involved — the choruses, orchestra musicians, singers and the audience,” says DeMain. “With the Mt. Zion Gospel Choir, Madison Youth Choirs, and Madison Symphony Chorus joining our internationally acclaimed opera singers, and climaxing with the entire audience participating in our Christmas carol sing-along — one cannot help but leave the Overture Hall with a feeling that the holiday season has begun. And hopefully, you will have a big glow in your heart.”
For more information and the full program, which includes the excerpt from Handel’s “Messiah” in the YouTube video at the bottom, go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-madison-symphony-christmas/
ABOUT THE SOLOISTS
Celebrated soprano Cecilia Violetta Lopez (below, in a photo by Devon Cass) has been named one of opera’s “25 Rising Stars” by Opera News.
Lopez has received accolades for her signature role of Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, which she has performed countless times throughout North America.
Her debut of the role was with Martina Arroyo Foundation’s prestigious summer festival, Prelude to Performance. She has also performed the role with Opera Tampa, Opera Idaho, Ash Lawn Opera, and in her company debut with Virginia Opera. Lopez also recently made her European debut as Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with Zomeropera in Belgium.
Based in the Madison suburb of Sun Prairie, bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen (below, in a photo by Lawrence Brownlee) is in frequent demand by the world’s leading opera companies and orchestras for his vibrant and handsome stage presence and his distinctive vocalism.
He has won first prize in several international vocal competitions, including those sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the Richard Tucker Music Foundation (Career Grant), the George London Foundation, the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, the Sullivan Foundation, Opera Index, and the MacAllister Awards.
Highlights of Ketelsen’s recent seasons include performances at the Opernhaus Zurich, Staatsoper Berlin, Minnesota Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company and the Metropolitan Opera, as well as performances with the San Francisco Symphony, the National Symphony and performances at Carnegie Hall.
ABOUT THE MADISON SYMPHONY CHORUS
The Madison Symphony Chorus (below top, in a photo by Greg Anderson) gave its first public performance on February 23, 1928 and has performed regularly with the Madison Symphony Orchestra ever since. The Chorus is comprised of more than 150 volunteer musicians who come from all walks of life and enjoy combining their artistic talent under the direction of Beverly Taylor (below bottom), who directs the choral program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
ABOUT THE MADISON YOUTH CHOIRS
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) inspires enjoyment, learning and social development through the study and performance of high-quality and diverse choral literature. The oldest youth choir organization in Wisconsin, MYC serves more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, in a wide variety of choral programs. In addition to a public concert series, MYC conducts an annual spring tour of schools and retirement centers, performing for more than 7,000 students and senior citizens annually.
ABOUT THE MOUNT ZION GOSPEL CHOIR
Under the leadership of Leotha Stanley and his wife, Tamera Stanley, the Mount Zion Gospel Choir (below) has been a part of the MSO Christmas concerts since 2005. The choir is primarily comprised of members from Mount Zion Baptist Church and includes representatives from other churches as well. The choir has traveled extensively throughout the Midwest and has journeyed to Europe, singing in France and Germany.
The Symphony recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations.
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert.
More information about A Madison Symphony Christmasis found here: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-madison-symphony-christmas/.
Tickets for A Madison Symphony Christmascan be purchased in the following ways:
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Major funding for the holiday concert is provided by: American Printing, Fiore Companies, Inc., Nedrebo’s Formalwear, Maurice and Arlene Reese Family Foundation, BMO Harris Bank, Hooper Foundation/General Heating & Air Conditioning, Judith and Nick Topitzes, and An Anonymous Friend. Additional funding provided by Colony Brands, Inc., J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Flad Architects, Forte Research Systems & Nimblify, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c., and Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Community Carol Sing is presented in partnership with Overture Center for the Arts.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
“This spring, the Madison Youth Choirs singers (below) are exploring the unexpected ways that elements of humor, from irony and incongruity to improvisation and timing, are reflected in a wide variety of classical and contemporary musical compositions.
“We’re learning that music, like humor, is a kind of language, operating with its own sense of logic, patterns, and conventions that composers can twist to surprise us and take our musical journey to new places.
“As we study the complexity of humor as a mode of creative expression, we are discovering the power of satire, wit, and misdirection to help us reexamine our assumptions, musical and otherwise.
“In our culminating concert series, our singers will present works including “No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel; Timothy Takach’s “I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach; the “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls; and the second movement of Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein.”
The MYC Spring Concerts, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit, and Whimsy” will take place this Sunday afternoon and evening, May 13, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall Stadium.
Performance are: 1:30 p.m. for Girlchoirs; 4 p.m. for Boychoirs; and 7 p.m. for High School Ensembles.
Tickets will be available at the door: $10 for general admission; $5 for students 7-18; and free for children under 7. A separate ticket is required for each performance.
This concert is supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. This project is also supported by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC):
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.
For further information, go to www.madisonyouthchoirs.org or call (608) 238-7464.
Here is the Repertoire List for MYC 2018 Spring Concert Series, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit and Whimsy”
1:30 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC GIRLCHOIRS)
Choraliers
“Bee! I’m expecting you!” by Emma Lou Diemer
“A Menagerie of Songs” by Carolyn Jennings
Con Gioia
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“The Fate of Gilbert Gim” by Margaret Drynan
“The Cabbage-Tree Hat,” traditional Australian folk song
Capriccio (below)
“Papageno-Papagena Duet” (from The Magic Flute) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Ich jauchze, ich lache” (from BWV 15) by Johann Sebastian Bach
“J’entends le Moulin,” French folk song, arr. Donald Patriquin
Combined Choirs
“Funiculi, Funicula” by Luigi Denza
4 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC BOYCHOIRS)
Combined Boychoirs
“Sumer is icumen in,” Anonymous, 13th century Middle English piece
Purcell Boychoir
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“Modern Major-General” from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan
“Weevily Wheat,” arr. Dan Krunnfusz
Britten Boychoir (below)
“Gloria Tibi” by Leonard Bernstein
“The Plough Boy,” Traditional, arr. Benjamin Britten
Holst Boychoir
“Il est bel et bon” by Pierre Passereau
“Hopkinton” by William Billings
Ragazzi Boychoir
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Rustics and Fishermen,” part V of Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Combined Boychoirs
“Chichester Psalms” II. Adonai ro-i by Leonard Bernstein
7 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING HIGH SCHOOL ENSEMBLES)
Cantilena
“A Girl’s Garden” from Frosting by Randall Thompson
“Love Learns by Laughing” by Thomas Morley
“Turn, Turn, Then Thine Eyes” from The Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell
“My Funny Valentine” from Babes in Arms by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
“Etude 1 pour les cinq doigts d’après Monsieur Czerny” by Claude Debussy
Ragazzi
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Cantabile
“sam was a man” by Vincent Persichetti, text by e.e. cummings
“No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel
“Cruel, You Pull Away Too Soon” by Thomas Morley
“This Sky Falls” by Jocelyn Hagen
“Svatba,” Traditional Bulgarian, arr. H.R. Todorov
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
ALERT: This week is the season’s last FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive. Featured are violinist Maureen McCarty and keyboardist Mark Brampton Smith in music of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Antonio de Cabezon, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Pachelbel, Jules Massenet and Spirituals. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Youth Choirs have sent the following announcement to post:
This spring, Madison Youth Choirs singers are sharpening their critical thinking, analytical and investigative skills as they identify patterns, puzzles and secret structures in a variety of complex musical compositions by artists including Johann Sebastian Bach, Francis Poulenc, Gustav Holst, Benjamin Britten, Georg Frideric Handel, Aaron Copland, and other composers. The results will be presented this Sunday in “Hide and Seek: Cracking the Musical Code.”
MYC’s Cantabile and Ragazzi choirs will also present excerpts from a world premiere score by Wisconsin-based composer Scott Gendel (below) inspired by the beloved novella The Snow Goose.
Please join us as we dive deep into these classical and contemporary choral works, discovering the great rewards of seeking brilliance and beauty wherever they hide.
The concerts are at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., near Camp Randall Stadium.
Here is a schedule of times for various groups to perform:
Sunday, May 14, 2017
1:30 p.m. Girlchoirs
4 p.m. Boychoirs
7 p.m. High School Ensembles.
Tickets are available at the door. General admission is $10, $5 for students 7-18, and free for children under 7. A separate ticket is required for each performance.
See below for complete programs.
These concerts are generously supported by the American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, the Green Bay Packers Foundation, the Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation, the John A. Johnson Foundation, a component fund of the Madison Community Foundation, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. This project is also supported by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC):
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. (You can hear a sample of them singing in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For more information, go to www.madisonyouthchoirs.org
Here are the concert programs for this Sunday:
1:30 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
Lachend…Cesar Bresgen
Two Childhood Songs…Randall Thompson
Fairest Lady (from The Nursery Rhyme Cantata)…Nick Page
Con Gioia
O Lovely Peace (from Judas Maccabeus)…George Frederic Handel
Ewig Dein…Ludwig van Beethoven
Kentucky Jazz Jam…Traditional folk songs, arr. David J. Elliott
Capriccio
Musica est Dei donum optimi…Orlando di Lasso
Herr, du siehst statt gutter Werke auf (BWV 9)…Johann Sebastian Bach
Camino, Caminante…Stephen Hatfield
Think on Me…James Quitman Muholland
Amavolovolo…Traditional Zulu, arr. Rudolf de Beer
Cantilena
Bonny Wood Green…Traditional Irish Ballad, arr. Stephen Hatfield
Ah! Si mon moine voulait danser…Folk song from Quebec, arr. Donald Patriquin
Cantabile
Love is a Rain of Diamonds…Gwyneth Walker
No Time…Traditional camp meeting songs, arr. Susan Brumfield
Combined Choirs and Audience
Blowin’ in the Wind…Bob Dylan
4 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Combined Boychoirs
Das Hexen Einmal-Eins (The Witch’s One-Times-One)…Franz Joseph Haydn
Purcell
Wind on the Hill…Victoria Ebel-Sabo
Mangwani M’pulele…Traditional Zulu, arr. Theodore Bikel
The Old Carrion Crow…Nova Scotian folk song, arr. Mary Goetze
Britten
Missa Brevis in D…Benjamin Britten
Wenn Sorgen auf mich dringen…J.S. Bach
I’se the B’y…Newfoundland folk song, arr. John Govedas
Holst
Tourdion…Anonymous, 16th century, arr. Pierre Attaignant
Bawo Thixo Somandla (sung in Xhosa)…Mxolisi Matyila
A Miner’s Life…Traditional Irish song, arr. Seth Houston
Ragazzi
Zion’s Walls…Setting by Aaron Copland, arr. Glen Koponen
Seigneur, je vous en prie…Francis Poulenc
Brothers, Sing On…Edvard Grieg
Combined Boychoirs
Blowin’ in the Wind…Bob Dylan
7 p.m. Concert (Featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
Domine Deus (from Mass in G Major, BWV 236)…J.S. Bach, arr. Doreen Rao
maggie and milly and molly and may…Vincent Persichetti
Bonny Wood Green…Traditional Irish Ballad, arr. Stephen Hatfield
Ah! Si mon moine voulait danser…Folk song from Quebec, arr. Donald Patriquin
Ragazzi
Zion’s Walls…Setting by Aaron Copland, arr. Glen Koponen
Seigneur, je vous en prie…Francis Poulenc
Brothers, Sing On…Edvard Grieg
Cantabile
Suscepit Israel (from Magnificat in D, BWV 243)… J.S. Bach
Love is a Rain of Diamonds…Gwyneth Walker
No Time…Traditional camp meeting songs, arr. Susan Brumfield
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Excerpts from The Snow Goose…Scott Gendel
Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal…Traditional shape-note, arr. Alice Parker
Combined Choirs and Audience
Blowin’ in the Wind…Bob Dylan
By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson), led by music director John DeMain, will close out its current season this coming weekend.
For the season-closing concert, soprano Devon Guthrie and bass-baritone Timothy Jones will make their MSO debuts when they join the orchestra for Brahms’ A German Requiem.
The concert will open with the American premiere of Charles Villier Stanford’s Concert Piece for Organ and Orchestra featuring Nathan Laube (below top), who is returning to the MSO.
The finishing touch to the 2016-17 season happens in the second half of the concert, when more than 100 members of the Madison Symphony Chorus (below) take the stage with the orchestra and organ to perform Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem.
Featured vocal soloists in the Brahms German Requiem are soprano Devon Guthrie (below top) and bass-baritone Timothy Jones (below bottom), who is familiar from multiple appearances with the Madison-based Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.
The concerts in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, 201 State St., are on this Friday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m.; this Saturday, May 6, at 8 p.m.; and this Sunday, May 7, at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $16-$87. For more information, go to: http://www.madisonsymphony.org/brahms
Charles Villiers Stanford’s Concert Piece for Organ and Orchestra was completed on April 15, 1921. Stanford (below) is one of the leading figures in what is sometimes called the “Second English Musical Renaissance” — which was a movement in the late 19th century, led by British composers.
Stanford (below) believed in more conservative English contemporary music, rather than the music of Wagner, for example. He composed in all genres but had a great commitment to the organ.
His Concert Piece for Organ and Orchestra was never performed or published during his lifetime. This is the piece’s debut performance with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the American premiere of the work.
Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem was completed between 1857 and 1868. The word “Requiem” is Latin for “rest” or “repose” and in the Catholic faith the Requiem is the funeral Mass or Mass of the Dead. (You can hear the opening movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
While usually filled with “terrifying visions of the Last Judgment and pleas for intercession on behalf of the souls of the dead and the living,” Brahms however puts death in a different light. He took sections of the Bible that are religious, but not necessarily Christian, and tells a story of salvation for all.
Although upon its completion, Brahms (below) called this piece, “Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der Heiligen Schrift” (which translates to; “A German Requiem, from Words of the Holy Scripture”), he was quoted saying that his piece should really be called “A ‘Human’ Requiem.” It is believed to be dedicated to Brahms’ mother, and his musical father and mentor, Robert Schumann.
One hour before each performance, Beverly Taylor (below), MSO assistant conductor and chorus director, as well as director of choral activities at the UW-Madison, will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience.
For more background on the music, visit the Program Notes by MSO trombonist and UW-Whitewater professor Michael Allsen (below) at: http://www.allsenmusic.com/NOTES/1617/8.May17.html
Groups of 15 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information visit, madisonsymphony.org/groups
Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $12 or $15 tickets. More information is at: madisonsymphony.org/studentrush. Students can receive 20% savings on seats in select areas of the hall on advance ticket purchases.
Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Find more information at madisonsymphony.org
Major funding for the May concerts is provided by: Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation, Inc., Larry and Jan Phelps, University Research Park, and BMO Wealth Management. Additional funding is provided by: WPS Health Solutions, Carla and Fernando Alvarado, and Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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
ALERT: Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the UW Wind Ensemble will perform a FREE concert. The program features “Concerto X” by Scott McAllister with clarinet soloist Wesley Warnhoff, adjunct professor of clarinet. It is a work based on grunge music that was born in the heavy metal music of the late 80s and early 90s, including a melody from Nirvana’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” Also on the program is “In Wartime” by David Del Tredici, which was inspired by the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001; and the Second Suite in F Major for Military Band by Gustav Holst.
By Jacob Stockinger
A friend at Madison Youth Choirs writes:
On this Sunday, Dec. 13, the young singers of Madison Youth Choirs (MYC, seen below at the Winter Concert last year) will present the 2015 Winter Concert Series, “Inquiry: Science, Music, Imagination” at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Madison, 1609 University Avenue, near Camp Randall.
Over 14 weeks of rehearsals in preparation for the concerts, the 330 young vocalists (ages 7-18) in MYC’s nine performing choirs have been learning to use the tools of observation, experimentation, and analysis to reach a deeper understanding of their choral repertoire.
Students have also begun to recognize the role that resilience plays in both scientific and musical fields, learning how to work through moments of frustration and uncertainty to reach new discoveries.
The choirs will perform a varied program, including works by Benjamin Britten, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Vincent Persichetti; a Peruvian lament, a Spanish villancico, and a newly-created arrangement of the oldest-known surviving English song.
Tickets for each of the three concerts (high school ensembles at 1:30 p.m., boychoirs at 4 p.m., girlchoirs at 7 p.m.) will be $10 for general admission, $5 for students age 7-18 and free for children under 7.
Audience members will need a separate ticket for each concert.
Here is the schedule:
1:30 p.m. High School Ensembles featuring a guest appearance by the MYC-Capitol Lakes Intergenerational Choir
4 p.m. Boychoirs
7 p.m. Girlchoirs
Tickets available at the door, $10 for general admission, $5 for students 7-18, and free for children under 7
This concert is generously endowed by the Diane Ballweg Performance Fund with additional support from the American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, the Madison Community Foundation, and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Here is a repertoire list for the programs:
1:30 p.m. Concert (Featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
Bel Tempo Che Vola ……………….Jean Baptiste Lully
Weep No More………………………..David Childs
Songbird…………………………………Sarah Quartel
Sound the Trumpet………………….Henry Purcell
When I Set Out for Lyonesse……Keith Bissell
Ragazzi (below in a photo by Karen Holland)
Regina Coeli (sung in Italian)……Gregorian chant, ca. 10th century
Regina Coeli (sung in Italian)……Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Song of Peace……………………………Vincent Persichetti
Dulaman (sung in Gaelic) …………Michael McGlynn
Cantabile
Utopia………………………………………………………..Moira Smiley
Lacrimoso son io (K. 555, sung in Italian)…….Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Gods Have Heard My Vows…………………….Thomas Weelkes
Palomita……………………………………………………..Traditional Peruvian lament
Hoj, hura, hoj!………………………………………………………..Omar Macha
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Apple-Tree Wassail………………………Stephen Hatfield
MYC/Capitol Lakes Intergenerational Choir and Combined Choirs
Forever Young……………………………..Bob Dylan
4 p.m. Concert (Featuring Boychoirs)
Combined boychoirs, Purcell, Britten, Holst, Ragazzi
Intonent Hodie…………………………………..Anonymous (probably 12th century)
Sainte Nicholaes (sung in Latin)…………..Godric of Finchale
Purcell
Singt den Herrn (sung in German)…Michael Praetorius
Who Can Sail……………………………..Norwegian Folk Song, Arr. Jeanne Julseth-Heinrich
Rolling Down to Rio……………………Edward German
Britten (below with Purcell Choir in a photo by Karen Holland)
Rattlesnake Skipping Song……Derek Holman
Tit-for-Tat…………………………….Benjamin Britten
Jerusalem……………………………..Sir Hubert Parry, poem by William Blake
Holst (below with Pucell and Britten choirs in a photo by Karen Holland)
Riu Riu Chiu (sung in Spanish)….Anonymous, from Villancicos de diversos Autores
Anima Mea (sung in Latin)……….Michael Praetorius
The Sound of Silence…………………Paul Simon
Ragazzi
Regina Coeli (sung in Italian)………Gregorian chant, ca. 10th century
Regina Coeli (sung in Italian)………Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Song of Peace……………………………..Vincent Persichetti
Dulaman (sung in Gaelic) ……………Michael McGlynn
Combined boychoirs, Purcell, Britten, Holst, Ragazzi
Hava Nashira (sung in Hebrew)……….Traditional Hebrew canon
7 p.m. Concert (Featuring Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
Hava Nashira (sung in Hebrew)……….Traditional Hebrew canon
You’ll Never Guess What I Saw………….Ruth Watson Henderson
Suo Gan…………………………………..Welsh Lullaby, Arr. by Alec Rowley
Tailor of Gloucester…………………..English Folk Song, Arr. by Cyndee Giebler
Con Gioia (below in a photo by Karen Holland)
Donkey Carol………………………….John Rutter
Mid-Winter…………………………….Bob Chilcott
Fancie……………………………………Benjamin Britten
Capriccio (below in a photo by Mike Ross)
Sound the Trumpet………………………………Henry Purcell
An die Musik (D. 547, sung in German, heard at bottom in a YouTube video with soprano Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and pianist Gerald Moore)…..Franz Schubert
Palomita (sung in Spanish)……Traditional Peruvian lament, Arr. by Randal Swiggum
Niska Banja………………………….Serbian Gypsy Dance, Arr. by Nick Page
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC): 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.
By Jacob Stockinger
On this Sunday afternoon and evening, May 18, 2014, the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC, below) will ends the celebration of their 10th anniversary and celebrate the return of spring with a lively concert series featuring several groups whose membership total over 300 talented young singers.
All concerts will take place in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center for the Arts in downtown Madison.
Tickets are $10-$20, and can be purchased in three ways:
1. online at www.overturecenter.com
2. By phone at (608) 258-4141
3. In person at the Overture Center box office, 201 State St., Madison, Wisconsin.
Throughout this season, focused on the theme “Arts & Minds,” MYC’s singers have discovered connections between visual and vocal expressions of human creativity, using both mediums as a lens to explore the world.
Concert selections will include works from a wide variety of musical eras and cultures, including classical pieces by Bach and Vivaldi, traditional folk songs in Hebrew and Japanese, and contemporary pieces by Cindy Lauper and Eric Whitacre (below), creator of the “Virtual Choir,” which has become a global phenomenon on YouTube.
MYC’s boychoirs will make history with the world premiere of University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music alumnus Scott Gendel’s “Sound and Fury,” featuring text from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”
This ambitious new work by Gendel will be a fitting prelude to the boychoirs’ upcoming summer tour to Scotland, where they will perform in the invitation-only Aberdeen International Youth Festival (below).
For more information about Scott Gendel, visit:
Continuing its commitment to celebrating the work of outstanding local music teachers, MYC will also present the Music Educator of the Year Award to Jan Vidruk. Ms. Vidruk (below center ) is a nationally recognized leader in early childhood education who has inspired young people in music and movement classes for over 40 years.
Here is the Concert Information, Schedules and Programs for Sunday, May 18, 2014
1 p.m. – Choraliers (below in a photo by Cynthia McEahern
Hashivenu…Traditional Hebrew
Bee! I’m Expecting You… Emma Lou Diemer
Ae Fond Kiss… Traditional Scottish, arr. Kesselman
The Duel… Paul Bouman
Kojo no Tsuki… Traditional Japanese, arr. Snyder
Con Gioia (below in a photo by Karen Holland)
For the Beauty of the Earth… John Rutter
The Jabberwocky… Jennings
Tres Cantos Nativos dos Indios Krao… Leite
Annie Laurie… arr. Rentz
Capriccio (below in a photo by Mike Ross)
Hark! The Echoing Air… Henry Purcell
Hotaru Koi… Ro Ogura
The Seal Lullaby… Eric Whitacre
Niska Banja… Traditional Serbian, arr. Nick Page
4 p.m.: Purcell
Gloria Tibi (from Mass)… Leonard Bernstein
Simple Gifts… Traditional
Orpheus with his Lute… Ralph Vaughan Williams
Laudamus Te (from Gloria in D Major)… Antonio Vivaldi
Britten
The Lord Bless You and Keep You … John Rutter
Er Kennt die rechten Freudenstuden … Johann Sebastian Bach
Holst
The Bird…William Billings
The Cowboy Medley…arr. R. Swiggum
Anthem (from Chess)…Anderson/Ulveas, arr. R. Swiggum
Ragazzi (below in a photo by Dan Sinclair)
dominic has a doll… Vincent Persichetti
Si, Tra i Ceppi… George Frideric Handel
Fair Phyllis… John Farmer
Madison Boychoir (Purcell, Britten, Holst — below in a photo by Karen Holland — and Ragazzi combined)
Sound and Fury (world premiere)… Scott Gendel, text from Macbeth
Will the Circle Be Unbroken?… Traditional, arr. R. Swiggum
7:30 p.m. High School Ensembles
Cantilena
How Merrily We Live… Michael Este
Salut Printemps… Claude Debussy
Hope… Andrew Lippa
Hope is the Thing… Emma Lou Diemer
Ragazzi
dominic has a doll… Vincent Persichetti
Si Tra i Ceppi… George Frideric Handel
Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting…John Farmer
Cantabile
Cruel, You Pull Away Too Soon… Thomas Morley
Chiome d’Oro… Claudio Monteverdi
Mountain Nights… Zoltan Kodaly
Las Amarillas…Stephen Hatfield
Time After Time… Cyndi Lauper, arr. Michael Ross
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Come Thou Fount of Ever Blessing…arr. Mack Wilberg
A Hymn for St. Cecilia…Herbert Howells (heard at bottom in a YouTube video)
This project is supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, the Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation, American Family Insurance, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Evjue Foundation, charitable arm of The Capital Times, and BMO Harris Bank. 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)
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral education, MYC inspires enjoyment, learning, and social development through the study and performance of high-quality and diverse choral literature. The oldest youth choir organization in Wisconsin, MYC welcomes singers of all ability levels, challenging them to learn more than just notes and rhythms. Singers explore the history, context, and heart of the music, becoming “expert noticers,” using music as a lens to discover the world. MYC serves more than 500 young people, ages 7-18, in 11 single-gender choirs.
In addition to a public concert series, MYC conducts an annual spring tour of schools and retirement centers, performing for more than 7,000 students and senior citizens annually. MYC also collaborates with professional arts organizations including the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Ballet, and Madison Opera, while continually supporting and recognizing the work of public schools and music educators throughout the area.
In summer 2014, MYC boychoirs will travel to Scotland for their first appearance at the invitation-only Aberdeen International Youth Festival.
For further information about attending or joining, visit http://www.madisonyouthchoirs.org contact the Madison Youth Choirs at info@madisonyouthchoirs.org, or call (608) 238-7464
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