The Ear has received the following note to post from Mikko Rankin Utevsky – the founder and director of the Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra (MAYCO) – and his concertmaster wife Thalia Coombs. Both are graduates of the Mead Witter School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dear Friends:
Thalia and I are excited to announce the Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra’s 2018 concerts that begin this coming Saturday night.
MAYCO is a mentorship-based training orchestra for advanced high school and college musicians, and we’ll be returning to our two-concert season format this summer. Details about the programs are below.
We have run MAYCO on a volunteer basis almost entirely on ticket revenue for the past eight years. But as expenses for space and music have risen, we’ve begun to outgrow that budget. If you’d like to help support our educational and performing work and keep this extraordinary organization going strong, you can make a tax-deductible contribution through our financial sponsor, Arts Wisconsin:
Thank you all for your support, and we hope to see you this summer.
Mikko and Thalia
This project is funded in part by a grant from the Madison Arts Commission, with additional funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board; and by Dane Arts, with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.
The Ear has received the following announcement to post from the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO):
Join us at 4 p.m. this Sunday, June 3, at Music Hall (below top), 925 Bascom Mall in Madison – at the base of Bascom Hill on the UW-Madison campus — for the final concert of the WYSO Music Makers (below bottom) during their inaugural season.
The FREE concert includes performances by students ages 8 to 18 on violin, guitar and piano. (Editor’s note: Sorry, there is no word about the composers or works on the program.)
“It’s been an incredible year in so many ways and it’s exhilarating to think back to September 2017 and see how much we have all learned and how many new friends we have made,” said violinist and WYSO Music Makers program director Paran Amirinazari (below). “Our students have grown as musicians and individuals and we can’t wait to continue growing and learning together.”
WYSO Music Makers exists to enrich and develop the music skills of children from all backgrounds in an inclusive and non-competitive environment. We provide the financial support for instruments, lessons, and performance opportunities, making music education accessible for all children. No motivated student is turned away for lack of resources. Learn more at wysomusic.org/wysomusicmakers. (See the YouTube video at the bottom.)
WYSO Music Makers is supported by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, with additional support from CUNA Mutual Foundation, Edith Olsen Music Foundation, Endres Manufacturing Company Foundation, Madison Community Foundation, and Madison Gas & Electric Foundation, Inc.
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
“This spring, the Madison Youth Choirs singers (below) are exploring the unexpected ways that elements of humor, from irony and incongruity to improvisation and timing, are reflected in a wide variety of classical and contemporary musical compositions.
“We’re learning that music, like humor, is a kind of language, operating with its own sense of logic, patterns, and conventions that composers can twist to surprise us and take our musical journey to new places.
“As we study the complexity of humor as a mode of creative expression, we are discovering the power of satire, wit, and misdirection to help us reexamine our assumptions, musical and otherwise.
“In our culminating concert series, our singers will present works including “No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel; Timothy Takach’s “I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach; the “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls; and the second movement of Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein.”
The MYC Spring Concerts, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit, and Whimsy” will take place this Sunday afternoon and evening, May 13, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall Stadium.
Performance are: 1:30 p.m. for Girlchoirs; 4 p.m. for Boychoirs; and 7 p.m. for High School Ensembles.
Tickets will be available at the door: $10 for general admission; $5 for students 7-18; and free for children under 7. A separate ticket is required for each performance.
This concert is supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. This project is also supported by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC):
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community.
Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.