The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra performs its annual gala Christmas concert this weekend and also offers a FREE community carol sing this Saturday morning
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By Jacob Stockinger
As Charles Dickens might say, the Madison Symphony Orchestra knows how to keep Christmas well.
Over many years, “A Madison Symphony Christmas” has become a popular and major annual kickoff to the holiday season in the Madison area by embracing the season with Christmas classics and new music.
Much of the event’s appeal derives from the diversity and range of the performers. This year it again features the full orchestra plus the Madison Symphony Chorus, the Madison Youth Choirs and the Mount Zion Gospel Choir.
In addition, two opera stars who have performed with the Madison Opera — tenor Mackenzie Whitney (below top) and soprano Michelle Johnson (below bottom)– return to the stage for this annual family-friendly tradition. For biographies of the two singers, go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-madison-symphony-christmas-2019/
MSO principal harpist Johanna Wienholts (below) is a featured soloist in a concerto by George Frideric Handel.
“A Madison Symphony Christmas” takes place in Overture Hall, 201 State Street, on this Friday night, Dec. 13, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday night, Dec. 14, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Dec. 15, at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $19 to $95 with discounts available. See below for details.
NOTE: On this coming Saturday morning, Dec. 14, at 11 a.m., Greg Zelek (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) — the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Organist and Curator of the Overture Concert Organ — leads a FREE Community Carol Sing in Overture Hall. All ages are welcome, and no tickets or reservations are needed. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/free-community-carol-sing-2019/
Music director and conductor John DeMain (below) offers the following preview of the MSO concert:“This is the biggest celebration of the season in Madison and beyond. It has four different choruses and choirs as well as amazing soloists from the orchestra, the world of opera and Broadway.
“The huge Madison Symphony Orchestra will play your favorite Christmas music, and there is a great carol sing-along featuring the Overture Hall organ playing with the MSO. After this concert, you’ll want to celebrate Christmas all year long.”
The program begins with classical styles in the first half, culminating in Handel’s “Hallelujah” Chorus (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom.) The concert climaxes with a Gospel music finale, and a chance for the audience to sing along.
Works to be performed include John Rutter’s version of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”; the “Magnificat” by Johann Sebastian Bach; Franz Schubert’s “Wiegenlied” (“Lullaby”); and music by Charles Gounod, J. S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, Adolphe Adam, Dan Goeller and Randol Alan Bass.
The older voices of the Madison Youth Choirs (below) are featured in works by composer Stephen Hatfield, including a version of the traditional English “Apple-Tree Wassail.”
The Madison Symphony Chorus (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) and soloists present of medley of familiar holiday favorites, including “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
Finally, the Mount Zion Gospel Choir (below, in a photo by Bob Rashid) sings arrangements for choir and orchestra by co-director Leotha Stanley, including “The Joy of Christmas,” Stanley’s version of “Silent Night,” and a newly composed song by Stanley, “Christmas Hope.”
CONCERT, TICKET AND EVENT DETAILS
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert. The MSO recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations — and participate in singing carols with the Madison Symphony Chorus that take place in the Overture Hall lobby (below) 45 minutes before the concerts.
Program notes are available online for viewing in advance of the concerts: http://bit.ly/msodec19programnotes
- Single Tickets are $19-$95 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-madison-symphony-christmas-2019/through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
- Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit, https://www.madisonsymphony.org/groups.
- Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $15 or $20 tickets. More information is at: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush
- Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
- Flex-ticket booklets of 8-10 vouchers for 19-20 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
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Classical music education: The 18th annual family-friendly and FREE Concert in the Park by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, with two student soloists, is this Wednesday night on the far west wide of Madison
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras will perform its 18th annual FREE summer Concert in the Park (below) on this coming Wednesday, Aug. 7, at 1200 John Q. Hammons Drive in the Old Sauk Trails Business Park. (The rain date is this Thursday.)
Hosted by The Gialamas Company, the Concert in the Park is designed to be fun for all ages and is FREE to the public. The Ear can attest to the excellent quality of the musical performances.
Led by WYSO’s music director and Youth Orchestra conductor Kyle Knox (below), who is a graduate of the UW-Madison and the associate conductor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, WYSO’s Youth Orchestra will perform works by Antonin Dvorak, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Modest Mussorgsky, Felix Mendelssohn, Camille Saint-Saens, John Philip Sousa and Dmitri Shostakovich.
The program includes concerto performances by two WYSO student soloists: violinist Ellen Zhou; and cellist Grace Kim.
The grounds will open at 5 p.m. for setting up lawn chairs and blankets for picnics and socializing, and for engaging in pre-concert activities, including an ice cream social (below top) and a WYSO instrument petting zoo. Also scheduled are a visit by The Big Red Reading Bus (below bottom) from the Madison Reading Project and activities by the Madison Children’s Museum.
The concert begins at 7 p.m., followed by a fireworks display.
Here is the concert program:
Slavonic Dances Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 by Antonin Dvorak
Violin Concerto by Felix Mendelssohn
- Allegro molto appassionato
Ellen Zhou, violin (below)
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33, by Camille Saint-Saens
III. Tempo primo
Grace Kim, cello (below)
Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Finale: Allegro con fuoco
Intermission
“Tahiti Trot” (Tea for Two) by Dmitri Shostakovich (orchestrated by Dave Brubeck and heard in the YouTube video at the bottom)
“Stars and Stripes Forever” March by John Philip Sousa (orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski)
“Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky (orchestrated by Maurice Ravel)
1st Promenade
Gnomus
2nd Promenade
4th Promenade
Ballet of Unhatched Chicks
The Hut on Hen’s Legs (Baba Yaga)
The Great Gate of Kiev
For more information, food and beverage menus, and information about how to reserve tables, call (608) 836-8000 or visit www.Gialamas.com (click on Events) or email office@Gialamas.com
For more information about WYSO, including how to join it, support it, learn about its background and attend future events, go to https://www.wysomusic.org
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Classical music: The critically acclaimed and popular Willy Street Chamber Players start their fifth summer series with a FREE community concert this Friday
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement for a remarkable and must-hear summer series of chamber music concerts that from its very beginning seems to have found a successful formula that resonated with the public It relies on informality, affordable tickets, first-rate musicianship, short concerts, eclectic programs that mix classics with sure-fire new music, support for their local community.
Now in their fifth year, the Willy Street Chamber Players (WSCP, below) have become an established part of the Williamson Street neighborhood.
Recently awarded the silver medal in Madison Magazine’s prestigious “Best of Madison” reader poll in the category of “Best Classical Music Group,” WSCP has received numerous accolades for its accessible and exciting performances, intelligent and fun programming, and dedication to community partnerships.
The group has also been named “Musician of the Year”for 2016 by this blog.
The Summer Series concerts are on Friday evenings at 6 p.m. in the sanctuary of the beautiful Immanuel Lutheran Church (below) at 1021 Spaight St. The church is right on Lake Monona in the Williamson Street neighborhood. Enjoy 60-90 minutes of inspiring and unforgettable live music, then go explore the neighborhood with the remaining daylight hours.
Following the performance, enjoy a reception provided by one of our Willy Street restaurant partners. (Past contributors have been the Underground Butcher, Let It Ride Cold Brew Coffee, Madison Sourdough, the Willy Street Co-Op, Festival Foods, Roman Candle Pizza and more.)
While you enjoy your snacks, chat with the friendly musicians and ask them about the performance, the pieces and the group. We love interacting with our awesome audience.
A season pass is $40. Admission to individual concerts is $15. For tickets and more infomation, got to: http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org/2019-summer-series.html
COMMUNITY CONNECT – This is a FREE and family-friendly concert with all ages welcome for music, interactive learning, conversation and connections.
It takes place this Friday, July 5, at 6 p.m. at the Goodman Community Center (149 Waubesa Street on the east side), as is posted on the home website — NOT at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, which is listed in the printed brochure but is undergoing construction.
The program – “Growing Sound: A Sonic Exploration” – features music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Corigliano, Antonin Dvorak, Friedrich August Kummer and Alberto Ginastera.
SUMMER SERIES 1
Friday, July 12, at 6 p.m. – Mozart and Mendelssohn
Prize-winning UW-Madison graduate Danny Kim, viola (below)
PROGRAM:
Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 1 in A major, Op. 18 (1826)
Simon Steen-Andersen: Study for String Instrument No. 1 (2007)
Mozart: String Quintet No. 2 in C minor, K. 406/516b (1787)
SUMMER SERIES 2
Friday, July 19, at 6 p.m. – Bassoon and Strings
UW-Madison Professor Marc Vallon, bassoon (below)
PROGRAM:
Beethoven: Allegretto for Piano Trio in B-flat major, WoO. 39 (1812)
Jennifer Higdon: “Dark Wood” (2001)
Franz Danzi: Bassoon Quartet in D minor, Op. 40, No. 2 (ca. 1820)
Alberto Ginastera: String Quartet No.1, Op. 20 (1948)
SUMMER SERIES 3
Friday, July 26, at 6 p.m. – Christopher Taylor, piano (below)
PROGRAM:
Ernest Bloch: Three Nocturnes (1924)
Jessie Montgomery: “Voodoo Dolls” (2008)
Dvorak: Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81 (1887) with UW-Madison pianist Christopher Taylor. (You can hear the first movement of Dvorak’s beautiful and melodic Piano Quintet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For more information, including background, biographies of the musicians, critics’ reviews, photos and how to support the Willy Street Chamber Players, go to:
http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org
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Classical music: Thursday night, the Middleton Community Orchestra closes its season with duo-pianists in music by Mozart and Saint-Saens, and the latter’s “Organ” Symphony. Wednesday is the last Just Bach concert of the season
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ALERT: This Wednesday, May 29, at 1 p.m. in Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Avenue, is the last FREE Just Bach concert of the season. The one-hour early music program includes: the cantata “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen” (Praise Ye God in All Lands), BWV 51; Duetto II in F Major, BWV 803; and the cantata “Wachet! Betet! Betet! Wachet!” (Watch! Pray! Pray! Watch!), BWV 70. For more information, go online to the home website: https://justbach.org
By Jacob Stockinger
This Thursday night, May 30, the largely amateur but critically acclaimed Middleton Community Orchestra (below, in a photo by Brian Rupert) will close its ninth season with a special family-friendly concert.
The concert, under the baton of conductor Steve Kurr (below), takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Middleton Performing Arts Center that is attached to Middleton High School, 2100 Bristol Street.
Guest artists are University of Wisconsin-Madison students and duo-pianists Satoko Hayami (below top) and Thomas Kasdorf (below bottom). They will perform the witty and entertaining “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saens and then the Concerto for Two Pianos, K. 365, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Wisconsin Public Radio host Norman Gilliland (below) will be the narrator in “The Carnival of the Animals.” (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the opening Introduction and Royal March of the Lion, with the late Sir Roger Moore — aka James Bond or 007 — as the narrator plus an all-star cast of musicians and some very cool animal videos in back-and-white.)
The concert concludes with the always impressive, ambitious and popular Symphony No. 3 — the famous “Organ” Symphony – by Saint-Saens (below, seated at the piano in 1900).
Adds MCO co-founder Mindy Taranto: “We are really excited to share a special concert with the community as we celebrate the end of MCO’s ninth season.
“It took a village to make this concert possible. Farley’s House of Pianos is donating the use of an 1890 Steinway to match the Steinway at the hall. WPR radio host Norman Gilliland is generously volunteering to narrate the ‘Carnival of the Animals’ and Full Compass is offering us a discount on the sound equipment we need to play the “Organ” Symphony. Our very own recording engineer, Alex Ford, is playing the organ.
“Please bring your kids and share this information to invite all students free of charge to hear this concert.”
Admission is $15 for adults; all students get in for free. Tickets are available at the Willy Street Coop West and at the door. The box office opens at 6:30 p.m. and the auditorium opens at 7 p.m.
As usual, after the concert there will be a free meet-and-greet reception for musicians and the public.
For more information about this concert, and about how to join or support the Middleton Community Orchestra, call 608 212-8690 or go online to: http://middletoncommunityorchestra.org
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Classical music: We should hear more operas sung in English translation – like Wisconsin Public Radio’s live broadcast TODAY at noon of the Metropolitan Opera’s shortened version of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear thinks that we in English-speaking countries should hear more operas sung in our native language.
Yes, sung in English – not the original Italian, French or German.
You can see how you’d like it for yourself if you listen at noon TODAY– Saturday, Dec. 29 — to Wisconsin Public Radio. That’s when you can hear the Metropolitan Opera’s live broadcast of its family-friendly production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”
The Ear did so and – except for deleting the wonderful overture — loved it.
So, apparently, did a lot others. (You can hear Nathan Gunn in a sample in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
After many years, the production has now become a holiday tradition for the Met to offer children while school is out for the holidays.
And one suspects it is developing new audiences – especially with the colorful staging and costumes by Julie Taymor, who won such acclaim for her staging of “The Lion King” on both the stage and film.
Sure, a lot of purists will probably object to substituting English for the original Italian, French, German and Russian. But it is so freeing and feels so good to understand what you are hearing without the distraction of constantly going back and forth trying to look at both the supertitles and the stage.
It also seems worth a try, given the problems that many opera companies are having competing with the “Live from the Met in HD” productions that you can see in movie theaters for far less money, and the decline of both season subscribers and single tickets.
To be honest, of course even in English you will miss some of the words. That’s the nature of singing. But excellent diction helps. And if you are lucky enough to see the production in person, supertitles in Italian, French German and Spanish and, yes, English are still provided.
It is not a completely new idea. After all, Great Britain has the English National Opera, which performs standard operas by Verdi and Puccini, Monteverdi and Handel, Mozart and Wagner, in English. So, many of the very great operas have already been translated into English and could be staged in English elsewhere.
Here are links where you can learn more about the English National Opera:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_National_Opera
Do you question how the text is hurt in translation?
It’s worth remembering that Mozart himself used the vernacular German instead of his usual opera house Italian so that he would reach the general public. Why not do the same today? Translation could make opera much more accessible, less pretentious and more populist.
The same is true for cutting the show down to 100 minutes from almost 3 hours. Let’s just admit that the attention span of the general public is much shorter than it used to be.
Orchestra and chamber music concerts as well as solo recitals are trimming their running times often down to 90 minutes or less, and meet with great approval from the public. Why not try the same approach with opera? Indeed, both the Madison Opera and the University Opera have limited but successful experiences with editing operas and using English.
It is also worth recalling that in translation we read greater words than an opera libretto. If we can translate Homer and Shakespeare, Dostoevsky and Proust, why can’t we translate opera librettos? One just has to be sure to find a great translator with a sensitive musical ear– such as American poet Richard Wilbur is with his award-winning, rhyming translations of Moliere’s comedies and Racine’s tragedies. Similarly, American poet J.D. McClatchy has done a fine job with The Met’s “Magic Flute.”
Here is a link to more information about the production, including a synopsis:
https://www.metopera.org/season/2018-19-season/the-magic-flute/
And here is a review of the Met’s “Magic Flute” by Tommasini:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/arts/music/review-mozart-magic-flute-met-opera.html
What do you think?
Should more operas be staged in English?
Should long operas be edited?
Why or why not?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AmericanPoet, #AttentionSpan, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #Children'sOpera, #ClaudioMonteverdi, #EnglishLanguage, #EnglishNationalOpera, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FrenchLanguage, #FyodorDostoevsky, #GeneralPublic, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GermanLanguage, #GreatBritain, #HolidayTradition, #ItalianLanguage, #JulieTaymor, #LiveFrom the MetinHD, #MadisonOpera, #MarcelProust, #MetropolitanOpera, #MetropolitanOperaLiveinHD, #MusicalEar, #MusicReview, #NathanGunn, #NewYorkCity, #OperaMusic, #OperaReview, #RichardWilbur, #RussianLanguage, #SatelliteBroadcast, #SingleTickets, #SpanishLanguage, #TheEar, #TheLIonKing, #TheMagicFlute, #TheMet, #TheNewYorkTImes, #UnitedKingdom, #UnitedStates, #UniversityOpera, #VocalMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, abridge, abridged, accessible, American, Arts, attention span, award, award-winning, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, Broadcast, Chamber music, children, cinema, Classical music, colorful, comedies, comedy, composer, costumes, cut, diction, distraction, Dostoevsky, Early music, edit, England, English language, English National Opera, Facebook, family-friendly, feel, film, film'theater', forward, French, George Frideric Handel, German, Great Britain, Handel, hear, holiday tradition, Homer, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, Julie Taymor, language, like, link, live, Live From The Met in HD, look, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Opera, Marcel Proust, Metropolitan Opera, Moliere, money, Monteverdi, movie, Music, music review, musical ear, Nathan Gunn, New York City, New York Times, NPR, opera, Opera review, Orchestra, Overture, poet, Poetry, popular, populist, post, posting, pretentious, problem, production, Proust, public, Racine, Radio, read, recital, rhyme, Richard Wilbur, Russian, Saturday, school, Shakespeare, share, shorten, sing, singer, Singing, single tickets, Spanish, stage, staging, students, subscribers, sung, supertitles, tag, The Ear, The Lion King, the Met, theatre, today, tragedies, tragedy, translation, trouble, UK, understand, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, vernacular, version, vocal music, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Madison Opera’s FREE 17th annual “Opera in the Park” takes place this Saturday night in Garner Park
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By Jacob Stockinger
Madison Opera’s annual Opera in the Park (below) celebrates its 17th year on this coming Saturday night, July 21, at 8 p.m. in Garner Park on Madison’s far west side, near West Towne Mall.
The annual FREE and family-friendly concert of opera and Broadway favorites closes the company’s 2017-18 season and provides a preview of the 2018-19 season.
A Madison summer tradition that often attracts over 15,000 people (below, in a photo by James Gill), Opera in the Park is an evening of music under the stars that features selections from opera and Broadway.
This year’s Opera in the Park features four soloists: soprano Elizabeth Caballero; soprano Brenda Rae; tenor John Lindsey; and baritone Levi Hernandez.
Caballero (below top) and Hernandez (below bottom) recently starred in Madison Opera’s acclaimed production of “Florencia en el Amazons” last spring.
Lindsey (below) is making his debut, and will return to the company as the Prince in Antonin Dvorak’s Rusalka in April, 2018.
Rae (below) is also making her Madison Opera debut. She did her undergraduate work at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music before going on to the Juilliard School and an international career. She is singing Cunegonde in Candide at Santa Fe Opera this summer, and is performing at Opera in the Park in between performances there.
The four soloists are joined by the Madison Opera Chorus and Madison Symphony Orchestra (below top, in a photo by James Gill), conducted by Gary Thor Wedow (below bottom), who has guest conducted Opera in the Park before.
The evening is hosted by Madison Opera’s General Director Kathryn Smith and WKOW-TV’s 27 News co-anchor George Smith (below).
“Opera in the Park is the most wonderful and most unique performance we give at Madison Opera,” says Kathryn Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill). “We have beautiful voices performing music from many centuries in many languages, while thousands of members of our community relax together under the same night sky. It truly shows how music and opera can connect us. I am so grateful to all of our supporters for enabling us to produce this free concert every summer, harnessing the community-building power of music.”
Opera in the Park 2018 features arias and ensembles from Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, which open the 2018-19 season in November; Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, which will be performed in February; and Antonin Dvorak’s Rusalka, which will be performed in April. (You can hear the beautiful “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka — a signature aria for superstar soprano René Fleming — sung by Frederica von Stade, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The program also includes selections from La Bohème, Turandot, La Sonnambula, The Marriage of Figaro, El Niño Judío, La del Soto del Parral, My Fair Lady, Candide, On the Town, and more. For a complete list of repertoire on the program, which is subject to change, go to: https://www.madisonopera.org/2018-2019-season/oitp/
As always, this evening will include one number conducted by the audience with light sticks (below).
Garner Park is located at 333 South Rosa Road, at an intersection with Mineral Point Road. Parking is available in the CUNA Mutual Group and University Research Park lots across the street.
Attendees are encouraged to bring picnics, blankets and chairs. Alcohol is permitted but not sold in the park. On the day of the concert, Garner Park will open at 7 a.m. Audience members may not leave items in the park prior to this time.
The rain date for Opera in the Park is Sunday, July 22, at 8 p.m.
While Opera in the Park is free to attend, it would not be possible without the generous support of many foundations, corporations and individuals.
Sponsors of Opera in the Park 2018 are: the BerbeeWalsh Foundation, the John and Carolyn Peterson Charitable Foundation, Full Compass Systems, the Raymond B. Preston Family Foundation, University Research Park, Colony Brands, the Evjue Foundation – the charitable arm of The Capital Times, Hooper Foundation, MG&E Foundation, Johnson Bank, National Guardian Life, Wisconsin Bank and Trust, the Wisconsin Arts Board, Dane Arts and the Madison Arts Commission.
Madison Magazine, Wisconsin Public Radio, Magic 98, and La Movida are media sponsors for this community event.
RELATED EVENT: Prelude Dinner at Opera in the Park 2018 is on Saturday, July 21, at 6 p.m. in the park under a tent.
This annual fundraiser to benefit Opera in the Park helps support Madison Opera’s free gift to the community. The event includes dinner catered by Upstairs Downstairs, VIP seating at the concert, a complimentary light stick, and a reception with the artists following the performance. Tickets are $145 per person or $1,100 for a table of eight. More information is available at www.madisonopera.org
Madison Opera is a non-profit professional opera company based in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1961, the company grew from a local workshop presenting community singers in English-language productions to a nationally recognized organization producing diverse repertoire featuring leading American opera singers and emerging talent.
A resident organization of the Overture Center for the Arts, Madison Opera presents three annual productions in addition to the free summer concert Opera in the Park and a host of educational programming.
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Classical music: The Willy Street Chamber Players kick off their new FREE Community Connect concert series this coming Sunday afternoon at Warner Park. Plus, FREE oboe and piano concerts are this Friday at noon and Saturday night
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features oboist Laura Medisky and pianist Vincent Fuh in sonatas by Paul Hindemith, Henri Dutilleux and Malcolm Arnold. The concert runs from 12:125 to 1 p.m. On Saturday night at 7 p.m., the same performers will repeat the same program in a FREE concert at Oakwood Village West auditorium, 6201 Mineral Point Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear’s friends at the Willy Street Chamber Players (below), which The Ear named as Musicians of the Year for 2016, write:
We wanted to let you know about the upcoming kickoff of the Willy Street Chamber Players’ “Community Connect” series. We are committed to our mission of making classical music accessible to all.
The Willy Street Chamber Players’ Northside Community Connect Concert is on this coming Sunday, Feb. 19, at noon at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center.
Enjoy hot coffee, exciting classical music and great conversation with the Willy Street Chamber Players.
This program is FREE, family-friendly and will last about 60 minutes. All are welcome.
The program is: String Quartet in C Major, K. 157, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; String Quartet No. 5, “Rosa Parks” by Daniel Bernard Roumain; “Entr’acte” for String Quartet by Pulitzer Prize-winner Caroline Shaw (you can hear the piece, which The Ear loves for its pulsing and hypnotic rhythm plus unusual and interesting string textures, in the YouTube video at the bottom); and “Four, for Tango” by Astor Piazzolla.
There was an announcement about this series in the January string quartet program at A Place to Be (below, in a photo by John W. Barker), and it included a couple more concerts. But we have decided to make Community Connect a self-produced series.
We are planning a second Community Connect concert in July during our regular summer series, and have listed our other free appearances on our regular calendar.
The concert is made possible in part by Willy Street Co-Op and the North/Eastside Senior Coalition (NESCO).
For more information go to: www.willystreetchamberplayers.org
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