The Well-Tempered Ear
Madison Opera cancels its January production of “She Loves Me.” Will other groups follow suit? Plus, tonight is the last online concert by the LunART Festival of music by Black women
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, 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.
ALERT: TONIGHT, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. the third LunART Festival will wrap up with the second of its two FREE streamed “Human Family” concerts featuring the works of Black women (below). Due to popular demand, last week’s concert is still posted and available for viewing. This week’s concert will be followed by a virtual party. Here are links for information, programs and biographies: https://www.lunartfestival.org/2020virtualfestival and https://welltempered.wordpress.com/?s=LunART
By Jacob Stockinger
The coronavirus pandemic continues to slowly take its toll on local live productions during the current season.
The Madison Opera has now canceled its second production of the season, the Broadway musical “She Loves Me” by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, which was scheduled for late January in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center.
Here are details from Madison Opera: “We will replace She Loves Me with a Digital Winter season that lasts from January to March. Details will be announced in December. (She Loves Me will be part of our 2021/22 season, so it’s only a delay!)”
For more about Madison Opera’s digital fall season – which costs $50 per household to subscribe to – go to: https://www.madisonopera.org/Fall2020
The next digital event is at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 24, by Sun Prairie bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen (below, in a photo by Lawrence Brownlee), who has performed around the world, including at the Metropolitan Opera.
He will perform a live-streamed concert from the Madison Opera Center that will be a tribute to the American bass Giorgio Tozzi (below), who was Ketelsen’s teacher at Indiana University. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Tozzi sing “This Nearly Was Mine” from “South Pacific” by Rodgers and Hammerstein.)
Here is Tozzi’s biography from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Tozzi
Soprano Emily Secor (below top) and pianist Scott Gendel (below bottom) will perform with Ketelsen.
Here is a link to details of Kyle Ketelsen’s recital: https://www.madisonopera.org/class/liveketelsen/?wcs_timestamp=1603567800
___________________________________________________________________________
The cancellation makes The Ear wonder: Are local groups and presenters being too timid or too hopeful when it comes to future plans for the current season?
After all, this past week we learned that both the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic have canceled the rest of the current season due to public health concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. And all indications are that it will be a very rough, unsafe winter and spring in Wisconsin and Madison.
That’s why The Ear suspects that, unfortunately, the rest of the season will either be canceled or be virtual and moved online. It even seems more than plausible that there will be no live performances until the winter or spring of 2022.
So you can probably expect further word pretty soon of more cancellations, postponements and virtual online performances from the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Opera, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Wisconsin Union Theater, the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, the University Opera and others.
What do you think?
Will there be operas, orchestral performances and live chamber music sometime yet this season?
When do you think it will be safe to perform and attend live concerts?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #African-AmericanComposer, #Blackcomposers, #BlackWomen, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BloomingtonIndiana, #BroadwayMusical, #CapitolTheater, #ChamberMusic, #CityofMadison, #CollaborativePianist, #ConcertProgram, #ConcertSeason, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DigitalWinter, #EmilySecor, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FlorencePrice, #GiogioTozzi, #HumanFamily, #IndianaUniversity, #JacobStockinger, #JerryBock, #KyleKetelsen, #LiveConcerts, #LiveStreaming, #LunARTFestival, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaCenter, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MetropolitanOpera, #MusicEducation, #MusicPresenter, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestralMusic, #OscarHammerstein, #OvertureCenter, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #PopularDemand, #PublicHealth, #RichardRodgers, #RodgersandHammerstein, #ScottGendel, #SeasonSubscriber, #SheldonHarnick, #SheLovesMe, #SouthPacific, #SunPrairie, #SunPrairieWisconsin, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #VirtualConcert, #VirtualFestival, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WomenComposer, #WrapUp, #YouTubevideo, 2020, 2020-21, 2021, 2022, accompaniment, accompany, African American, American, announce, artists, Arts, attend, audience, bass, bass-baritone, biography, Black composers, Black women, blog, Bloomington, Broadway, cacnel, cancellation, Capitol Theater, Chamber music, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, Concert, coronavirus, current, December, delay, demand, details, digital, Digital Winter, Emily Secor, expect, Facebook, Florence Price, forward, free, further, future, Gendel, Giorgio Tozzi, group, hopeful, household, human family, Indiana, Indiana University, indication, information, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jerry Bock, Ketelsen, Kyle Ketelsen, last, like, link, live, live concerts, live streaming, livestream, local, LunART Festival, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Opera Center, Madison Symphony Orchestra, make, Mead Witter School of Music, Metropolitan Opera, move, Music, Music education, musical, New York City, New York Philharmonic, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral, Oscar Hammerstein, Overture Center, pandemic, party, perform, performance, Pianist, Piano, plans, plausible, popular, post, posting, postpone, postponements, presenter, price, production, program, Public health, recital, replace, Richard Rodgers, rough, safe, scheduled, Scott Gendel, Season, Secor, share, She Loves Me, Sheldon Harnick, South Pacific, stream, Student, subscribe, Sun Prairie, suspect, symphony, tag, Teacher, The Ear, the Met, think, timid, toll, Tozzi, tribute, unfortunately, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, unsafe, UW, UW-Madison, virtual, vocal music, week, what, when, Wikipedia, winter, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, women composer, wonder, word, world, wrap up, you, YouTube
The third LunART Festival celebrates Black women in the arts with FREE streaming concerts and events this Saturday night, Oct. 10, and next Saturday night, Oct. 17
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, 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 to post:
The LunART Festival is back for its third season, continuing its mission to support, inspire, promote and celebrate women in the arts, with a special presentation, “Human Family,” available via two FREE video livestreams on LunART’s website and Facebook page on Saturday, Oct. 10, and Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. CDT.
The events will be co-hosted by LunART founder and flutist Iva Ugrcic (below top), and by vocalist and art administrator Deja Mason (below bottom).
In response to the most recent and ongoing racial inequality and in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, LunART will present the “Human Family” virtual festival featuring art created by Black women.
These FREE streamed events will feature a palette of emerging and established artists drawn from Madison’s rich arts scene, while also celebrating those who have paved the way for generations to come.
Radical inclusivity has been part of LunART’s mission from its conception. While women have historically been underrepresented in the arts, we cannot deny that there are segments of women that have been doubly marginalized, including women of color, women in the LGBTQIA+ community, older women and women with disabilities.
Part of creating a more just, inclusive world means recognizing that even within the space of underrepresentation, there remain disparities.
Works from the past include Florence Price’s “Five Folksongs of Counterpoint” for string quartet (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom), which is deeply rooted in the African-American spiritual tradition; Margaret Bonds’ Spiritual Suite for solo piano, written in a neo-Romantic classical style infused by jazz harmonies and rhythms; Afro-American Suite for flute, cello and piano by Undine Smith Moore, based on authentic spiritual songs used to express and record everyday life of slaves in America.
Florence Price (below), Margaret Bonds and Undine Smith Moore all fought against both racial and gender discrimination throughout their lives. To be a woman composing classical music in the mid-20th century was unusual; to be a Black woman composer was even more so. And yet, these women forged ahead, making history and paving the way for the women who would follow them.
Along with these pioneers of the past, LunART will also celebrate contemporary Black women who are making a big impact in the world of arts, culture, advocacy and activism, following the footsteps of their predecessors.
“Voodoo Dolls” for string quartet by Jessie Montgomery (below in a photo by Jiyang Chen) is influenced by West African drumming patterns that are interwoven with lyrical motifs in the improvisatory style.
“Fanmi Imen,” a work for flute and piano by Valerie Coleman (below) — LunART’s 2019 Composer-in-Residence) — is based on a powerful poem by Maya Angelou, “Human Family.” Angelou calls for peace and unity, while acknowledging differences due to ethnic and cultural background in her famous refrain: “we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”
The chamber music will be performed by Madison’s finest musicians: Isabella Lippi, Karl Lavine, Peter Miliczky, Magdalena Sas, Marie Pauls, Satoko Hayami, Yana Avedyan and Iva Ugrcic.
Celebrating women’s creativity across many art forms has been a core component of LunART’s artistic mission from its inception, and this year is no exception. While music will create a sound painting, “Human Family” will also feature women who use words and movement to tell their story.
Enter a world of phenomenal talent with emerging singer-songwriters Danielle Crim and Akornefa Akyea performing their most recent original songs; magically moving poems and spoken-word pieces by Jamie Dawson and Shasparay Lighteard; and join dancer and choreographer Kimi Evelyn in self-exploration of what happens when the body and the soul are left in complete solitude through her powerful piece “Body, Sweet Home.”
To commemorate the Festival events, LunART has commissioned digital artwork (below) by local artist and activist Amira Caire, which is inspired by the “Human Family” concept. This stunning piece of art will be available for purchase in printed form on LunART’s website.
We are calling our community to eat local, drink local and support local. By supporting LunART, you are also supporting local nonprofits and small businesses.
This project would not be possible without the generosity of Madison’s creative media agency Microtone Media, The Piano Gal Shop from Sun Prairie, Dane Arts and a grant from the Madison Arts Commission at https://www.cityofmadison.com/dpced/planning/madison-arts-commission/1580/, with the additional funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Events are free and available for anyone to watch online, and donations are welcomed. For more details about the artists, events, programs and links, and donation methods, please visit https://www.lunartfestival.org
Tags: #20thCentury, #African-AmericanMusic, #ArtsScene, #ArttForm, #BlackComposer, #BlackLivesMatter, #BlackWomen, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #CityofMadison, #ClassicalStyle, #ClassiclaMusic, #Composer-in-Residence, #ContemporaryComposers, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaneArts, #DejaMason, #DigitalMedia, #DisabilityRights, #EmergingArtist, #EstablishedArtist, #EthnicDiversity, #EverydayLife, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FlorencePrice, #folksongs, #HomeWebsite, #HumanFamily, #ImaniWinds, #IsabellaLippi, #IvaUgrcic, #JacobStockinger, #JessieMontgomery, #LGBTQrights, #LGBTRights, #LiveStreaming, #LivingComposer, #LunARTFestival, #LyricalMusic, #MadisonArtsCommission, #MadisonWisconsin, #MargaretBonds, #MariePauls, #MayaAngelou, #MicrotoneMedia, #MusicalStyle, #NewMusic, #NonprofitOrganization, #OnlineConcert, #PeterMiliczky, #RacialInequality, #SatokoHayami, #Shostkovich, #SmallBusiness, #SongWriter, #SoundPainting, #SpokenWord, #StateOfWisconsin, #StringQuartet, #SunPrairie, #SunPrairieWisconsin, #TheEar, #ThePianoGalShop, #TheU.S., #UndineSmithMoore, #ValerieColeman, #VirtualConcert, #VirtualFestival, #VocalMusic, #VoodooDolls, #WestAfrica, #WindMusic, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WomenofColor, #YanaAvedyan, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, 20th-century classical music, 20th-century music, acknowledge, Activism, activist, administrator, advocacy, Africa, African, African American, agency, America, art form, artists, Arts, artwork, audience, authentic, available, based, black, Black Lives Matter, Black women, BLM, blog, body, call, celebrate, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, choreographer, Classical, Classical music, commemorate, community, component, compose, composer, conception, Concert, contemporary, continue, core, coronavirus, counterpoint, create, creativity, culture, dance, dancer, Dane Arts, Deja Mason, difference, digital, disability, discrimination, disparity, doll, donation, doubly, drink, drumming, eat, emerging, established, ethnic, event, events, everyday, exploration, express, Facebook, feature, festival, Florence Price, flute, flutist, forward, friend, gender, generation, generosity, harmony, historically, History, home website, host, human family, Imani Winds, impact, improvisation, improvistory, inception, inclusive, inclusivity, inequality, influence, infuse, inspire, interwoven, Isabella Lippi, Iva Ugrcic, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Jessie Montgomery, just, Karl Lavine, KarlLavine, LGBT, LGBTQ, life, like, link, lives, livestream, Living composer, local, LunART Festival, lyrical, Madison, Madison Arts Commission, Magdalena Sas, make, Margaret Bonds, marginalized, Marie Pauls, Maya Angelou, media, method, Microtone Media, mission, motif, movement, Music, musical, Musician, neo-Romantic, New Music, nonprofit, older, ongoing, online, original, page, painting, palette, pandemic, patterns, peace, performer, Peter Miliczky, Pianist, Piano, piece, pioneer, poem, post, posting, powerful, predecessor, presentation, program, project, promote, race, racial, racial inequality, radical, recent, record, refrain, response, rhythm, Satoko Hayami, Saturday, scene, Season, segments, self, share, singer, Singing, slavery, slaves, small business, solidarity, solitude, solo, song, soul, Sound, sound painting, space, special, spiritual, spoken word, State of Wisconsin, story, stream, String quartet, style, Suite, Sun Prairie, support, tag, talent, tell, The Ear, The Piano Gal Shop, tradition, U.S., underrepresented, Undine Smith Morre, United States, unity, unusual, use, VALERIE COLEMAN, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, virtual festival, vocal music, vocalist, Voodoo, Voodoo Dolls, Website, West Africa, wind music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, women, women of color, words, works, world, Yana Avedyan, year, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 