The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Oakwood Chamber Players perform a mini-opera version of “A Christmas Carol” this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon
1 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
Over several deuces, the Oakwood Chamber Players have built a solid reputation for their top-notch performances of unusual and neglected repertoire.
So it comes as no surprise that the group will offer one of the newer, more unusual and promising takes on the holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol.”
Twice this weekend, the Madison-based, widely experienced musical theater actor and baritone Robert A. Goderich reprises his tour-de-force performance, last done in 2016, of Charles Dickens’ characters for the Oakwood Chamber Players’ presentation of the mini-opera “The Passion of Scrooge” by New York composer Jon Deak.
A dozen musicians, including ensemble members with special guest artists, provide the platform for Goderich’s characterizations on this coming Saturday night, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m., and Sunday afternoon, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m.
The concerts take place at Oakwood Village University Woods Auditorium at 6209 Mineral Point Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall.
Tickets are available at the door and are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $5 for students. Go to https://www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com for more information.
Members of the ensemble for this program are: Marilyn Chohaney (flute), Nancy Mackenzie (clarinet), Anne Aley (horn), Elspeth Stalter Clouse (violin) and Maggie Darby Townsend (cello), and guest musicians Hillary Hempel (violin), Emma Cifrino (viola), Brad Townsend (bass), Mike Koszewski (percussion), and Margaret Mackenzie (harp).
Over the past two decades, New York Philharmonic bassist and composer Jon Deak (below) has created a variety of “concert dramas” that tell stories through words and sound.
Performed annually at the Smithsonian, this two-act musical setting re-imagines Ebenezer Scrooge’s struggle to transform his past, present and future from a life of avarice to warmth and humanity.
As singer and narrator, Goderich, who plays all the parts, is the focal point; but the composer has given the instrumentalists an integral part in the story line, too. Conductor Kyle Knox (below) leads the ensemble through many facets of this humorous work filled with dramatic effects.
Deak requires the musicians to be nimble performers, juggling melodic lines while interjecting entertaining sounds into Dickens’ traditional tale. You can hear the opening introduction by the Storyteller in the YouTube video at the bottom.
One of the score’s important aspects is the varied use of percussion, which provides a broad range of instruments and sound effects. Audiences can enjoy both the aural and visual artistry of chains rattling, doors creaking and footsteps echoing in this holiday classic.
Additionally, the Oakwood Chamber Players will perform a suite of British reels and carols, including songs mentioned in the text of Dickens’ original story.
For example, when the Ghost of Christmas Past reminds Scrooge of his first employer Fezziwig, a fiddler plays the tune “Sir Roger De Coverley.” This Scottish-English country dance, arranged by composer Frank Bridge in 1922, is one of the tunes providing an engaging introduction to “The Passion of Scrooge.”
Tags: #AChristmasCarol, #AnneAley, #BaritoneSinger, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberOpera, #CharlesDickens, #CountryDance, #DoubleBass, #DoubleBassist, #EbenezerScrooge, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FocalPoint, #FrankBridge, #GhostofChristmasPast, #GuestArtist, #HilaryHahn'sViolincase, #HolidayClassic, #HomeWebpage, #InstrumentalMusic, #InstrumentalPlayer, #JonDeak, #KyleKnox, #MargaretMackenzie, #MarilynChohaney, #MelodicLine, #MikeKoszewski, #MusicalTheater, #NeglectedMusic, #NeglectedRepertoire, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #OakwoodChamberPlayers, #OakwoodVillage, #OperaMusic, #RobertGoderich, #SeniorCitizen, #SmithsonianInstitution, #SoundEffects, #ThePassionofScrooge, #ThePasson ofScrooge, #UniversityWoods, #VocalMusic, #WestSide, #WestTowneMall, #YouTubevideo, A Christmas Carol, acclaim, Actor, adult, Anne Aley, annual, artistry, Arts, audience, aural, avarice, baritone, bass, bassist, blog, British, broad, Carol, Cello, chains, Chamber music, chamber opera, character, Charles Dickens, Christmas, clarinet, clarinetist, classic, Classical music, composer, Concert, conductor, country, country dance, creaking, dance, decades, double bass, double bassist, drama, dramatic, echo, echoing, employer, English, enjoy, ensemble, entertain, entertaining, Facebook, fiddler, flute, flutist, focal point, footsteps, forward, Frank Bridge, future, ghost, Ghost of Christmas Past, guest artist, harp, harpist, Holiday, holiday classic, Horn, hornist, humanity, humorous, instrumental music, instrumental player, instrumentalist, Jacob Stockinger, Jon Deak, juggle, Kyle Knox, life, like, link, Madison, Margaret Mackenzie, Marilyn Chohaney, melodic, melody, Mike Koszewski, Music, Musical theater, musicians, narrator, neglected, new, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, nimble, Oakwood Chamber Players, Oakwood Village, online, opera, opera music, past, percussion, percussionist, performer, player, post, posting, present, presentation, promising, range, reels, repertoire, repetoire, reputation, Robert Goderich, Scottish, Scrooge, senior, senior citizen, setting, share, singer, Smithsonian, Smithsonian Institution, solid, song, songs, Sound, sound effects, standard, story, struggle, Student, Suite, surprise, tag, tale, text, The Passion of Scrooge, ticket, traditional, transform, tune, tunes, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Woods, unusual, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, visual, vocal music, Website, weekend, west side, West Towne Mall, Wisconsin, words, YouTube
Classical music: The Token Creek Chamber Music Festival starts this Friday and marks 30 years with jazz plus music by Bach, Mozart, Liszt, Brahms, Ravel, Schoenberg and John Harbison
Leave a Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE 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
Starting this coming Friday, Aug. 16, and running through Sept. 1, the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival will mark its 30th anniversary with the theme of “Sanctuary.” (The festival takes place in a refurbished barn, below, at 4037 Highway 19 in DeForest.)
Add the festival directors: “The term ‘sanctuary’ attempts to capture in a single word something essential about what the festival has meant to players and listeners over all these years. From the start it aspired to offer something of retreat, an oasis, a place of refreshment and nourishment in art, both for musician participants who find a welcoming environment to “re-charge” their work, and for audience attendees who engage in and become a part of it.”
“In our small country barn,” writes prize-winning composer John Harbison (below top, in a photo by Tom Artin) who co-directs the festival with his violinist wife Rose Mary Harbison (below bottom, in a photo by Tom Artin), “we have always remained devoted to the scale and address of much chamber music, which speaks as often in a whisper as in a shout.
“Where larger musical institutions have been habitually frustrated by trying to live in the business model of growth, we have remained devoted to the intensity of the experience, which explains why the music never goes away, rather than to claims of numbers, which begs the music itself to change its very nature.
“Our conviction is that today’s composers, just like Schubert and Mozart, are still striving to embody daily experience, to connect to the natural world, and to ask philosophically and spiritually unanswerable questions, surrounded and interrupting silence, asking only for our most precious commodity — time. We continue to look for valuable ways to offer this transaction to our listeners, and are grateful for their interest over so many years.”
The first two concerts, at 5 p.m., on Friday and Saturday nights, feature the return of a jazz cabaret featuring standard works in the Great American Songbook. For more information about the program and performers, as well as tickets, go to: www.tokencreekfestival.org or call (608) 241-2525.
Tickets for the two jazz concerts are $40 for the balcony and $45 for cafe seating. Tickets for the other concerts are $32 with a limited number of student tickets available for $12.
HERE IS THE LINEUP FOR THE REST OF THE FESTIVAL
Program 2: Music of Brahms at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, and Sunday, Aug. 25
Johannes Brahms is the only composer whose complete catalogue of chamber music is still in constant use. This is due to his fastidious high standards, and to his ideal temperament for music played by smaller groups of players. His music is universally admired for the astounding combination of sheer craft and deep emotional impact.
The program includes the Regenlied (Rain Song), Op. 57 no. 3; Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 78; the Sonata for Cello and Piano in E minor, Op. 38; and the Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 60. (The “Rain Song” is used as the theme of the last movement of the violin sonata. You can hear it performed by violinist Leonidas Kavakos and pianist Yuja Wang in the YouTube video at the bottom, which also features the score so that you can follow along.)
Performers are Edgewood College mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson (below top); violinist Rose Mary Harbison; violist Lila Brown (below second); cellist Rhonda Rider (below third, in a photo by Liz Linder); and pianist Janice Weber (below bottom).
Program 3: Then and Now, Words and Music – An 80th Birthday Tribute to John Harbison. Wednesday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Last February, when Madison launched a citywide celebration of co-artistic director John Harbison’s 80th birthday, bitter cold and deep snow made it impossible for the festival to open up The Barn and join in the festivities.
The Wednesday program – an intimate concert of words and music curated by the Harbisons — is the festival’s belated birthday tribute. Harbison will read from his new book about Johann Sebastian Bach, and Boston poet Lloyd Schwartz (below top) will offer a reading of his poems that are the basis of a song cycle to presented by baritone Simon Barrad (below bottom). The evening will include a discussion on setting text, “Poem to Song,” and the world premiere of new Harbison songs, still in progress, on poems of Gary Snyder.
The program includes: Selections from the Violin Sonata in B minor, with violinist Rose Mary Harbison, and “The Art of Fugue” by Johann Sebastian Bach; “Four Songs of Solitude” and “Nocturne” by John Harbison; the Violin Sonata in G Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the “Phantasy” for violin and piano by Arnold Schoenberg; the “SchwartzSongs” and “Four Poems for Robin” by John Harbison.
Program 4: The Piano , at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31, and Sunday, Sept. 1.
The closing program welcomes back husband-and-wife pianists Robert Levin and Ya-Fei Chuang, playing together and as soloists.
Chuang (below top) is acclaimed by critics in the U.S. and abroad for performances of stunning virtuosity, refinement and communicative power. Levin (below bottom, in a photo by Clive Barda), who teaches at Harvard University, is revered for his Mozart completions and classical period improvisations.
Their program explores the question of the composer-performer — that is, composers who were also formidable pianists: Mozart, Ravel and Liszt.
Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto, arranged by the composer for chamber ensemble, and excerpts of Harbison’s Piano Sonata No. 2, written for Levin, will be performed. Also on the program are Mozart’s Allegro in G Major, K. 357 (completion by Robert Levin); Maurice Ravel’s “Gaspard de la Nuit”; and Franz Liszt’s “Reminiscences of Don Juan.”
Other performers are: violinists Rose Mary Harbison and Laura Burns, of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Rhapsodie String Quartet; violists Jen Paulson and Kaleigh Acord; cellist Karl Lavine, who is principal cello of both the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra as well as the Chamber Music Director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO); and double bassist Ross Gilliland.
Tags: #AmericanJazz, #ArnoldSchoenberg, #BaritoneSinger, #BaroqueEra, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonMassachusetts, #BusinessModel, #CafeSeating, #CelloSonata, #ChamberMusic, #Classicalera, #CriticalAcclaimed, #DonJuan, #DoubleBass, #EdgewoodCollege, #EmotionalImpact, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FranzLiszt, #FranzSchubert, #GarySnyder, #GasparddelaNuit, #GreatAmericanSongbook, #HarvardUniversity, #HighStandard, #husband-and-wife, #JaniceWeber, #JazzMusic, #JenPaulson, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnHarbison, #KaleighAcord, #KathleenOtterson, #LauraBurns, #LeonidasKavakos, #LilaBrown, #LivingComposers, #LloydSchwartz, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MauriceRavel, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MusicCritic, #MusicScore, #NaturalWorld, #NewMusic, #PianoConcerto, #PianoQuartet, #Prize-Winning, #RainSong, #RhapsodieQuartet, #RhapsodieStringQuartet, #RhondaRider, #RobertLevin, #RoseMaryHarbison, #RossGilliland, #SimonBarrad, #SongCycle, #StringQuartet, #TheArtofFugue, #TheU.S., #TokenCreek, #TokenCreekChamberMusicFestival, #TokenCreekFestival, #ViolinSonata, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPremiere, #Ya-FeiChuang, #YouTubevideo, #YujaWang, abroad, acclaimed, American, anniversary, Arnold Schoenberg, Art, Arts, aspire, astounding, audience, Bach, balcony, baritone, barn, Baroque, Beethoven, birthday, bitter, blog, Book, Boston, Brahms, Business, Business model, cabaret, cafe, cafe seating, capture, catalogue, cellist, Cello, Cello Sonata, Chamber music, Classical era, Classical music, cold, combination, commodity, communicative, completion, composer, composer-performer, Concert, concerto, connection, constant, conviction, counterpoint, country, Craft, critic, daily, deep, DeForest, director, Don JUan, double bass, Early music, Edgewood College, emotional, emotional impact, environment, essential, evening, experience, Facebook, faculty, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, frustrated, fugue, Gary Snyder, Gaspard de la Nuit, grateful, Great American Songbook, growth, Harvard, Harvard University, high standard, husband, ideal, impact, improvisation, information, institution, intensity, interest, international, intimate, Jacob Stockinger, Janice Weber, Jazz, Jen Paulson, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Harbison, Kaleigh Acord, Karl Lavine, KarlLavine, Kathleen Otterson, larger, last, Laura Burns, Leonidas Kavakos, like, Lila Brown, limited, lineup, link, listeners, live, living composers, Lloyd Schwartz, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maurice Ravel, Mezzo-soprano, movement, Mozart, Music, Musician, natural world, nature, new, New Music, nocturne, nourishment, now, number, numbers, oasis, participant, performer, phantasy, philosophical, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano Quartet, players, poem, Poetry, post, posting, power, precious, prinicpal, program, progress, Quartet, questions, rain, reader, refinement, refreshment, refurbished, reminiscences, retreat, revere, Rhonda Rider, Robert Levin, Rose Mary Harbison, Ross Gilliland, sanctuary, scale, Schubert, score, share, shout, silence, Simon Barrad, singer, snow, solitude, Sonata, song, song cycle, songs, spiritual, String quartet, Student, stunning, subscriber, tag, teach, temperament, text, The Art of Fugue, theme, then, ticket, time, today, Token Creek, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, Token Creek Festival, transaction, tribute, U.S., United States, universal, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, valuable, Viola, Violin, Violin Sonata, violinist, violist, virtuosity, vocal music, way, welcoming, whisper, wife, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Youth Symhony Orchestras, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word, words, work, world premiere, Ya-Fei Chuang, years, YouTube, Yuja Wang
Classical music: Two FREE chamber music concerts on Thursday and Friday nights at the UW-Madison feature quartets and quintets by Mozart, Boccherini, Schubert, Dvorak and Weinberg
2 Comments
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
Chamber music fans have something special to look forward to this week with back-to-back evening concerts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music that mix famous and well-known works with less familiar ones.
THURSDAY NIGHT
On Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Pro Arte Quartet will perform.
The program features six miniature “Evening Songs” (1865) – also called “Cypresses” — by Antonin Dvorak; the String Quartet No. 5 in B-Flat Major (1945) by Mieczyslaw Weinberg; and the String Quartet in B-Flat Major “Hunt,” K. 458 (1784), by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. (You can hear one of Dvorak’s “Cypresses” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Members of the Pro Arte Quartet (below, from left, in a photo by Rick Langer) are: violinists David Perry and Suzanne Beia; violist Sally Chisholm; and cellist Parry Karp.
For more information about the unique and dramatic history of the critically acclaimed Pro Arte Quartet, the longest active string quartet in the history of music, go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/pro-arte-quartet/
FRIDAY NIGHT
On Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, UW-Madison cellist Uri Vardi (below) will be joined by several faculty colleagues, one of his students and his son for an evening of three quintets.
In addition to Uri Vardi, the performers include: clarinetist Amitai Vardi (below); pianist Christopher Taylor; violinists David Perry and Soh-Hyun Park Altino; violist Sally Chisholm; cellist James Waldo; and double bassist David Scholl.
The program includes: the Quintet in C major, assembled from other quintets by Johann Lauterbach, by Luigi Boccherini, a contemporary of Mozart; the famous Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the well-known “Trout” Quintet by Franz Schubert.
For more background, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uri-vardi-quintets-students-friends-and-family/
Tags: #AmitaiVardi, #AntoninDvorak, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClarinetQuintet, #Classicalera, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DavidPerry, #DoubleBass, #DoubleBassist, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FranzSchubert, #HistoryofMusic, #HuntQuartet, #James Waldo, #JamesWaldo, #JohannLauterbach, #LuigiBoccherini, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MieczyslawWeinberg, #Musicfaculty, #ParryKarp, #ProArteQuartet, #SallyChisholm, #Soh-HyunParkAltino, #StringQuartet, #SuzanneBeia, #TroutQuintet, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UriVardi, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, Amitai Vardi, Antonín Dvořák, Arts, assemble, audience, background, blog, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Christopher Taylor, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, colleague, composer, Concert, contemporary, critically acclaimed, cypresses, David Perry, double bass, double bassist, evening, Facebook, faculty, father, Franz Schubert, History, hunt, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Lauterbach, like, link, Luigi Boccherini, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mead Witter School of Music, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Mozart, Music, Parry Karp, performer, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, quintet, Sally Chisholm, School of Music, share, Soh-Hyun Park Altino, son, song, String quartet, Student, Suzanne Beia, tag, Trout, Trout Quintet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Uri Vardi, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word, YouTube
Classical music: WQXR radio names 19 musicians to watch in ’19. What do you think of the choices? Who would you add?
5 Comments
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
What will 2019 bring in the way of classical music?
What and who should we be looking at and paying attention to?
WQXR — the famed classical radio station in New York City – recently published its list of 19 to watch in ‘19, with detailed reasons for and explanations of their picks.
It seems like a pretty good choice to The Ear, although there is always something of a parlor game aspect to such projects.
Nonetheless, the list covers a fine variety – instrumentalists and vocalists, young and old, American and international, the well-known and the up-and-coming such as the opera singer Devone Tines (below, in a photo by Nikolai Schukoff).
Some names will be familiar to Madison audiences – such as pianist Inon Barnatan, violinist Nicola Benedettti, the JACK Quartet and cellist Steven Isserlis — especially through their live appearances at the Wisconsin Union Theater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and the Madison Symphony Orchestra plus broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio.
Here is a link to the list: https://www.wqxr.org/story/wqxr-presents-19-19-artists-collaborations-upcoming-year/
The Ear can think of some other musicians that he would add to the list.
An especially deserving one of them is the young American virtuoso pianist George Li (below, in a photo by Simon Fowler).
Born in China and brought as a child to the United States by his parents, Li attended Harvard and just finished his master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. (At the bottom, you can hear Li play virtuosic music by Liszt and Horowitz in the YouTube video of a Tiny Desk Concert at National Public Radio or NPR.)
Li won the silver medal in the 2015 at the 15th Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow and had a lot of people talking about the energy and excitement of his playing. He was praised for both outstanding technical prowess and deep expressiveness.
He then took first prize at a piano competition in Paris.
Ever since, he has been steadily booked. At 23, the amiable Li has already toured China, Japan and Russia and seems to have a very busy schedule ahead of him, judging by his posts on Instagram.
He has also released his first recording on the Warner Classics label, a fine CD that received many positive reviews from critics, including this one.
The program includes Haydn’s Sonata in B minor, Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor “Funeral March,” Rachmaninoff’s “Variations on a Theme of Corelli,” and Consolation No. 3 and the popular Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt.
Given all the concertos he is now performing, it would not surprise one to see his next recording be a concerto, possibly the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto N. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, which brought him instant acclaim.
Here is a link to his website: http://www.georgelipianist.com
And here is a link to his entry in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Li
Keep your ears and eyes on George Li.
What do you think of the choices made by WQXR?
Who would you add to the list of musicians to watch in 2019, and why?
If possible, maybe you can include a YouTube link to a performance, live or recorded, in your comment.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AmericanModernOperaCompany, #AnneAkikoMeyers, #ArcangeloCorelli, #BeatriceRana, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #DevonTines, #DoubleBass, #ElenaUrioste, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzLiszt, #FredericChopin, #FuneralMarch, #FuneralMarchSonata, #GeorgeLi, #HarpsichordMusic, #HarvardUniversity, #HomeWebsite, #IestynDavies, #InonBarnatan, #InstagramPost, #J'NaiBridges, #JACKQuartet, #JessGillam, #JuliaBullock, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MahanEsfahani, #MatthewAucoin, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MoscowRussia, #MusicCritic, #MusicReview, #NationalPublicRadio, #NewEnglandConservatoryofMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NicolaBenedetti, #OperaSinger, #ParisFrance, #PianoConcerto, #PopularMusic, #SaxophoneMusic, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #ShekuKanneh-Mason, #SopranoSinger, #StevenIsserlis, #TchaikovskyCompetition, #TeddyAbrams, #TheEar, #TheKnights, #ThemeAndVariations, #TinyDeskConcert, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #Up-and-Coming, #VladimirHorowitz, #WarnerClassics, #WeiLuo, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WQXRradio, #XavierFoley, #YouTubevideo, American, American Modern Opera Company, Anne Akiko Meyers, artist, Arts, aspect, audience, Baroque, bass, Beatrice Rana, Broadcast, busy, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, China, Chopin, choral music, Classical music, Compact Disc, Competition, composer, concerto, Corelli, countertenor, Devon Tines, diversity, double bass, Early music, ears, Elena Urioste, energy, excitement, expressive, expressiveness, eyes, Facebook, first prize, founder, Franz Liszt, funeral march, Funeral March Sonata, game, gender, George Li, harpsichord, Harvard University, Haydn, Iestyn Davies, immigration, Inon Barnatan, Instagram, instrumentalist, international, J'Nai Bridges, JACK Quartet, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Jess Gillam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Julia Bullock, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mahan Esfahani, Matthew Aucoin, Mead Witter School of Music, Mezzo-soprano, Moscow, Music, music critic, music review, name, National Public Radio, New England Conservatory, New York City, Nicola Benedetti, NPR, old, opera, Orchestra, parents, Paris, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, playing, popular, project, race, Radio, reason, Russia, Saxophone, schedule, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, silver medal, singer, social justice, Sonata, soprano, Steven Isserlis, tag, Tchaikovsky International Competition, technique, Teddy Abrams, The Ear, The Knights, theme and variations, Tiny Desk Concert, tour, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, variety, video, Violin, violinist, virtuoso, Vladimir Horowitz, vocal music, vocalist, Warner Classics, Website, Wei Luo, well-known, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WPR, WQXR, WQXR-FM, Xavier Foley, young, YouTube
Classical music: This weekend also brings holiday brass music, string music and new chamber music with voice to the UW. Plus, live radio broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera start this Saturday on Wisconsin Public Radio
Leave a Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE 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: This Saturday, Dec. 1, sees the start of the “Live From the Met” opera broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio with Arrigo Boito’s opera “Mefistofole.” The weekly series, now in its 88th year, will continue through May 11. Starting time is usually noon. Here is a link to the radio broadcast season: https://www.wpr.org/metropolitan-opera-begins-its-88th-season
By Jacob Stockinger
As usually happens towards the end of the semester, concerts are backing up, especially on the weekends.
Yesterday, information about the two performances of the annual UW-Madison Winter Choral Concert on Sunday afternoon was posted. Here is a link: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/classical-music-two-performances-of-the-uw-madisons-popular-winter-choral-concert-takes-place-this-sunday-afternoon/
But much more is going on.
Take a look and listen:
SATURDAY
Non-music majors, take heart. If you attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, you can still play and perform while pursuing other studies.
At 4 p.m. in Mills Hall, the All-University Strings (AUS) will perform a FREE concert that is open to the public.
The group (below, in a photo by Jeff Miller for the UW-Madison) is comprised of two non-major string orchestras (named Orchestra One and Orchestra Too), and is open to all interested string players. No audition is required, seating order is voluntary, and there is no ranking within the sections.
The AUS program endeavors to be a true learning community, serving students from virtually every department and major with the goal of nurturing lifelong engagement in music and the arts.
Pedro Oviedo is the conductor, and the guest artists are The Hunt Quartet. (The string quartet is made up of graduate students at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music: Chang En Lu and Ava Shadmani, violins; Fabio Saggin, viola; and Alex Chambers-Ozasky, cello. They will be joined by Max Herteen, double bass.)
The appealing program includes:
Norman Leyden: Serenade for Strings
Karl Jenkins: Allegretto from “Palladio” (A neo-Baroque piece you might recognize from a De Beers “Diamonds Are Forever” ad. Listen to it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Eric Whitacre: October
Modest Mussorgsky, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel: “The Hut on Fowl’s Legs (Baba Yaga)” and “The Great Gate of Kiev” from Pictures at an Exhibition
Astor Piazzolla: La muerte del angel (The Death of the Angel)
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Concerto Grosso
SUNDAY
At 12:30 p.m. the UW Horn Choir (below) will present its annual holiday concert at the Chazen Music of Art as part of the Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen series.
The FREE and public concert, directed and conducted by horn Professor Daniel Grabois, takes place in Brittingham Gallery No. 3.
The event will also be streamed live. Here is a link to the streaming portal as well as information about the program, which includes Bach and Mahler, the players and how to reserve seats:
https://www.chazen.wisc.edu/about/news/in-the-news/sunday-afternoon-live-with-the-uw-horn-choir/
At 8 p.m. in Morphy Hall, a FREE concert of chamber music by distinguished guest artists will be held.
The Brooklyn-based soprano-violin duo Cipher Duo (below top, Justine Aronson and Sarah Goldfeather) will team up with cellist Nicholas Photinos(below bottom), a member of the Grammy-winning chamber music ensemble eighth blackbird, for an evening-length performance of both new and reimagined music.
The program will include works by Sarah Goldfeather, Amy Beth Kirsten, David T Little, Dolly Parton and more.
On Monday, the performers will also give public master classes:
The Cello Master Class is Monday, Dec. 3, 12:15-2:15 p.m. in Morphy Hall.
The Violin-Voice Master Class: Monday, Dec. 3, 1:15-3:15 p.m. in Music Hall.
For more information about the program and performers, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/guest-artists-nicholas-photinos-cello-and-cipher-duo-voice-and-violin/
Tags: #All-UniversityStrings, #AmyBethKirsten, #ArrigoBoito, #AstorPiazzolla, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChazenMuseumofArt, #ChristmasHoliday, #CipherDuo, #ConcertoGrosso, #DanielGrabois, #DavidTLittle, #DeBeers, #DiamondsAreForever, #DollyParton, #DoubleBass, #EighthBlackbird, #EricWhitacre, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GraduateStudent, #GrammyAward, #GreatGateofKIev, #GuestArtist, #GustavMahler, #HolidayConcert, #HornChoir, #HuntQuartet, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustineAronson, #KarlJenkins, #LiveFromtheMet, #LiveStreaming, #MauriceRavel, #MetropolitanOpera, #MillsHall, #ModestMussorgsky, #MorphyHall, #MusicEducation, #MusicHall, #NeoBaroque, #NewMusic, #NewTango, #NicholasPhotinos, #NormanLeyden, #NuevoTango, #OpentothePublic, #OperaMusic, #PedroOviedo, #PicturesatanExhibition, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #SarahGoldfeather, #StringMusic, #StringOrchestra, #StringQuartet, #SundayAfternoonLiveattheChazen, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #WinterConcert, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #YouTubevideo, ad, All-University Strings, Amy Beth Kirsten, angel, Arts, audition, Ástor Piazzolla, Bach, Baroque, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Broadcast, Cello, Chamber music, Chazen Museum of Art, choral music, Cipher Duo, Classical music, community, composer, Concert, Concerto Grosso, conductor, Daniel Grabois, David T Little, De Beers, death, department, diamond, Diamonds Are Forever, Dolly Parton, double bass, Early music, eighth blackbird, engagement, Eric Whitacre, evening, evil, Facebook, fowl, free, graduate student, Grammy, Great Gate of Kiev, guest artist, Gustav Mahler, hiut, Holiday, horn choir, Hunt Quartet, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Justine Aronson, Karl Jenkins, learning, leg, like, link, listen, Live From the Met, live streaming, live-stream, livestream, look, major, master class, masterclass, Maurice Ravel, Mefistofole, Mephistopheles, Metropolitan Opera, Mills Hall, Modest Mussorgsky, Morphy Hall, Music education, Music Hall, New Music, new tango, Nicholas Photinos, Norman Leyden, nuevo tango, October, open, Orchestra, orchestrated, Palladio, Pedro Oviedo, perform, Pictures at an Exhibition, play, portal, program, public, Radio, Ralph Vaughan Williams, ranking, reimagined, Sarah Goldfeather, Satan, Saturday, Season, seating, section, series, share, soprano, string music, String Orchestra, String quartet, studies, Sunday, Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen, tag, tango, the Met, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, voluntary, weekend, weekly, winter, Winter Concert, wisconsin public radio
Classical music: Wind music is in the spotlight this coming week at the UW-Madison
2 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR SHARE IT (not just “Like It”) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
Last weekend brought the fifth annual Brass Fest to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
This week, wind music takes center stage at the UW-Madison.
Here is a listing of the FREE events — except for the concert in Baraboo on Friday — that are open to the public:
WEDNESDAY
On this Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the veteran Wingra Wind Quintet (below), made up of UW faculty members, will perform a FREE program called “I Hate Music,” taken from the title of a song cycle by Leonard Bernstein. (You can hear a song, sung by Barbara Bonney, from “I Hate Music” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The composers are all American and include Bernstein as well as Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, David Diamond and Walter Piston.
The guest artist is soprano Sarah Brailey, a UW-Madison alumna, who just excelled last week in Baroque music by Johann Sebastian Bach and who has established a national reputation while winning high praise from The New York Times.
For details about the specific pieces on the program as well as more background about the Wingra Wind Quintet (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot), which was founded in 1965, go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/wingra-wind-quintet-4/
FRIDAY
On Friday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 in the Al Ringling Theatre in Baraboo, the Wingra Wind Quintet will team up with the celebrated Pro Arte Quartet (below in a photo by Rick Langer) and guest double bassist Kris Saebo, to perform Franz Schubert’s Octet for winds and strings, D. 803. For more information, including purchasing tickets, go to: http://www.alringling.org/events
This coming Friday, Oct. 5, at 8 p.m. In Mills Hall, the UW Wind Ensemble (below), under conductor Scott Teeple and two graduate student conductors –- Ross Wolf and Cole Hairston — will perform a FREE concert of varied music from Giovanni Gabrieli and Johann Sebastian Bach to Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
For more the complete program, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-wind-ensemble-3/
SUNDAY
On Sunday afternoon, Oct. 7, at 2 p.m. in Mills Hall, UW professor of composition and jazz saxophone Les Thimmig (below) will present a FREE 10-year retrospective of his compositions for different kinds of clarinets.
Also performing are his faculty colleagues clarinetist Alicia Lee (below) and pianist Jessica Johnson.
For information about Thimmig and the concert’s program, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/faculty-recital-compositions-of-les-thimmig-solo-and-duo/
At 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7, in Morphy Recital Hall, guest flutist John Bailey (below), who teaches at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, gives a FREE lecture and recital of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Philippe Gaubert and Theodor Blumer. Sorry, no specific works are mentioned.
Bailey will be joined by UW pianist Daniel Fung.
For extensive background about Bailey, who is a member of the Moran Woodwind Quintet, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/guest-artist-recital-and-lecture-john-bailey-flute/
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AlRinglingTheatre, #AmericanComposer, #BarabooWisconsin, #BarbaraBonney, #BaroqueMusic, #BassoonMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ClarinetMusic, #DavidDiamond, #DoubleBass, #FacebookPost, #FacultyMember, #FluteMusic, #FranzSchubert, #GiovanniGabrieli, #GraduateStudent, #GuestArtist, #HornMusic, #IHateMusic, #JazzMusic, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnBailey, #LastWeek, #LeonardBernstein, #LesThimmig, #LukasFoss, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MoranWoodwindQuintet, #NationalReputation, #OboeMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PhilippeGaubert, #ProArteQuartet, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RinglingBrothers, #SarahBrailey, #SaxophoneMusic, #SongCycle, #StringQuartet, #TheNewYorkTImes, #UniversityofNebraska, #UniversityofNebraska-LIncoln, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WalterPiston, #WindMusic, #WindQuintet, #WingraWindQuintet, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, Aaron Copland, Al. Ringling Theatre, American, Arts, audience, Bach, background, Baraboo, Barbara Bonney, Baroque, Bassoon, Cello, Chamber music, clainetist, clarinet, Classical music, composer, Composition, David Diamond, double bass, Early music, event, Facebook, faculty member, flute, Franz Schubert, free, Gabrieli, Horn, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, John Bailey, last, Leonard Bernstein, Les Thimmig, Lincoln, Lukas Foss, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, Moran Woodwind Quintet, Mozart, Music, New York Times, Oboe, Octet, Philippe Gaubert, Pianist, Piano, praise, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, public, Ralph Vaughan Williams, recital, retropective, Ringling Brothers, Schubert, Sonata, song, song cycle, soprano, Student, Tchaikovsky, The New York Times, Theodor Blumer, TheodorBlumer, tickets, title, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Veteran, Viola, Violin, Walter Piston, week, wind music, Wind quintet, Wings Wind Quintet, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: The impressive second weekend of four concerts by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society adds elements of theater and dance to chamber music
1 Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
The second weekend of the three-weekend summer series of concerts by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society features two performances each of two programs.
The programs in this 27th season with its “Toy Stories” theme – “Play-Do(h)” and “GI Joe” – will be performed at The Playhouse (below) of the Overture Center on Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday performances are at the Hillside Theater (below) at Taliesin, at the Frank Lloyd Wright compound in Spring Green, at 2:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Each program introduces elements of drama, using a narrator, and of dance.
The works include “The Kitchen Revue” by Bohuslav Martinu and “The Masked Ball” by Francis Poulenc as well as “Einstein on Mercer Street” by American composer Kevin Puts and “The Solder’s Tale” by Igor Stravinsky. (You can hear the first part of the Stravinsky work — “The Soldier’s March” — with Jeremy Irons narrating and the composer conducting in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The baritone singer is Timothy Jones (below top), a longtime favorite of BDDS audiences, and Milwaukee-based hip-hop dancer and choreographer Blake Washington (below bottom), who is returning for his second season with BDDS.
Here is a link to the introduction and complete schedule to the entire summer season, including a FREE concert of “American Haiku: for violin and cello this coming Wednesday night:
Also included this weekend are various works for bassoon, flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, double bass and percussion by Alexandre Tansman; Georg Philipp Telemann, Gabriel Pierné and Robert Schumann.
A bonus to notice: This year for the first time, at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin, Enos Farms is offering picnic dinners that can be ordered, then picked up and eaten outside or in the Taliesin dining room. For food reservations, go to Tickets at http://bachdancing.org
Tags: #AlbertEinstein, #AlexandreTansman, #AmericanComposer, #AxelStrauss, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BaroqueMusic, #BassoonMusic, #BlakeWashington, #BohuslavMartinu, #ChamberMusic, #DoubleBass, #EinsteinonMercerStreet, #EnosFarms, #FluteMusic, #FrancisPoulenc, #FrankLloydWright, #GabrielPierné, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GIJoe, #HillsideTheater, #Hip-HopDance, #IgorStravinsky, #JeffreySykes, #JeremyIrons, #JohannSebastianBach, #KevinPuts, #KitchenRevue, #LauraMedisky, #MaskedBall, #MercerStreet, #OboeMusic, #OvertureCenter, #PercussionMusic, #PicnicDinner, #PlayDoh, #RobertSchumann, #SpringGreen, #StephanieJutt, #Taliesincompound, #ThePlayhouse, #TheSoldier'sTale, #TimothyJones, #ToyStories, #ToyStory, #TrioSonata, #TrumpetMusic, #USArmy, #YouTubevideo, American, Army, Arts, Bach, baritone, Baroque, Bassoon, Blake Washington, Cello, Chamber music, choreographer, choreography, Classical music, composer, Conducting, conductor, dance, double bass, Early music, Enis Farms, farm, flute, free, GI, haiku, hip-hop, Jeremy Irons, Johann Sebastian Bach, kitchen, Madison, march, Martinu, Milwaukee, Music, narrator, Oboe, percussion, performance, Piano, picnic, program, reservation, revue, singer, Sonata, Telemann, theater, theatre, toy, Toy Story, trio, Trumpet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: This weekend kicks off the 27th annual summer season of Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society concerts with the theme of musical works as toys to be “played” with for serious fun
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
Four performances on this coming Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday afternoon and Sunday night will open the 27th annual summer concert series of the critically acclaimed but always informal and light-hearted Madison-based Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society (below and in the YouTube video at the bottom).
There will be six programs in 12 concerts performed in three venues over the next three weekends.
The venues are: The Playhouse in the Overture Center (below top) at 7:30 p.m.; the Stoughton Opera House (below middle) at 7:30 p.m.; and the Hillside Theater (below bottom) at Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright compound in Spring Green, at 2:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Ticket prices are $43, or $48 if you want a prime seat at the Overture Center. For more information, go to: http://bachdancing.org/tickets/season-tickets/
This opening weekend features a lot of flute music and a lot of string music plus some unusual arrangements or transcription and music by unknown women composers.
As usual, BDDS has lined up a series of impressive local talent as well as favorite guest performers, including the critically acclaimed soprano Emily Birsan (below top) and bass-baritone Timothy Jones (below bottom).
Also on the schedule is a Madison-based hip-hop dancer and choreographer, Blake Washington (below), for two pieces during the second weekend: Igor Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale” and Francis Poulenc’s “The Masked Ball.” In addition, four players from the BDDS Dynamite Factory – the apprentice school of BDDS for emerging performers – will take part.
Again, as always, there is a unifying theme to the season. This year it is “Toy Stories,” playing off the idea of “playing” pieces of chamber music.
Here is a background and overview story that appeared this week in The Wisconsin State Journal: http://host.madison.com/wsj/entertainment/music/bach-dancing-and-dynamite-gets-playful-with-toy-stories/article_918d38c4-1eba-5196-822e-2b2616eddb75.html
Here is an explanation from UW-Madison graduate and San Francisco-based teacher and pianist Jeffrey Sykes (below left), who co-founded, co-directs and performs in the series with retired UW-Madison and Madison Symphony Orchestra principal flutist Stephanie Jutt (below right):
“When we were kids, we would ride our hobby horses around the back yard pretending to be knights on a quest. We’d race our Slinkies down the stairs, cheering their contorted yet gymnastic moves. We made crazy cyborgs with our Mr. and Mrs. Potato Heads. The cyborgs would fight for world domination, and then they’d sit down to tea with our dolls. We cuddled our stuffed animals as we prepared for bed, confessing our deepest dreams and aspirations to them. How easily those toys sparked our imaginations and transported us to fantastic realms!
“I’m a grownup now, sort of, and while I might get a short-lived bang out of newfangled tech toys, I’ve mostly left behind the dolls, bears and rubber ducks (below) of my childhood. The “toys” that really light my fire are incredible pieces of chamber music that have their own personalities; that delight me, surprise me, cry with me, and laugh with me.
CHAMBER
“Performing chamber music is called “playing” for a good reason. Ask any artist who joins BDDS for our festival: chamber music is a magical way to recapture the spirit of imaginative play that came to us so easily as kids.
“We cherish favorite old toys — the great chamber works of Bach, Mozart, and Brahms, for example. Yet we can also delight in the new toys that come our way — the music of Gabriela Lena Frank (below top), Paul Wiancko (below middle) and Kevin Puts (below bottom).
“Whether these new playthings become favorite old friends, who’s to say? One thing’s for sure, we’ll never know unless we play with them.
“BDDS’s 27th season theme is TOY STORIES, and co-artistic director Stephanie Jutt and I have organized each of our programs around a quirky take on iconic toys.
“To celebrate the festival’s age, we’ve also scattered various “27s” across our programs. In the spirit of imaginative play, rather than spell ing everything out, here are some clues to what you’ll hear this June.
TEDDY TALKS. Just change the motto “ideas worth spreading” to “music worth hearing” and you have our modus operandi. In this case, we have all sorts of Teddies talking to us through their music: I wonder what they’ll say.
AMERICAN GIRLS. Proud and multi-ethnic, they have been coming on strong as composers for a hundred years, and here’s the proof!
PLAY DO(H). C Major is the most malleable of keys.
GI JOE. War is no game, but it has inspired some seriously imaginative music.
RUBBER DUCKY, YOU’RE THE ONE. Sesame Street’s beloved Ernie adored his bath toy: see who else jumps into the tub.
TRANSFORMERS. I’m amazed how a couple of twists and turns can transform a few unassuming blocks into something breathtakingly complex.
“Join us June 8-24 for TOY STORIES in Madison, Stoughton, and Spring Green. We’ll play together with some irresistible toys and have ourselves some serious fun.
“With a bang!”
For the schedule of performances, with times and places, go to: http://bachdancing.org
For the full programs, including the many new or neglected composers and works to be performed, go to: http://bachdancing.org/concerts/festival-concerts/
For a complete list of performing and helping personnel, go to:
http://bachdancing.org/concerts/cast-crew/
And for a complete and impressive list of BDDS repertoire throughout the years, listed in alphabetical order by the composer’s last name, go to:
http://bachdancing.org/about/repertoire-through-the-seasons/
Tags: #AlbertEinstein, #AlphabeticalOrder, #AmericanGirl, #AmyBeach, #ArtisticDirector, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BassoonMusic, #BlakeWashington, #BohuslavMartinu, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #CarlPhilippEmanuelBach, #ChamberMusic, #ChenYi, #ClarinetMusic, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DoubleBass, #EmilyBirsan, #FluteConcerto, #FluteMusic, #FrancisPoulenc, #FrankLloydWright, #FranzJosephHaydn, #GabrielaLenaFrank, #GabrielPierné, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GIJoe, #HillsideTheater, #Hip-HopDance, #IgorStravinsky, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannPeterSalomon, #JohannSebastianBach, #KevinPuts, #LivingComposers, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MaskedBall, #MauriceRavel, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #NewMusic, #OboeMusic, #OperaHouse, #OperaSinger, #OvertureCenter, #PauWiancko, #PercussionMusic, #PianoConcerto, #PianoQuintet, #PIanoTeacher, #PianoTrio, #PlayDoh, #RebeccaClarke, #RichardStrauss, #RobertSchumann, #RubberDucky, #SamuelBarber, #SanFrancisco, #SergeiProkofiev, #SirEugeneGoossens, #Slinky, #SpringGreen, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StoughtonWisconsin, #StringMusic, #StringSextet, #Taliesincompound, #TeddyBear, #TheodoreDubois, #ThePlayhouse, #TheSoldier'sTale, #TimothyJones, #ToyStories, #ToyStory, #TrioSonata, #TrumpetMusic, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WaterFowl, #WisconsinStateJournal, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WomenComposers, #YouTubevideo, 27, acclaimed, Albert Einstein, alphabet, Amy Beach, annual, apprentice, arrangement, Artistic director, Arts, Bach, Barber, baritone, Baroque, bass-baritone, Bassoon, BDDS, Beethoven, C.P.E. Bach, Cello, Chamber music, Chen Yi, choreographer, choreography, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, continuo, critically, cyborg, dance, dancer, do, double bass, dynamite, Einstein, factory, festival, founder, Friday, Gabriel Pierne, guest, Haydn, hip-hop, House, informal, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Kevin Puts, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Martinu, Mozart, Mr.PotatoHead, Music, narrator, New Music, opera, order, Paul Wiancko, percussion, performance, performer, Piano, poem, Poulenc, Prokofiev, Ravel, Rebecca Clarke, repertoire, repertory, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Romance, Saint-Saens, Salomon, Samuel Barber, Saturday, Season, seat, series, sextet, sketch, Sonata, song, soprano, summer, Sunday, symphony, talent, Taliesin, Teddy bear, Telemann, theme, toys, transcription, Trumpet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unknown, Viola, Violin, Virgil, vocal music, weekend, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Recent Comments
 | 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… |
 | Ann Boyer on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: Music professor John Schaffer is retiring from UW-Madison. A benefit jazz concert on Saturday, June 1, will celebrate his career as a teacher and former director of the Mead Witter School of Music
Leave a 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.
By Jacob Stockinger
Professor John Schaffer (below), who served as the director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music for 15 years from 1997 to 2012, is retiring this summer.
A jazz concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, at Full Compass Systems, located at 9770 Silicon Prairie Parkway in Verona, will celebrate his retirement. Details and ticket information are below.
Here is a summary of his major achievements, as compiled by a colleague:
During his tenure as director, John Schaffer:
• Raised more than $10 million for music scholarships, including the Paul Collins graduate fellowships and the Steenbock undergraduate scholarships, more than doubling all student support.
• Secured funding for three endowed professorships: Pro Arte Quartet first violinist David Perry; piano virtuoso and Van Cliburn International Piano Competition bronze medal winner Christopher Taylor; and acclaimed jazz pianist Johannes Wallmann.
• With then-chancellor John Wiley, he launched plans for the new performance facility – the Hamel Music Center — that will open this fall, and raised more than $20 million in private funds for its construction.
• Established the School of Music’s inaugural Board of Visitors, which actively connects the school with a broad community worldwide as it continues to serve in an advisory and support capacity.
• Built strong relations with community organizations including the Madison Symphony Orchestra by establishing the joint residency of the Hunt Quartet – creating further student funding opportunities – and the Independent String Teachers’ Association.
• Established the Perlman Piano Trio (below), an undergraduate scholarship opportunity funded by Kato Perlman.
• Recruited faculty professors/performers with national and international reputations.
• Collaborated with the UW Foundation and Alumni Associations to present UW student performers throughout the country and world.
• Expanded student musician performances across campus, and established the twice-annual Chancellor’s Concert Series.
• Oversaw the planning for the 100th anniversary of the Pro Arte Quartet, the school’s flagship ensemble-in-residence since 1938.
• Established the School of Music recording label, which during its active run released close to 50 albums of faculty artists.
• Created the Wisconsin Center for Music Technology, and was the founding editor of the journal Computers in Music Research.
• Revitalized the Jazz Studies program at UW-Madison that has expanded with additional faculty, new student jazz ensembles and the establishment of a major in jazz performance.
• Was actively involved in music administration on the national level by serving multiple terms on the board of directors of the National Association of Schools of Music, the national accrediting organization. He spent more than a decade training accreditation teams, and performing accreditation reviews of music schools and conservatories throughout the country.
• Served on numerous local boards including those of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Country Day School, the Isthmus Jazz Festival, and the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival.
Schaffer’s own academic work in music theory focused initially on analysis of contemporary and non-tonal music, and in artificial intelligence applications in music theory. When he returned to the faculty from being director, he re-focused his teaching on the history, theory and performance of jazz and developed new courses in the discipline and regularly coached student jazz ensembles.
After a 40-year career in academia, Schaffer is retiring to pursue other interests. For the time being, he plans to remain in the Madison area. Initially trained as a classical guitarist, his performance emphasis long ago evolved to playing jazz bass, and he’ll still be heard gigging around town, playing frequently at venues and series such as Otto’s, Capital Brewery’s beer garden, Delaney’s Steak House, Coda Cafe and the North Street Cabaret.
“The biggest reward over all my years as an educator and administrator is the impact I’ve had on the thousands of students I’ve been privileged to teach and encounter,” says Schaffer. “It’s been immensely gratifying.”
Schaffer’s contributions to music in the greater Madison area will be recognized at a benefit concert, sponsored by the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium, on Saturday, June 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Full Compass Systems, 9770 Silicon Prairie Parkway in Verona. UW-Madison Chancellor Emeritus John Wiley will offer commentary and perspective. Light refreshments will be served.
Tickets for the benefit concert are $30 at the door, $25 in advance online. A limited number of student tickets are available at $15. VIP tickets are $150 and include reserved, best-in-house seating, a private pre-concert reception at 6 p.m. and other benefits.
For more information, go to: http://www.jazzinmadison.org/event/jazz-junction-benefit-concert-for-the-jazz-consortium-full-compass/
For tickets, go to:https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4236134
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #ArtificialIntelligence, #Artists-in-Residence, #AtonalMusic, #BeerGarden, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BronzeMedal, #CapitalBrewery, #ChamberMusic, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClassicalGuitarist, #CodaCafe, #ComputersinMusicResearch, #ContemporaryMusic, #CriticalAcclaim, #DavidPerry, #Delaney'sSteakHouse, #DoubleBass, #DoubleBassist, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstViolinist, #FullCompassSystems, #GreaterMadisonJazzConsortium, #HamelMusicCenter, #HuntQuartet, #IndependentStringTeachersAssociation, #InternationalReputation, #IsthmusJazzFestival, #JazzMusic, #JazzStudies, #JohannesWallmann, #JohnSchaffer, #JohnWiley, #KatoPerlman, #MadisonCountryDaySchool, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MedalWinner, #MusicTheory, #NationalAssociationofSchoolsofMusic, #NationalReputation, #NorthStreetCabaret, #Otto'sRestaurant, #PaulCollins, #PerlmanTrio, #PianoTrio, #ProArteQuartet, #SaturdayNight, #StringQuartet, #TokenCreekChamberMusicFestival, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWFoundation, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VeronaWisconsin, #WisconsinCenterforMusicTechnology, academia, academic, acclaim, accreditation, administration, administrator, advisory, AI, Album, alumni, artificial intelligence, artists, Arts, association, atonal, audience, Beer, beer garden, benefits, blog, bpard, bronze, cabaret, Campus, Capital Brewery, CD, Chamber music, chancellor, Christopher Taylor, classical guitarist, Classical music, coach, Coda Cafe, colleague, commentary, community, Compact Disc, Computers in Music Research, Concert, conservatories, conservatory, construction, contemporary, country, create, created, critical, critical acclaim, David Perry, Delaney's Steak House, detail, director, double bassist, educator, emeritus, ensemble, Facebook, facility, fall, first violinist, forward, fund, fundraise, funds, Garden, gig, Greater Madison Jazz Consortium, guitar, guitarist, Hamel Music Center, History, Hunt Quartet, inaugural, Independent String Teachers Association, interest, international, Isthmus Jazz Festival, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, jazz studies, Johannes Wallmann, John Schaffer, John Wiley, joint, journal, Kato Perlman, label, like, link, Madison Country Day School, Madison Symphony Orchestra, major, medal, Music, music school, music theory, national, National Association of Schools of Music, non-tonal, North Street Cabaret, online, Orchestra, Otto's, Paul Collins, performance, performer, perspective, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, private, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, reception, recording, recruit, refreshment, reputation, residency, restaurant, Retirement, review, Saturday, scholarship, school, School of Music, seating, serve, share, sirector, Steenbock, String quartet, strings, Student, summer, support, tag, Teacher, team, theory, ticket, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, town, undergraduate, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Foundation, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Verona, Violin, violinist, VIP, visitor, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Center for Music Technology, world, worldwide, year