The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Here are the performers, programs and schedule for Saturday’s concerts by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement from the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras to post:

Join us for our second concert series of the season, the Diane Ballweg Winterfest Concerts on this Saturday, March 10, in Mills Concert Hall, 455 North Park Street, on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

Programmed pieces include works from Brian Balmages, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ralph Matesky, Gustav Holst, Samuel Barber, and more.

For the full concert repertoire, go to: https://www.wysomusic.org/2018-winterfest-repertoire/

“Every one of these concerts is jam-packed with great music—the kind of classics that have endured,” said interim WYSO artistic director Randal Swiggum (below).

“These concerts will inspire audiences, guaranteed, not just with masterworks like Holst’s ‘Jupiter’ from The Planets, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, but with the energy and freshness that young musicians bring to this music.” (You can hear the dramatic and well-known opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, with an engaging graphic display of its structure, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Additional highlights from the concerts include an Opus One collaboration with the WYSO Music Makers Honors Ensemble on the traditional piece Goin’ To Boston; a guest appearance from NBC-15 TV News Anchor/Reporter John Stofflet (below top) who will narrate Sinfonietta’s performance of Lincoln at Gettysburg; and concerto performances from the 2017-2018 Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition winners, violist Maureen Sheehan (below middle) of Middleton and violinist Dexter Mott (below bottom) of Madison.

“Both Maureen with the Walton Viola Concerto, and Dexter with the Sibelius Violin Concerto, have tackled mature pieces that demand not just technical prowess, but thoughtful, nuanced interpretation,” Swiggum said. “I know audiences will be truly moved by their playing.”

Tickets are available at the door the day of the concerts, and are $10 for adults and $5 for youth 18 and under.

               Diane Ballweg Winterfest Concerts Schedule

11:30 a.m. – Opus One with WYSO Music Makers (below, playing at the Wisconsin Union Theater) and Sinfonietta with NBC-15 News Anchor/Reporter John Stofflet narrating Lincoln at Gettysburg.

1:30 p.m. – Harp Ensemble (below) and Concert Orchestra.

4:00 p.m. – Philharmonia Orchestra (below), with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and Holst’s “Jupiter” from The Planets.

7:00 p.m. – Youth Orchestra, with performances from the 2017-2018 Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition winners, Dexter Mott and Maureen Sheehan.