The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The eclectic fusion group Mr. Chair plays music by Stravinsky, Satie and others on Monday night in Spring Green
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
The Ear has received the following announcement from the Rural Musicians Forum:
Mr. Chair looks like a jazz quartet, sounds sometimes like a rock band, but in actuality is a contemporary classical music group in the guise of a modern band.
Classically trained musicians who are well versed in jazz, the players in Mr. Chair create a new sound using both acoustic and electric instruments.(You can hear Mr. Chair perform the original composition “Freed” in the the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Rural Musicians Forum audience will have the chance to enjoy the soundscapes of this fascinating eclectic fusion group on this coming Monday night, Aug. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at Taliesin’s Hillside Theater (below) in Spring Green.
Members of Mr. Chair (below) are Professor Mark Hetzler, trombone and electronics; Jason Kutz, piano and keyboards; Ben Ferris, acoustic and electric bass; and Mike Koszewski, drums and percussion. All have close ties to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, where they also perform as an ensemble.
Mr. Chair’s compositions are long-form journeys, telling stories through sound by using and exploring the three pillars of music: melody, harmony and rhythm. Think cinematic, orchestral, surreal, romantic, emotional and gripping, and always equal parts dissonant and consonant. Their influences are far-reaching from classical, blues and rock to soul, funk, jazz and beyond.
For this concert, Mr. Chair will perform re-imagined excerpts from Igor Stravinsky’s Neo-Classical ballet masterpiece Pulcinella as well as music by Erik Satie and selections from their debut album, NEBULEBULA, which will be released on Thursday, Sept. 5, on vinyl, CD and digital streaming platforms.
The genre-bending quartet will perform in the beautiful Hillside Theater designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as part of his Taliesin compound. It is located at 6604 State Highway 23, about five miles south of Spring Green.
Admission is by free will offering, with a suggested donation of $15.
Tags: #BalletMusic, #BalletScore, #BenFerris, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BluesMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusician, #CompactDisc, #ContemporaryMusic, #DrumMusic, #EqualParts, #ErikSatie, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FrankLloydWright, #FreewillOffering, #FunkMusic, #HillsideTheater, #IgorStravinsky, #JasonKutz, #JazzMusic, #MarkHetzler, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MikeKoszewski, #Mondaynight, #NewMusic, #PercussionMusic, #PulcinellaSuite, #RockandRoll, #RockBand, #RockMusic, #RuralMusiciansForum, #SoulMusic, #SpringGreen, #TheBlues, #TheEar, #TromboneMusic, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #YouTubevideo, acoustic, admission, Album, Arts, audience, ballet, band, Baroque, Ben Ferris, blog, blues, CD, Chamber music, chance, cinematic, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, close, Compact Disc, composer, Composition, compound, Concert, consonance, consonant, contemporary, create, debut, design, digital, dissonance, dissonant, drum, eclectic, electric, electronics, emotional, ensemble, equal, equal parts, Erik Satie, explore, Facebook, fascinating, forum, forward, Frank Lloyd Wright, freed, funk, fusion, gripping, group, guise, harmony, highway, Hillside Theater, Igor Stravinsky, imagine, influence, instrument, Jacob Stockinger, Jason Kutz, Jazz, Keyboard, like, link, long-form, Madison, Mark Hetzler, masterpiece, Mead Witter School of Music, melody, member, Mike Koszewski, modern, Monday, Mr Chair, Music, Musician, neo-Classical, new, New Music, night, offering, orchestral, original, part, percussion, performer, Pianist, Piano, pillar, platform, players, post, posting, Pulcinella, Pulcinella Suite, Quartet, rhythm, Rock, rock and roll, rock band, Romantic, rual, rural, Rural Musicians Forum, share, soul, Sound, soundscape, Spring Green, state, stories, story, streaming, subscriber, surreal, tag, Taliesin, The Ear, tie, Trombone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, UW-Madison, vinyl, word, YouTube
Classical music: The Middleton Community Orchestra and solo flutist Iva Ugrcic turn in polished performances of a fun program to kick off the new season
3 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
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT 89.9 FM. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. He also took the performance photo.
By John W. Barker
The opening concert on Wednesday night by the largely amateur Middleton Community Orchestra (below top), under the baton of Steve Kurr (below bottom), was a relatively brief but pithy one, with only three short works on the program.
The opener was Autumn, the most frequently played section of the ballet The Seasons, Op. 67 (1899), by Alexander Glazunov (below) and one of the composer’s most frequently heard pieces. It is a rondo-like sequence of varied dance movements, full of lyricism and bright colors. The Middleton players dug into it with gusto.
Second came the Flute Concerto in D Major, Op. 283, by the prolific 19th-century German composer Carl Reinecke (1824-1910, below). He was conservative as a teacher and as a prolific composer.
Among his concertos, this one was his last, written just two years before his death. It is an engaging work, not notable for great ideas, but amiable, with a good virtuosic workout for the soloist.
The soloist was the Serbian-born flutist Iva Ugrcic, an absolute whiz of a player, and, among other things, a product of the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music doctoral program. She played with super-precision and confidence, giving her instrument great personality.
Without intermission, the concert ended with the Symphony No. 100, known as the “Military,” by Franz Joseph Haydn (below). It was first played in 1794 among the composer’s “London” Symphonies during his second visit to England. But it may well have been begun while he was in Vienna, for it reflects a particular fad popular there.
This was the use in orchestral writing of an adaptation of the sounds of the Turkish Janissary band. In the second movement, whose tune was taken from an earlier chamber work of his, Haydn introduced recurrently the “Turkish” instruments (two clarinets, triangle, cymbals, bass drums) with startling effect.
At the movement’s end, a trumpet call brings these novelties back for a crashing conclusion. And then, in the fourth movement’s ending, the “Janissary” instruments return for another razzle-dazzle finish. (You can hear the fourth movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
It’s all great fun, and the orchestra players seemed to find their own enjoyment in it.
The MCO continues its steady growth as a polished and reliable ensemble — all 98 players!
Tags: #19thCentury, #AlexanderGlazunov, #AmateurMusician, #AmericanRecordGuide, #BalletMusic, #BassDrum, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #BrassSection, #CarlReinecke, #DanceMovement, #EmeritusProfessor, #FacebookPost, #FluteConcerto, #FranzJosephHaydn, #GermanComposers, #GreatIdea, #IsthmusNewspaper, #IvaUgrcic, #JanissaryBand, #JohnW.Barker, #LondonEngland, #LondonSymphonies, #LyricalMusic, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MedievalHistory, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MilitarySymphony, #MusicReview, #OrchestralPlayers, #PercussionSection, #PopularMusic, #RadioHost, #RussianComposer, #SteveKurr, #StringSection, #TheSeasons, #TrumpetMusic, #TurkishMusic, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViennaAustria, #WindSection, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubevideo, Alexander Glazunov, amateur, American Record Guide, Arts, Autumn, ballet, bass, bass drum, blog, Carl Reinecke, Cello, clarinet, classicalmusic, color, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, confidence, conservative, cymbal, dance, drum, Early music, emeritus professor, England, Facebook, fad, flute, flutist, Franz Joseph Haydn, German, great, gusto, History, host, idea, instrument, Isthmus, Iva Ugrcic, Jacob Stockinger, Janissary, John W. Barker, London, London symphonies, lyricism, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Mead Witter School of Music, Medieval, Middleton Community Orchestra, military, Military Symphony, movement, music review, Orchestra, performance, personality, photo, photography, piece, popular, precision, program, prolific, Radio, razzle-dazzle, review, rondo, Russia, Russian, seasons, Serbia, Serbian, soloist, Steve Kurr, symphony, Teacher, The Seasons, triangle, Trumpet, Turkey, Turkish, Turkish music, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vienna, Viola, Violin, virtuosic, virtuosity, Wisconsin, workout, WORT-FM 89.9, Writer, YouTube
Classical music: University Opera stages a compelling and fully engaging cabaret of Kurt Weill songs
4 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear’s friend and colleague, The Opera Guy, has filed the following review.
By Larry Wells
I attended a nearly full-house opening of University Opera’s “A Kurt Weill Cabaret” Friday night in Music Hall on Bascom Hill.
The 90-minute show was comprised of about 20 numbers from the body of works by Weill (below, in a photo from the German Federal Archive. The ensembles, solos and duets were arranged into three sections with a loose narrative structure linking the pieces.
Throughout the evening I was unaware of the passage of time, which is one of my acid tests for a good performance. Likewise, I felt fully engaged.
Many of the numbers will be familiar to Weill’s fans. The well-known “Whiskey Bar/Alabama Song” was the opening solo for Sarah Kendall, who performed it more as a Puccini aria than as the world-weary, boozy Jenny. It was a novel and strangely compelling interpretation.
(Kendall performing “Whiskey Bar” with the company, is below in a photo by Michael R. Anderson, who took all the performance photographs)
More convincingly conveyed was “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” performed by the sprightly and clear-voiced Emily Weaver. “My Ship” sung by Miranda Kettlewell (below right, singing the Ice Cream Sextet with Alec Brown) was perfectly enunciated and movingly sung.
Since there were no supertitles, clear enunciation was a problem in a couple of the performances.
Likewise, mention should be made of Emily Vandenberg’s haunting rendition of “Surabaya Johnny.” (You can hear the legendary Weill interpreter Lotte Lenya sing “Surabaya Johnny” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
My favorite performances of the evening included “‘Youkali” by Talia Engstrom. My notes simply said “Perfection.” And my perennial favorite Courtney Kayser (below) did not disappoint with “J’attends un navire” and “Denn wie man sich bettet.” She is an excellent actress, possesses outstanding musicianship, and commands a clearly focused voice.
The women singers seriously overshadowed the men’s solo performances. I was wondering why that might have been. One possibility is that the men, who are trained operatically, find that they need to scale back their vocal projection for lighter vocal fare and in doing so sound constrained.
(Below, from back to front and left to right, are: Alec Brown, Jeff Larson, Jake Elfner, Sarah Kendall, Talia Engstrom, Matt Chastain in the “Benares Song.”)
Having said that, I thought Matt Chastain’s “Oh the Rio Grande” from the not well-known “Johnny Johnson” was both well sung and amusing to watch.
My companion admired the voice and acting of Alec Brown, and we both believed that Tim Emery is a dead ringer for a young Jimmy Stewart.
Some of the most compelling moments were the ensembles from Weill’s heavier works. “The Benares Song” highlighted Weill’s gravitas as a composer as did “Zu Potsdam unter den Eichen” from “Das Berliner Requiem.”
The cast members’ acting and vocal skills came to the forefront in these ensembles. (Below is “Zu Potsdam unter den Eichen” with Matt Chastain, Miranda Kettlewell, Alec Brown, Tim Emery, Emily Weaver, Eliav Goldman and Jeffrey Larson in the foreground).
Daniel Fung (below top) heroically provided the piano accompaniment without slacking for even a moment. Kudos to him. He was joined by a string bass and drum all conducted by Chad Hutchinson (below bottom) with unflaggingly appropriate tempi and dynamics.
This was the seventh production by David Ronis (below in a photo by Luke Delallio) for University Opera at the UW-Madison, and his consistently novel approach to the productions has made each one a joy. His commitment to quality and novelty is admirable.
I am eager to see what Ronis has in store for us this coming spring with “La Bohème” to be staged at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
I highly recommend attending “A Kurt Weill Cabaret,” which will be repeated this afternoon at 3 p.m. and Tuesday evening (Halloween night) at 7:30 p.m. Admission for the general public is $25; $20 for seniors; and $10 for UW students.
For more background and information about getting tickets, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/2017/09/27/university-opera-presents-a-kurt-weill-cabaret/
Tags: accompaniment, actress, admission, Alabama Song, archive, aria, Arts, bass, Benares, Berlin, Berliner Requiem, booze, cabaret, Chad Hutchinson, choral music, Classical music, commitment, composer, conductor, David Ronis, double bass, drum, duet, dynamics, ensemble, enunciation, fan, favorite, federal, Friday, German, German Americans, Germany, heroic, ice cream, interpretation, Jacob Stockinger, James Stewart, Jimmy Stewart, kudos, Kurt Weill, La bohème, Lotte Lenya, Madison, men, Music, Musician, musicianship, narrative, night, note, novelty, opera, Orchestra, perennial, perfection, performance, photo, photograph, Piano, piece, Potsdam, production, Puccini, quality, Requiem, Rio Grande, senior, sextet, sing, singer, skill, solo, song, Spring, stranger, string, structure, Student, supertitle, Surabaya Johnny, tempi, Tempo, ticket, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, vocal music, voice, weary, Whiskey Bar, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, women, world, world-weary, YouTube
Classical music: UW trombonist Mark Hetzler explores Stravinsky with new music and alumni musicians in a FREE concert on FRIDAY night. Plus, you can hear FREE Brahms at noon this Friday
2 Comments
ALERT: The music of Johannes Brahms will be featured at this Friday’s FREE Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive. Performers are Wes Luke and Valerie Sanders, violin; Ina Georgieva and Marie Pauls, viola; and Rachel Bottner, cello. (No word on specific works, but it sure sounds like a string quintet is on the program.) The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
And more Brahms (below) fits into the question The Ear recently posted about what explains why we are hearing more music by Brahms these days. Here is a link to that post:
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2017/10/07/classical-music-are-we-hearing-more-brahms-if-so-why/
By Jacob Stockinger
The always adventurous and inventive UW-Madison trombone professor Mark Hetzler (below) will once again perform an experimental and innovative FREE concert this FRIDAY night (NOT Saturday night, as incorrectly listed on here before) at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall.
“Solitude and Stravinsky“ is an exploration of social isolation and a reimagining of Igor Stravinsky’s popular Neo-Classical “Pulcinella” Suite (which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom).
According to the website at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music: “This concert will showcase landmark works by contemporary composers and an experimental performance by the quartet combo Mr. Chair, with special guests and alumni Jason Kutz (piano, below top), Ben Ferris (double bass, below bottom) and Mike Koszewski (drums).”
Here is the full eclectic program:
Allemande, Suite No. 2 in D Major for Solo Cello……J.S. Bach
Brass Atmosphere…..Matthew Burtner
Disegno…….Anders Eliasson
Caravaggio….John Stevens (below)
- Realism; 2. Shadow; 3. Vulgarity; 4. Light
Luminous….Mark Engebretson
Onyzx Quartet…..Jason Kutz
PULCINELLA RE-IMAGINED……Igor Stravinsky (below)
Introduzione (Domenico Gallo)
Scherzino (Giovanni Battista Pergolesi)
Serenata (Pergolesi)
Allegro assai (Gallo)
Allegro alla breve (Pergolesi)
Largo (Pergolesi)
Tarantella (Count Unico Wilhelm Wasserader/Fortunato Chelleri)
Gavotta (Carlo Monza)
Andantino (Alessandro Parisotti)
Minuetto (Pergolesi)
Finale (Gallo)
For a biography of Mark Hetzler and his previous projects, including his many recordings, prizes and guest appearances, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/faculty/mark-hetzler/
Tags: alumni, Arts, Bach, Baroque, bass, blog, Caravaggio, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, combo, composer, contemporary, drum, Early music revival, experimental, finale, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Gavotte, guest, Igor Stravinsky, innovative, introduction, isolation, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Stevens, landmark, light, Madison, Mark Hetzler, Mead Witter School of Music, minuet, Mr Chair, Music, musicale, New Music, Orchestra, Pergolesi, Piano, posting, prize, project, Pulcinella Suite, Quartet, quintet, realism, recording, reimagining, Scherzo, Serenade, shadow, social, Stravinsky, Suite, Tarantella, Trombone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vulgar, Website, YouTube
Classical music: See and hear what happens at the Metropolitan Opera just before show time. You will be amazed and entertained
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
One of the most illuminating and entertaining stories The Ear has seen recently came in The New York Times.
It does exactly what great journalism does: Take you to a place where you cannot go yourself.
The Times went behind the scenes at the famed Metropolitan Opera House in New York City (below) – the Met, for short – to see what was going on before show time.
And it was a lot more than opera.
There is so much to see and listen to, as suggested below in the 1966 drawing of the Metropolitan Opera House by David A. Mackay.
From the sets, props, wig and costume shops to rehearsals by the Met and the American Ballet Theatre and the Metropolitan Orchestra and even to the kitchen and dining room, to say nothing of the classes, hallways and stage.
What emerged was an enthralling story – full of impromptu serendipity — that made good reading in the newspaper and humanized the arts. Here is the text index version (click on the picture and then on the triangle you will see):
But then The Times took advantage of the Internet to create an interactive look at the same material that features only audiovisual clips and runs 7 minutes and 21 seconds.
The final result is impressive, both for the great videography of the shoulder-held cameras and for the succinct labeling and explaining that doesn’t interrupt the flow.
What resulted should win some kind of prize or award. It should also serve as a model for what many other media – especially television – can do with various media tools at hand.
One last observation: Is The Ear the only person who thinks the driving drum soundtrack sounds suspiciously similar to the soundtrack of the 2014 Oscar-winning film “Birdman”?
What do you think about the video?
Did you like it?
Did you learn anything?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Academy Award, American Ballet Theatre, Arts, audiovisual, award, ballet, Birdman, camera, Chamber music, Classical music, costume, dance, dining room, drum, film, head, index, Internet, Jacob Stockinger, journalism, kitchen, Madison, Mahler, media, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Misty Copeland, movie, Music, New York City, New York Times, opera, Orchestra, Oscar, Piano, prize, props, rehearsal, set, shop, soundtrack, symphony, tage, text, The New York Times, Toscanini, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Viola, Violin, vocal music, wigs
Classical music education: Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras’ Percussion Ensemble holds a benefit concert this Saturday afternoon for Ronald McDonald House Charities
Leave a Comment
ALERT: Radio host Rich Samuels of WORT-FM 89.9, who recorded all of “Bach Around the Clock” this year, writes: “At 7:08 a.m. this Thursday morning, I’ll be airing Saturday’s “Bach Around the Clock” performance of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. This was a collaboration of Trevor Stephenson, Kangwon Kim. Nathan and Gillian Giglierano, Micah Behr, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Illana Schroeder, Martha Schroeder, Martha Vallon, Eric Miller and Mark Bridges.”
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has been asked by Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) to post something about a worthy cause and a worthy event:
Drum roll, please!
The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) Percussion Ensemble (below) will host its 16th annual PERCUSSION EXTRAVAGANZA!! on this Saturday, March 25, at 1:30 p.m. in Mills Concert Hall of the UW George L. Mosse Humanities Building. (A video sampler of profiles and music of WYSO’s 13th Annual Percussion Ensemble in 2014 can be heard in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for youth under 18, and are available at the door 45 minutes before the concert begins.
The WYSO Percussion Ensemble (below top) — 14 student musicians from 10 communities playing under Vicki Jenks (below bottom) — hosts this signature percussion benefit to help others. Previous PERCUSSION EXTRAVAGANZAS! have benefitted Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin and the local American Red Cross.
This year—for the first time ever—Ronald McDonald House Charities will partner with WYSO in the collection of tangible items need for the Ronald McDonald House in Madison. The concert will also feature Ronald McDonald himself in person.
Nearly 60 performers—featuring Mannheim Steamroller drummer, Tom Sharpe (below) —will present eclectic, global music dedicated to PEACE. The theme of the event is “Lifting the World to Peace.”
Other EXTRAVAGANZA artists include Madison’s own Black Star Drum Line Percussion Group, led by Joey B. Banks; the UW-Madison Pan-Global Percussion Ensemble, Todd Hammes, instructor; and the WYSO Chamber Strings, led by its director Karl Lavine (below), principal cellist with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
For more information and details about the performers and the complete program as well as a video and a list of related activities and needed items you can bring and donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, go to:
http://www.wysomusic.org/events/concerts-recitals/percussionextravaganza/
Parking is available at State Street Campus, Helen C. White, and Grainger Hall parking facilities.
For more information, please contact the WYSO office at (608) 263-3320.
The WYSO Percussion Ensemble and PERCUSSION EXTRAVAGANZA! are supported by the Eric D. Batterman Memorial Fund, the Theodore W. Batterman Family Foundation, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tags: American Red Cross, Arts, Bach, Bach Around the Clock, Baroque, bass, Black Star, Brandenburg Concerto, Cello, Chamber music, charity, Classical music, drum, drummer, drums, ensemble, extravaganza, foodbank, global, Jacob Stockinger, Kangwon Kim, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mannheim Steamroller, Marika Fischer Hoyt, marimba, McDonald's, Music education, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, peace, percussion, Red Cross, Rich Samuels, Ronald McDonald, Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Second Harvest, State of Wisconsin, strings, Tom Sharpe, Trevor Stephenson, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, WORT-FM 89.9, WYSO, YouTube
Classical music: Percussion quartet Clocks in Motion gives world premieres of two works by UW-Madison composers Laura Schwendinger and Joseph Koykkar this Friday night
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
Performing world premieres of new compositions by Laura Schwendinger and Joseph Koykkar, Madison’s premiere percussion quartet, Clocks in Motion (below, in a photo by Strom Strandell) will present an evening of experimental new music at the First Unitarian Society of Madison on this Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
The Atrium Auditorium at 900 University Bay Drive is a stunning piece of architecture (below in a photo by Zane Williams) attached to the historic Meeting House designed by the great architect Frank Lloyd Wright and will provide a wonderful setting for this concert.
Included in this program is the first-ever performance of a new composition, Aviary, by UW-Madison composer Laura Schwendinger (below). Schwendinger’s composition, written for the members of Clocks in Motion plus piano, is a sound tapestry of imaginary bird songs.
Clocks in Motion will also premiere a new composition by composer Joseph Koykkar (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) entitled Time in Transcendence. Written specifically for Clocks in Motion, Koykkar makes use of the group’s hand-made microtonal percussion instruments and a myriad of drums and keyboard instruments.
Clocks in Motion will also perform “Workers Union” by Louis Andriessen, Mallet Quartet by Steve Reich and “Gravity” by Marc Mellitus. (You can hear Clocks in Motion perform “Gravity” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
This event is supported by Dane Arts.
Admission is $15 for the general public, $5 for Students with valid ID. Cash or credit cards are accepted.
BACKGROUND
Hailed as “nothing short of remarkable” (ClevelandClassical.com) and “the most exciting addition to Madison’s classical music scene” (Isthmus), Clocks in Motion is a percussion quartet that performs new music, builds many of its own instruments, and breaks down the boundaries of the traditional concert program.
Formed in 2011, Clocks in Motion is quickly becoming a major artistic force in today’s contemporary music scene. Among its many recent and upcoming engagements, the group served as performers at the Interlochen Arts Academy (Michigan), The Stone (New York), The Overture Center for the Arts, Casper College (Wyoming), University of Michigan, Baldwin-Wallace University (Ohio), The University of North Carolina-Pembroke and The Ewell Concert Series (Virginia).
Clocks in Motion members are Matthew Coley, Kyle Flens, Sean Kleve and Andrew Veit.
Find out more at www.clocksinmotionpercussion.com
Tags: Arts, aviary, Baldwin-Wallace University, bird, bird songs, Casper College, Chamber music, Classical music, Clocks in Motion, Dane Arts, drum, Ewell Concert Series, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Frank Lloyd Wright, gravity, instrument, Interlochen Arts Academy, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Joseph Koykkaar, Keyboard, Laura Schwendiger, Louis Andriessen, Madison, mallet, Marc Mellits, microtonal, microtonality, Music, New Music, New York, Ohio, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, percusssion, Piano, Quartet, Steve Reich, union, United States, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Virginia, Wisconsin, workers, world premiere, Wyoming, YouTube
Classical music: Minimalist pioneer Steve Reich turns 80 and now finds his music in the mainstream. Plus, here is the program for the clavichord concert on Sunday
Leave a Comment
ALERT: The Ear has received late notice of the program for the clavichord concert on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the Gates of Heaven Synagogue in James Madison Park.
The music, to be played by early music specialist David Schrader of Roosevelt University in Chicago, includes the Partita No. 5 in G Major, BWV 829, by Johann Sebastian Bach; the Sonata in C Major, K. 330, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the Sonata No. 44 in G minor by Franz Joseph Haydn; and the Sonata in A minor by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach.
For more information about the unusual concert, go to:
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is another better-late-than-never posting.
Composer Steve Reich, along with Philip Glass, was one of the pioneering giants of minimalism in classical music, which in turn influenced even pop music icons such as David Bowie and Brian Eno. (You can hear Part 1 of his influential and hypnotic work “Drumming” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Last month Steve Reich turned 80.
Here is a story that traces the evolution of Reich’s career and art — including his reliance on rhythm, his use of percussion and words, and his exploration and rediscovery of Judaism — from the Deceptive Cadence blog for National Public Radio (NPR):
And here is another story from The New York Times that covers Reich past, present and future:
Enjoy!
Tags: Arts, Bach, blog, Brian Eno, Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Chamber music, Classical music, clavichord, David Bowie, David Schrader, Deceptive Cadence, drum, drumming, Early music, Gates of Heaven, Haydn, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Park, Johann Sebastian Bach, Judaism, Madison, minimalism, Mozart, National Public Radio, New York Times, NPR, partita, percussion, Reich, rhythm, Roosevelt University, Sonata, Steve Reich, synagogue, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, words, YouTube
Classical music: The percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion performs music by Steve Reich and John Cage in Spring Green on Monday night
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
Performing on a variety of percussion instruments, the experimental quartet Clocks in Motion (below, in 2015) is the featured performer at the next Rural Musicians Forum concert.
The concert will be held on this coming Monday night, July 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Hillside Theater (below) on the Taliesin estate, south of Spring Green at 6604 Highway 23.
The concert is not ticketed and is open to the public. A free-will offering will be taken to support the concert series. For additional information and driving directions, see www.ruralmusiciansforum.org
Clocks in Motion is known for engaging performances of the classic repertoire for percussion quartets presented alongside new compositions and rarely heard works.
Featured in this performance are the great masterworks “Mallet Quartet” and “Drumming, Part I” by Steve Reich (below). In addition to these classic compositions, Clocks in Motion will perform their commissioned work by Marc Mellits, “Gravity.” (You can hear “Mallet Quartet” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The quartet will also perform Moldavian folk music for hammered dulcimer, experimental music by John Cage (below), and a not-to-be-missed theatrical work for wooden spoons on lunch trays.
Hailed as “nothing short of remarkable” (ClevelandClassical.com) and “the most exciting addition to Madison’s classical music scene” (Isthmus), Clocks in Motion is a percussion quartet that performs new music, builds many of its own instruments and breaks down the boundaries of the traditional concert program.
The current mebers of Clocks in Motion (below from left, in a photo by Strom Strandell) are Sean Kleve, Kyle Flens, Matt Coley and Garrett Mandelow.
Formed in 2011 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Clocks in Motion is quickly becoming a major artistic force in today’s contemporary music scene.
Among its many recent and upcoming engagements, the group served as performers at the Interlochen Arts Academy (Michigan), The Overture Center for the Arts (Wisconsin), Casper College (Wyoming), University of Michigan (Michigan), Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio), The University of North Carolina-Pembroke (North Carolina) and The Ewell Concert Series (Virginia).
The concert is made possible in part through a grant from the Spring Green Art Fair and an anonymous gift to Clocks in Motion.
Tags: Arts, Baldwin-Wallace University, Casper College, Chamber music, Classical music, Clocks in Motion, drum, drumming, Frank Lloyd Wright, gravity, Interlochen, Jacob Stockinger, John Cage, Madison, mallet, Marc Mellits, Music, North Carolina, Ohio, Overture Center, Pembroke, percussion, Quartet, Spring Green, Steve Reich, Taliesin, United States, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, YouTube
Classical music education: Let us now praise K-12 music teachers as an elementary music teacher in Whitewater wins an award for Excellence in Music Education
1 Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
The Memorial Day holiday is over and now we start winding down the academic year in public and private K-12 schools.
That makes it a great time to catch up with news that reminds us how important music education and education in the arts, humanities and liberal arts, can be to the development of the whole child or young person and to lifelong learning.
It helps us to realize that, despite what many legislators say, education should never be a trade school that provides vocational education or career preparation, and that education is not always all about the so-called STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – deemed so useful to business, industry and individual wealth accumulation. (You can hear educator Richard Gill give a popular TED Talk about the value of music education in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
So here is open important reminder via a press release:
The Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and Ward-Brodt Music have awarded their 2016 Award for Excellence in Music Education to Whitewater music teacher Christine Hayes of Lincoln/LINCS Elementary School at a choir concert for grades 2-5.
The presentation was held on Tuesday, May 17, in the Whitewater High School Auditorium.
This annual award celebrates an educator who displays leadership, passion, dedication, and innovation within the music classroom, positively affecting the lives of his or her students and the community at large, and is designated for one outstanding music educator in southern Wisconsin.
The MSO and Ward-Brodt developed the award to recognize that cultivating the artistic growth of young students is one of the unique and challenging jobs for teachers in Wisconsin.
Christine Hayes (below) has dedicated her life to enriching young people and the communities around her through music education. In her 29 years of working in the Whitewater Unified School District and by contributing to music in her community in a variety of ways, she’s changed the lives of many students and her colleagues. She believes that “inspiring and challenging children today will lead to their embracing music for their lifetime.”
In the nominations by parents, teaching colleagues, church members, and school administrators, Hayes was described as “a power house of creative energy” who “encourages children to express their feelings through music.”
Her students at Lincoln/LINCS Elementary School, where she has spent the last 19 years, can take part in diverse musical experiences including world drumming, playing guitar and recorder, composing music, and singing in many languages. All of these experiences for children make her classroom “an exciting, musical adventure.”
She has also taught elementary and middle school band, middle school guitar, keyboards and general music.
A former colleague who nominated her wrote, “Mrs. Hayes leads by example by continuing to find ways to improve as an educator by constantly pursuing her own education. She recently completed a trip to Ghana in order to learn about their musical culture.”
In her own words, Hayes said, “My goal is for each student to imagine themselves in musical experiences, provide them authentic learning situations where they create, respond, perform and connect, then collaborate with those students to apply their knowledge and skills to discover their personal musical path.”
Outside the classroom, she founded an after-school orchestra where she volunteers her time as coordinator allowing children to enrich their music education. Currently in its eighth year, the Whitewater Unified School District Strings Program has touched the lives of many school children, with 72 students participating this past year, ranging from fourth grade to high school.
She is also a music leader in her community. Hayes has been serving as the Choir Director for the First United Methodist Church in Whitewater for the past 20 years and served on the board of directors of the Whitewater Arts Alliance for five years.
In her free time she plays clarinet with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Community Band.
Hayes has also been deeply involved with developing Wisconsin state standards for music education by serving on the writing committee for the National Common Core Music Standards from 2012 to 2014.
In 2015, she was asked to join the Steering Committee for the Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA), continuing her work to improve music education in Wisconsin. Hayes has served as the Chair of the NAfME National Council for General Music Education and as a President of the WMEA.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from Central Michigan University and a master’s degree in music from Northwestern University. She currently resides in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
In 2007 she won the Wal-Mart Wisconsin Teacher of the Year award and in 2008 the Herb Kohl Fellowship Award.
Hayes will be awarded a commemorative plaque and a $500 prize. These prizes have been made possible through the generosity of Ward-Brodt Music of Madison, Wisconsin. To be qualified for the award, a nominee must have taught within a 75-mile radius of Madison in a public or private K-12 school and instructed a band, orchestra, choir or general music course.
Colleagues, current or former students, parents of students, or friends were eligible to nominate a music educator for the award.
The review panel consisted of representatives from public and private school administration, veteran teachers, university staff and knowledgeable community members. (For the sake of full disclosure, The Ear sat on the committee that reviewed the many impressive nominations and decided the winner of the award.)
For more information regarding the Award for Excellence in Music Education, visit http://madisonsymphony.org/award.
Tags: academic year, Americans for the Arts, Art, Arts, award, bachelor's, band, Business, Central Michigan University, Choir, choral music, clarinet, Classical music, colleague, common core, community, composing, drum, Education, elementary school, engineering, feelings, friend, general music, Ghana, God, guitar, Herb Kohl, high school, humanities, industry, Jacob Stockinger, K-12, Keyboard, language, liberal arts, Lincoln, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, master's, math, mathematics, Memorial Day, Middle school, Music, Music education, Northwestern University, Orchestra, Parent, Piano, recorder, school year, science, steering committee, STEM, Student, symphony, Teacher, technology, TED Talk, trade school, United Methodist Church, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Whitewater, vocal music, vocational education, volunteer, Wal-Mart, Ward-Brodt, wealth, Whitewater Arts Alliance, Wisconsin Music Educators Association, world drumming, young people, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 