The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Winter Concert Series by the Madison Youth Choirs next Saturday and Sunday feature the theme of “Resilience” with guest artist Tony Memmel
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
This semester, the Madison Youth Choirs welcome guest artist Tony Memmel, a singer-songwriter and guitarist whose story of ingenuity and resilience will inspire young singers and audience members alike.
Born without a left forearm or hand, Memmel (below) taught himself to play guitar by building a homemade cast out of Gorilla Tape, and has become an internationally acclaimed musician, thoughtful teacher and ambassador for young people with limb differences. (You can hear Memmel talk about himself in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
On this coming Saturday night, Dec. 8, and Sunday afternoon, Dec., 9, at the Middleton Performing Arts Center that is attached to Middleton High School at 2100 Bristol Street, Memmel will join the Madison Youth Choirs in a Winter Concert Series called “Resilience” because it focuses on the ability to overcome challenges both visible and invisible, and along the way discover the limitless possibilities that exist inside each of us.
Here is the schedule:
Saturday, Dec. 8, at 7:00 p.m. – Purcell, Britten, Holst and Ragazzi choirs
Sunday, Dec. 9, at 4:00 p.m. – Choraliers, Con Gioia, Capriccio, Cantilena and Cantabile choir
Tickets will be available at the door, $10 for general admission; $5 for students 7-18; and free for children under 7.
These concerts are generously endowed by the Diane Ballweg Performance Fund with additional support from our sponsors, 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 Madison Arts Commission and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
About 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.
For more information about supporting or joining MYC, go to: https://www.madisonyouthchoirs.org
HERE IS THE COMPLETE REPERTOIRE OF THE MYC 2018 WINTER CONCERT SERIES “RESILIENCE”:
SATURDAY, DEC. 8, at 7:00 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Combined Boychoirs with Tony Memmel
“Clenched Hands, Brave Demands” by Tony Memmel
“Though My Soul May Set in Darkness,” text by Sarah Williams, composer unknown
Purcell
“Who Can Sail” Scandinavian Folk Song, arr. Jeanne Julseth-Heinrich
“Hine Ma Tov” Hebrew Folk Song, arr. Henry Leck
Britten
“Jerusalem,” poem by William Blake, music by Sir Hubert Parry
“This Little Babe” from A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten
Holst
“Keep Your Lamps,” traditional spiritual, arr. André Thomas
“Out of the Deep” by John Wall Callcott
“Shosholoza,” Traditional song from Zimbabwe, arr. Albert Pinsonneault
Combined Boychoirs
“Angels’ Carol” by John Rutter
Tony Memmel
Selections to be announced
Ragazzi
“Wie Melodien” (Op. 5, No. 1) by Johannes Brahms
“The Chemical Worker’s Song” by Ron Angel, arr. after Great Big Sea
“Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight” by Abbie Betinis
Combined Boychoirs with Tony Memmel (below)
“America to Go” by Tony Memmel
SUNDAY, DEC. 9, at 4:00 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Combined Girlchoirs with Tony Memmel
“Clenched Hands, Brave Demands” by Tony Memmel
Choraliers
“Be Like a Bird,” Text from Victor Hugo, music by Arthur Frackenpohl
“Art Thou Troubled” by George Frideric Handel
“Blustery Day” by Victoria Ebel-Sabo
Con Gioia
“Bist du bei mir” by Johann Sebastian Bach from “The Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach”
“I Heard a Bird Sing” by Cyndee Giebler
“Ask the Moon” from Three Settings of the Moon by Ron Nelson
“I’ll Overcome Someday” by C.A. Tindley
“We Shall Overcome” arr. by Marie McManama and Con Gioia
“i shall imagine” by Daniel Brewbaker, text by e.e. cummings
South African National Anthem by E.M. Sontonga and M.L. de Villiers
Capriccio
“Resilience” by Abbie Betinis
“Be Like the Bird” by Abbie Betinis
“Esurientes” from Magnificat in G minor by Antonio Vivaldi
“And Ain’t I a Woman!” by Susan Borwick, adapted from a speech by Sojourner Truth
Tony Memmel
Selections to be announced by Tony Memmel
Cantilena
“Vanitas vanitatum” by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
“Chant for a Long Day” by Stephen Hatfield
“Wir eilen mit schwachen doch emsigen Schritten”(from BWV 78) by Johann Sebastian Bach
“The Storm is Passing Over” by Charles Albert Tindley, arr. Barbara Baker
Cantabile
“Ich weiss nicht”(Op. 113, No. 11) by Johannes Brahms, text by Friedrich Rueckert
“Widmung” (Op.25, No. 1) by Johannes Brahms, text by Friedrich Rueckert
“I Never Saw Another Butterfly” by Charles Davidson
Combined Choirs with Tony Memmel
“America to Go” by Tony Memmel
Tags: #AbrahamLincoln, #ACeremonyofCarols, #AlbertPinsonneault, #AmericanGirl, #AntonioVivaldi, #AudienceMembers, #BaroqueMusic, #BenjaminBritten, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BMOHarrisBank, #ChoralMusic, #DaneArts, #DianeBallweg, #EndresMfg.Company, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FolkMusic, #FriedrichRueckert, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GorillaTape, #GuestArtist, #GuitarMusic, #GustavHolst, #Hebrewmusic, #HenryPurcell, #HolidayCarol, #HubertParry, #JanPieterszoonSweelinck, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnRutter, #MadisonArtsCommission, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MiddletonPerformingArtsCenter, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MusicEducation, #NationalAnthem, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #PersonalResponsibility, #PleasantRowland, #SojournerTruth, #SongWriter, #SouthAfrica, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEvjueFoundation, #TonyMemmel, #VictorHugo, #W.JeromeFrautschi, #WeShallOvercome, #WilliamBlake, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #YoungPeople, #YoungSinger, #YouTubevideo, A Ceremony of Carols, ability, Abraham Lincoln, acclaimed, Albert Pinsonneault, ambassador, America, American, American Girl, angel, Antonio Vivaldi, Arts, audience, babe, Bach, Baroque, Benjamin Britten, BMO Harris Bank, boychoir, boys, Brahms, butterfly, cantabile, Capriccio, Carol, cast, challenge, children, Choir, choral music, Classical music, community, composer, Concert, Dane Arts, Diane Ballweg, disability, e.e. cummings, Endres Mfg. Company, Evjue Foundation, Facebook, folk, Folk music, folk song, folksong, forearm, Frautschi, Friedrich Rueckert, George Frideric Handel, girlchoir, girls, Gorilla Tape, guest artist, guitar, guitarist, hand, Hebrew, Holst, homemade, Hubert Parry, imagine, inspiration, inspire, international, Jacob Stockinger, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Jerusalem, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Rutter, left, level, limb, Madison, Madison Arts Commission, Madison Youth Choirs, Magnificat, melodies, melody, Middleton, Middleton High School, Middleton Performing Arts Center, Music, Music education, Musician, national anthem, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, original, personal responsibility, philosophy, Piano, Pleasant Rowland, poem, Poetry, Purcell, resilience, Scandinavian, self-confidence, series, singer, Singing, Sojourner Truth, song, South Africa, spirit, spiritual, sponsor, Teacher, teenager, text, Tony Memmel, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Victor Hugo, We Shall Overcome, Wiliam Blake, winter, Wisconsin Arts Board, woman, worker, YouTube, Zimbabwe
Classical music: The Madison Choral Project features a world premiere when it performs a “timeless” program this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Choral Project (below) bills itself as Madison’s only professional and paid choir, and judging by the results, the a cappella group has succeeded, creating many loyal fans. (You can hear a sample performance — of a world premiere, no less — in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Such success is in large part thanks to the efforts of its founder, director and conductor Albert Pinsonneault (below). Originally a music professor at Edgewood College, Pinsonneault now works at Northwestern University.
He commutes from his home in Madison where he continues his work with the Madison Choral Project.
You can sample his and the choir’s impressive music-making this weekend at two performances in two different venues of a concert called “Drown’d in One Endlesse Day.”
Here are details:
“Drown’d in One Endlesse Day” features a world premiere of Wisconsin composer Eric William Barnum (below).
The Madison Choral Project champions new music. But also on the eclectic program are new and old pieces exploring the transformational moments when “time seems to stop.”
Featured composers and compositions include: the motet Komm, Jesu, Komm by Johann Sebastian Bach; “Crucifixus” by Antonio Lotti (below top); There is an Old Belief by the British composer Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (below second); Credo by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (below third, in photo by Getty Images); I Live in Pain and Last Spring by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer David Lang (below fourth); and Entreat Me Not to Leave You by Dan Forrest (below bottom).
PERFORMANCES:
On Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.: CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 944 East Gorham Street in Madison on the near east side
On Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.: St. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL,
1833 Regent Street in Madison on the near west side
Tickets are $40 for preferred seating; $24 for general admission; and $10 for students.
To buy tickets online (they are also available at the door) as well as to see more background, reviews, information and several videos of MCP performances, go to:
Tags: #ChoralMusic, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #NewMusic, #PulitzerPrize, #WorldPremiere, Albert Pinsonneault, American, Antonio Lotti, Artistic director, Arts, Bach, background, Baroque, Britain, British, Choir, choral music, church, Classical music, commute, composer, conductor, critic, crucifixion, Dan Forrest, David Lang, director, Early music, eclectic, Edgewood College, Einojuhani Rautavaara, English, Episcopal, fans, Finnish, founder, Getty Images, Hubert Parry, information, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, loyal, Madison, Madison Choral Project, MCP, motet, Music, Northwestern University, paid, pain, pay, premiere, Presbyterian, professional, professor, program, Pulitzer Prize, review, Spring, stop, Student, ticket, time, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, video, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin, world, world premiere, YouTube
Classical music: Madison Choral Project gives its fourth annual holiday concert, “I Was Glad,” this Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Plus, pianist Bill Lutes gives a FREE recital of Schubert and Schumann this Friday at noon
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ALERT: The week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meeting House of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features pianist Bill Lutes in a solo recital. The program includes the “Papillons” (Butterflies) by Robert Schumann and the final Sonata in B-Fat Major, D. 960, by Franz Schubert. The program runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
For more information about Bill Lutes and his series of recitals, go to:
By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Choral Project (below top), Madison’s professional choir under the direction of Albert Pinnsoneault (below bottom), a former Edgewood College professor who now teaches at Northwestern University, will present two performances of its fourth annual Holiday-themed program “I Was Glad.”
The performances are on Friday, Dec. 16, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Dec. 17, at 3 p.m. Both performances will be held at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue, near Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
Tickets are available in advance at www.themcp.org, or at the door.
(Preferred Seating is $40, General Admission is $24/$28 and Students are $10)
The concerts feature a carefully curated selection of vocal music and readings, with the intent to lead the listener along a sublime journey of music and text.
Madison Choral Project is will partner again with Wisconsin Public Radio’s news editor Noah Ovshinsky (below), who will perform readings from works of Tim O’Brien, Billy Collins, William Wordsworth and others.
The Madison Choral Project will sing an eclectic mix of holiday-themed music in four sets, ranging from the 17th century to brand new compositions.
The program features two exciting world premieres by Eric Barnum (below top), the choral director at UW-Oshkosh, and MCP’s Composer in Residence, Jasper Alice Kaye (below bottom).
The first set of pieces, “Welcome to the Holy Space,” includes A Child’s Prayer by James MacMillan, Sanctus from Mass in G by Francis Poulenc and Our Father by Alexandre Gretchaninoff.
The second set, “Winter Comforts,” features two new commissions written for Madison Choral Project. Winter by Eric William Barnum will be followed by The Invitation by Jasper Alice Kaye. Lux Aurumque by Eric Whitacre will finish the set.
The third set, “Glad Tidings,” includes the concert’s titular piece, I Was Glad by C.H.H. Parry (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom), as well as beautiful works by Matthew Culloton, William Dawson and Jan Sandstrøm.
The final set, “Gathering and Blessing,” contains joyous settings of familiar texts set by Francis Poulenc, Ludwig van Beethoven, and arranger John Ferguson.
For more information or tickets, go to www.themcp.org.
Tags: Albert Pinsonneault, Alexander Gretchaninoff, Alexander Gretchaninov, Arts, Beethoven, Bill Lutes, Billy Collins, blessing, butterflies, butterfly, Camp Randall, Child, choral music, Christmas, Classical music, comfort, composer, Concert, Early music, Edgewood College, editor, Eric Whitacre, Eric William Barnum, First Congregational United Church of Christ, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Schubert, gathering, glad, holy, Hubert Parry, I Was Glad, Jacob Stockinger, James MacMillan, Jan Sandstrom, Jasper Alice Kaye, John Ferguson, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Choral Project, mass, Matthew Culloton, Music, musicale, New Music, New Year, news, Noah Ovshinsky, Northwestern University, Papillons, Piano, poem, Poetry, Poulenc, prayer, premiere, readings, Schubert, Schumann, Sonata, space, tidings, Tim O'Brien, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Oshkosh, vocal music, William Dawson, William Wordsworth, winter, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
Classical music: Edgewood College offers two promising band and choral concerts this coming weekend. Plus, a FREE concert of new music for harp and cello is Friday at noon
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, held from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium of the historic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meeting House of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features harpist Linda Warren and cellist Carol Wessler in the music of Harper Tasche and Laura Zaerr.
By Jacob Stockinger
Two promising band and choral concerts are on tap this weekend at Edgewood College.
Both will take place in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive.
FRIDAY
The Edgewood College Concert Band, under the direction of Walter Rich (below), will perform a benefit concert for Luke House on Friday at 7 p.m.
Admission is FREE with a freewill offering to benefit the Luke House community meal program.
Included on the program are Flourish for Wind Band by Ralph Vaughan Williams; “Serenity” by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo; “Chorale and Capriccio” by Caesar Giovanini; “Jerusalem” by Hubert Parry; “I’m Seventeen Come Sunday” by Percy Grainger; “Daybreak” by Carl Strommen and “Children of Gaia” by Robert Sheldon.
The Music Department at Edgewood College has hosted benefit concerts for Luke House since 1994.
SUNDAY
Two vocal ensembles will perform a concert at 2:30 p.m., Sunday in St. Joseph Chapel. Admission is FREE.
Featured will be the Chamber Singers (below), under the direction of Sergei Pavlov (center at the bottom of the stairs). The group has just returned from performances at the International Sacred Music Festival in Quito, Ecuador.
The Chamber Singers will perform excerpts from the Mass in F by Domenico Zipoli; “Usnijze mi, usnij” by Polish composer Henryk Gorecki; “Holy, Holy” from the Gospel Mass by Robert Ray; and a Victor Johnson arrangement of “Bonse Aba,” a traditional Zambian work. Todd Hammes, adjunct faculty member in the Music Department, will assist on percussion.
Also performing will be the Women’s Choir (below top), under the direction of Kathleen Otterson (below bottom). The Women’s Choir will perform Israeli and Jewish folk songs, a spiritual, and the “Domine Deus” from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in G major, also featuring Victoria Gorbich on violin. (You can hear the glorious Bach piece performed in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Tags: Arts, Bach, band, Baroque, benefit concert, Caesar Giovannini, Capriccio, Carl Strommen, Cello, Chamber music, chamber singers, choral music, Chorale, Classical music, Domenico Zipoli, Ecuador, Edgewood College, Edgewood College Chamber Singers, Europe, First Unitarian Society of Madison, folk song, Frank Lloyd Wright, harp, Henryk Gorecki, Hubert Parry, Israel, Israeli, Jacob Stockinger, Jerusalem, Jewish, Johann Sebastian Bach, Latin America, Luke House, Madison, mass, Music, musicale, Norway, Ola Gjeilo, Percy Grainger, Piano, Quito, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Robert Sheldon, spiritual, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, vocal music, winds, Wisconsin, women, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Youth Choirs’ Winter Concerts this Sunday will explore links between science and music. Plus, the UW Wind Ensemble performs a FREE concert Thursday night.
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ALERT: Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the UW Wind Ensemble will perform a FREE concert. The program features “Concerto X” by Scott McAllister with clarinet soloist Wesley Warnhoff, adjunct professor of clarinet. It is a work based on grunge music that was born in the heavy metal music of the late 80s and early 90s, including a melody from Nirvana’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” Also on the program is “In Wartime” by David Del Tredici, which was inspired by the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001; and the Second Suite in F Major for Military Band by Gustav Holst.
By Jacob Stockinger
A friend at Madison Youth Choirs writes:
On this Sunday, Dec. 13, the young singers of Madison Youth Choirs (MYC, seen below at the Winter Concert last year) will present the 2015 Winter Concert Series, “Inquiry: Science, Music, Imagination” at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Madison, 1609 University Avenue, near Camp Randall.
Over 14 weeks of rehearsals in preparation for the concerts, the 330 young vocalists (ages 7-18) in MYC’s nine performing choirs have been learning to use the tools of observation, experimentation, and analysis to reach a deeper understanding of their choral repertoire.
Students have also begun to recognize the role that resilience plays in both scientific and musical fields, learning how to work through moments of frustration and uncertainty to reach new discoveries.
The choirs will perform a varied program, including works by Benjamin Britten, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Vincent Persichetti; a Peruvian lament, a Spanish villancico, and a newly-created arrangement of the oldest-known surviving English song.
Tickets for each of the three concerts (high school ensembles at 1:30 p.m., boychoirs at 4 p.m., girlchoirs at 7 p.m.) will be $10 for general admission, $5 for students age 7-18 and free for children under 7.
Audience members will need a separate ticket for each concert.
Here is the schedule:
1:30 p.m. High School Ensembles featuring a guest appearance by the MYC-Capitol Lakes Intergenerational Choir
4 p.m. Boychoirs
7 p.m. Girlchoirs
Tickets available at the door, $10 for general admission, $5 for students 7-18, and free for children under 7
This concert is generously endowed by the Diane Ballweg Performance Fund with additional support from the American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, the Madison Community Foundation, and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Here is a repertoire list for the programs:
1:30 p.m. Concert (Featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
Bel Tempo Che Vola ……………….Jean Baptiste Lully
Weep No More………………………..David Childs
Songbird…………………………………Sarah Quartel
Sound the Trumpet………………….Henry Purcell
When I Set Out for Lyonesse……Keith Bissell
Ragazzi (below in a photo by Karen Holland)
Regina Coeli (sung in Italian)……Gregorian chant, ca. 10th century
Regina Coeli (sung in Italian)……Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Song of Peace……………………………Vincent Persichetti
Dulaman (sung in Gaelic) …………Michael McGlynn
Cantabile
Utopia………………………………………………………..Moira Smiley
Lacrimoso son io (K. 555, sung in Italian)…….Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Gods Have Heard My Vows…………………….Thomas Weelkes
Palomita……………………………………………………..Traditional Peruvian lament
Hoj, hura, hoj!………………………………………………………..Omar Macha
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Apple-Tree Wassail………………………Stephen Hatfield
MYC/Capitol Lakes Intergenerational Choir and Combined Choirs
Forever Young……………………………..Bob Dylan
4 p.m. Concert (Featuring Boychoirs)
Combined boychoirs, Purcell, Britten, Holst, Ragazzi
Intonent Hodie…………………………………..Anonymous (probably 12th century)
Sainte Nicholaes (sung in Latin)…………..Godric of Finchale
Purcell
Singt den Herrn (sung in German)…Michael Praetorius
Who Can Sail……………………………..Norwegian Folk Song, Arr. Jeanne Julseth-Heinrich
Rolling Down to Rio……………………Edward German
Britten (below with Purcell Choir in a photo by Karen Holland)
Rattlesnake Skipping Song……Derek Holman
Tit-for-Tat…………………………….Benjamin Britten
Jerusalem……………………………..Sir Hubert Parry, poem by William Blake
Holst (below with Pucell and Britten choirs in a photo by Karen Holland)
Riu Riu Chiu (sung in Spanish)….Anonymous, from Villancicos de diversos Autores
Anima Mea (sung in Latin)……….Michael Praetorius
The Sound of Silence…………………Paul Simon
Ragazzi
Regina Coeli (sung in Italian)………Gregorian chant, ca. 10th century
Regina Coeli (sung in Italian)………Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Song of Peace……………………………..Vincent Persichetti
Dulaman (sung in Gaelic) ……………Michael McGlynn
Combined boychoirs, Purcell, Britten, Holst, Ragazzi
Hava Nashira (sung in Hebrew)……….Traditional Hebrew canon
7 p.m. Concert (Featuring Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
Hava Nashira (sung in Hebrew)……….Traditional Hebrew canon
You’ll Never Guess What I Saw………….Ruth Watson Henderson
Suo Gan…………………………………..Welsh Lullaby, Arr. by Alec Rowley
Tailor of Gloucester…………………..English Folk Song, Arr. by Cyndee Giebler
Con Gioia (below in a photo by Karen Holland)
Donkey Carol………………………….John Rutter
Mid-Winter…………………………….Bob Chilcott
Fancie……………………………………Benjamin Britten
Capriccio (below in a photo by Mike Ross)
Sound the Trumpet………………………………Henry Purcell
An die Musik (D. 547, sung in German, heard at bottom in a YouTube video with soprano Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and pianist Gerald Moore)…..Franz Schubert
Palomita (sung in Spanish)……Traditional Peruvian lament, Arr. by Randal Swiggum
Niska Banja………………………….Serbian Gypsy Dance, Arr. by Nick Page
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.
Tags: 9/11, analysis, Art, Arts, band, Baroque, Benjamin Britten, BMO Harris Bank, Bob Dylan, boychoir, chant, choral music, clarinet, Classical music, concerto, dance, David DelTredici, Donkey Carol, England, English music, experiment, folk song, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, girlchoir, Gregorian chant, grunge, gypsy, Hebrew, Henry Purcell, high school, Holst, Hubert Parry, intergenerational, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Jean-Baptiste Lully, John Rutter, Madison, Madison Youth Choirs, Michael Praetorius, Mozart, Music, Nirvana, Norway, Norwegian, observation, Palestrina, Paul Simon, Persichetti, Peru, Piano, science, Scott McAllister, September 11 attacks, Serbia, solo, song, Spain, Spanish, Suite, terrorism, traditional, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, vocalist, winds, winter, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Summer Choir will perform works by late German and English Romantic composers, including Brahms, Parry and Vaughan Williams, on this coming Saturday night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Our friends at the Madison Summer Choir write:
The Madison Summer Choir (below) is an auditioned choir of more than 70 voices performing a cappella, piano-accompanied and choral-orchestral works.
When the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music eliminated UW Summer Choir from its budget after 2008, Ben Luedcke (below) “picked up the baton” to ensure that this student and community singing opportunity and tradition were not lost.
Now in its seventh summer, Luedcke continues to conduct the group, open to college students and community members, for just 14 rehearsals over six weeks, culminating in a full concert.
Existing just for this short season, the choir is supported by the singers, friends and businesses in the community, and the audience, as well as the UW-Madison School of Music rehearsal and concert facilities.
For this summer, the concert program features “The Searching Soul: German and Late-English Romanticism.” (Below is the famous Romantic painting used on the poster for the Madison Summer Choir this year.)
The concert will be presented on this coming Saturday evening, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Concert Hall of the Mosse Humanities Building on the UW-Madison campus at 455 North Park Street.
Tickets are $15 for the public; $10 for students. They can be purchased in advance (for delivery or will-call) from any choir member, or bought at the door.
The concert will open with two works by Johannes Brahms (below), “Nächtens” (At Night) and “Sehnsucht” (Longing).
Those are followed by three movements by Sir Hubert Parry (below) in “Songs of Farewell (1916–1918)”: “My Soul There Is a Country,” “I Know My Soul Hath Power” and “Never Weather Beaten Sail.”
The second half features two choral works with orchestra. The Madison Summer Choir is the only ensemble performing full-scale choral and orchestral works in the summer in Madison.
“Psalm 42” (1837-38) by Felix Mendelssohn is a cantata consisting of seven movements which include full choir, soprano solo, women’s choir, and a quintet of soprano solo with men’s chorus. Soprano soloist will be Chelsie Propst (below), who has performed with the choir twice before.
The concert will conclude with “Toward the Unknown Region” (1907) by Ralph Vaughan Williams (below top), a setting of the text by Walt Whitman (below bottom). You can hear a massive performance of the work at the BBC Proms in a YouTube video at the bottom.
Information on past concerts by the Madison Summer Choir and photos of the choir are on the website: www.madisonsummerchoir.org
Tags: Arts, Brahms, British Romanticism, choral music, Classical music, English music, Felix Mendelssohn, German music, German Romanticism, Hubert Parry, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Madison, Madison Summer Choir, Music, Orchestra, Piano, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Romanticism, singer, soprano, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Walt Whitman, YouTube
Classical music: Friday night is another big Train Wreck that offers lots of great classical music choices: the Westminster Abbey Choir of London, the UW-Madison Pro Arte String Quartet and Edgewood College’s Fall Choir Concert as well as the opening night of University Opera’s production of “Albert Herring.”
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday night is, as The Wise Critic likes to call them, another big “Train Wreck.”
That is because there are so many fine but conflicting concerts to choose from.
Yesterday, The Ear posted an interview with David Ronis, who talked about his own background and about the University Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s comic opera “Albert Herring.” It opens Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall with repeat performances at 3 p.m. on Sunday and 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Here is a link:
But that opera opening night is just the beginning.
Here are three other events that merit your attention and consideration:
On Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, The Westminster Abbey Choir of London, England opens the 10th anniversary season of the Overture Concert Organ (below), custom built by Klais of Bonn, Germany.
From the Madison Symphony Orchestra: “For nearly 1,000 years, inspiring choral music has filled the vast cathedral of London’s Westminster Abbey, the site of every British coronation since 1066. (At the bottom in a popular YouTube video, you can hear the choir singing British composer John Rutter’s “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” at the 60th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.)
“Now, this renowned 40-voice choir (below) comes to Madison to sing with the Overture Concert Organ in a program of music from the 11th century to the Renaissance and 20th century, featuring the works of Orlando Gibbons, George Frideric Handel, Sir Hubert Parry and William Walton.
“Praised by the Sydney Morning Herald as “…One of the great choral powerhouses of our time,” The Choir of Westminster Abbey has performed for numerous notable events including, Evening Prayer in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 and the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011, which was seen by a worldwide television audience of over two billion people. In June 2012, the Choir made a historic visit to Rome, when it sang, at the Pope’s invitation, alongside the Sistine Chapel Choir.
“When not touring the world with destinations such as Sydney, Hong Kong, Washington, D.C., and Moscow, The Choir of Westminster Abbey works on a celebrated series of recordings for Hyperion. Their critically acclaimed recording Mary and Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey received the Gramophone Critics’ Choice Award and has been hailed as “a showcase for English choral singing at its most charismatic.”
General admission for the concert is $20 and tickets can be purchased at www.madisonsymphony.org/westminster, the Overture Center Box Office or (608) 258-4141. Student rush tickets are $10 on the day of show with a valid student ID (see www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush).
This concert is sponsored by Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and Alfred P. and Ann M. Moore.
To see the Overture Concert Organ series of concerts for 2014-15 or to subscribe at a 25 percent savings, visit:
www.madisonsymphony.org/organseason14-15 or call (608) 257-3734.
PRO ARTE QUARTET
On Friday night at 7:30 p.m.in Mills Hall, the Pro Arte Quartet (below, in a photo by Rick Langer), which has been artists-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music since 1941, will perform a FREE concert.
The program is: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 71 No. 2 (1793) by Franz Joseph Haydn; String Quartet No. 4 (1936) by Alexander Zemlinsky (1936); and the popular String Quartet in F Major, Op. 96 “American” (1893) by Antonin Dvorak.
EDGEWOOD COLLEGE
On Friday night at 7 p.m., Edgewood College will present its Fall Choral Concert in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive. Admission is FREE.
The Edgewood Chamber Singers, under the direction of Albert Pinsonneault (below top), will be joined by the Women’s Choir, under the direction of Kathleen Otterson (below bottom) and the Men’s Choir, under the direction of Sergei Pavlov.
There is no admission charge.
Sorry, The Ear has received no word about specific works on the program.
Tags: Albert Herring, Albert Pinsonneault, American Quartet, Arts, Benjamin Britten, Britten, Chamber music, Choir, choral music, Classical music, Compact Disc, Dvorak, Edgewood College, England, Friday, George Frideric Handel, Haydn, Hubert Parry, Jacob Stockinger, Kathleen Otterson, Klais Orgelbau, London, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, opera, Orchestra, organ, organ music, Orlando Gibbons, Overture Center, Pro Arte Quartet, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Abbey Choir, William Walton, YouTube, Zemlinsky
Classical music Q&A: Edgewood College conductor Albert Pinssonneault discusses The Madison Choral Project, a new professional vocal group, makes its debut this Saturday night with a program celebrating Spring.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Choral Project (below) – a new vocal group on the Isthmus -– will give its inaugural concert this Saturday night, May 18, at 7 p.m. in the Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Avenue, in Madison.
The debut concert, entitled “Celestial Spring,” will celebrate the season- with sets on the return of color, nature and love. For details about specific works and composers, see below.
Tickets are free. Those who are able are encouraged to leave a suggested donation of $15 each.
For more information including how to audition for the vocal group, contact The Madison Choral Project, 901 High Street, Madison, Wisconsin, 53715 or visit www.themcp.org, Albert Pinssonneault, the founder and director of the choir, who teaches choral conducting at Edgewood College in Madison, recently gave an email Q&A to The Ear:
Can you briefly describe how and why the Madison Choral Project came about?
Many pieces came together to make the Madison Choral Project happen, like spokes on a wheel.
First were the incredible voices in Madison, interested in ensemble singing.
Additionally, there was the huge support for choral music in town, dating from the era of Robert Fountain (below, in 1979) at the UW-Madison to today with many extremely fine choruses and UW ensembles performing.
I had a passion to bring together a core of the finest singers for a single “project,” and with a lot of help I was able to raise and secure funding, find venues, audition singers, and a new entity was born: The Madison Choral Project.
Why is another choral group needed or wanted in Madison? Briefly, how do you expect it to be different from other local groups?
The Madison Choral Project is unique in Madison, in that it is a fully professional chamber choir of 16 voices. We hope to offer a highly refined and expressive chamber choral sound, singing both new unique repertoire, and treasured favorites.
As this very talented group comes together to present one project at a time, we feel we can tailor our concerts to the needs and tastes of our musical community. We are so excited to contribute our small part to the outstanding musical landscape of Dane County.
Can you briefly introduce us to your career in choral singing and directing, to your professional and personal commitment to it?
I’ve always loved making music with others, and I love people, and I love text, and expression. I grew up in Minnesota and wanted to move away to a conservatory for college, yet some inexplicable gut feeling drew me to attend St. Olaf College (in Northfield, Minnesota), where I found a choral music experience that was the nexus of all the things I loved.
In the years following St. Olaf I lived in St. Paul and completed a Master’s degree in choral conducting at the University of Minnesota, where under the excellent tutelage of Kathy Saltzman Romey I had the opportunity to work closely with the German conductor Helmuth Rilling (below top) and the American vocal conductor Dale Warland (below bottom).
Applying broadly to doctoral programs, I was extremely fortunate to receive a kind offer from the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, where I was able to work with several wonderful professional conductors, including Earl Rivers, Richard Westenburg, Richard Sparks and Donald Nally. I completed my doctorate in choral conducting and music theory from CCM in 2009, and got a dream job: Full-time employment at a wonderful liberal arts college in Madison — Edgewood College (below, he is conducting the Chamber Singers at Edgewood College).
Can you comment on the upcoming premiere program and specific works on it?
The idea behind “A Celestial Spring” came not only from the title work by F. Melius Christiansen (below), but also from the season of spring and its promise of rebirth and newness, fitting for the inaugural concert of a new ensemble.
Our first set of German Romantic composers seeks to capture the comforting return of lush green in nature, echoed in wondrous rich harmonies.
The very first work, “Abendlied” (Evening Song) by Joseph Rheinberger (below bottom) invites the audience to “Bide with us,” an entreaty both to for the duration of the concert and for our life as a new ensemble.
The second set, “The Celestial Season,” focuses on the season of spring itself, beginning with rays of sunshine (“I Am the Great Sun” by Jussi Chydenius) and ending in sunset (“The Sun Has Gone Down” by Leland Sateren). In between are two movements of F. Melius Christiansen’s “Celestial Spring” (at bottom in a YouTube video), a work composed completely without text. Christiansen (below) sought to capture the sounds of the season with an orchestra of voices, and later gave the finished score to his colleague Oscar Overby to “fill in” with text.
The third set of music, “The Call of Summer,” explores transitions into a wondrous hereafter, in settings by the great English composers Charles Hubert Parry (below top) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (below bottom). This set addresses the end of spring, and alludes as well to the idea of death as a gateway into an everlasting summer.
Our fourth set traces the evolution of romantic love through texts depicting five tableau scenes. In “O Mistress Mine” by Matthew Harris (below top), the protagonist is struck with attraction from a distance. “The Devon Maid” by Dominick Argento (below bottom) represents first contact and flirtation, in this case by an aggressive suitor. “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” by Nils Lindberg represents the honeymoon of intense passion, while “It Was a Lover and His Lass” (Parry) recounts many merry days of coupled frolicking. “Rest” (Vaughan Williams) is a tender goodbye, to that loved one now deceased.
Is there more you would like to add or say?
Thank you so much, Jake, for the opportunity to share our efforts on The Well-Tempered Ear!
Tags: albert pinssonneault, Celestial Season, Choir, Dale Warland, Dominick Argento, Donald Nally, Edgewood College, F. Melius Christiansen, Helmut Rilling, Hubert Parry, Jacob Stockinger, Josef Rheinberger, Lutheran, Madison, Madison Choral Project, Matthew Harris, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Richard Westenburg, St. Olaf College, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Classical music news: Queen Elizabeth II of England restored trust in the monarchy. The official celebration of her Diamond Jubilee runs today through Tuesday. So here is a march to mark her stately reign and success. What else should be played in her honor?
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By Jacob Stockinger
This is the year when Queen Elizabeth II of England (below) marks her Diamond Jubilee – that is, 60 years of sitting on the throne.
But guess what?
Guess who, despite ups and downs, saved the institution of the monarchy in the public’s eyes?
All the experts seem to agree: Credit goes to the Queen herself – and not the hipper, more photogenic and glamorous younger royals like the late and much hyped Princess Diana or the nerdy Prince Charles, or the gallant Prince Andrew. (But Price William and Kate Middleton do seem to be building on her precedent.)
It was Her Majesty herself – in the words of The Beatles, a pretty nice girl who doesn’t have a lot to say” and who, one fashion wag fondly and approvingly remarked, dresses like an oven mitt — who revived the popularity of the monarchy among a public that only a decade or two ago was growing increasing doubtful and negative about continuing the royal rule. She sure can half-smile and half-wave. Plus she stays dignified and largely silent, but seemingly amiable and hard-working.
I have already posted something about this the day that she actually ascended to the throne (versus the date of her official Coronation).
Here is a link to that posting back on Feb. 6:
And here are some links to official websites being used by the country and the royal family to mark the official Diamond Jubilee, which starts today and runs through Tuesday.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Jubilee_of_Elizabeth_II
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/Features/DG_WP200687
http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20395222_20599947,00.html
http://www.2012queensdiamondjubilee.com/
Here is a trivia test of your knowledge about the Queen:
http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-diamond-jubilee-quiz-20120531,0,3418305.story
Finally, what music should I post as a Shout Out to QE2 on this grand occasion?
I thought about posting something by Sir Edward Elgar – maybe one of the less popular and less well-known “Pomp and Circumstance” Marches or maybe the first movement of the Symphony No. 1. But that is just too easy and too … well, common.
Then there are Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi, Arnold Bax, Hubert Parry and the other Brits, famous and neglected. But they seemed more pastoral than majestic.
So I opted instead for “Crown Imperial” March by Sir William Walton (below). The title seems to suit the occasion as does the music.
But I may be mistaken.
Maybe you can improve on me.
So, what greetings and good wishes would you like to leave for the Queen in the Comments section to mark her Diamond Jubilee?
And what piece of music do you think should be played to mark the occasion?
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