The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: The fourth annual Madison New Music Festival takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It features Wisconsin composers and several world premieres

August 7, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

The fourth season of the Madison New Music Festival (below, in a photo from 2017 by Max Schmidt) will take place this coming Friday, Aug. 9, through Sunday, Aug. 11.

The Madison New Music Festival is an annual, weekend-long celebration for the Madison community of classical works written by contemporary composers.

In four concerts – three with admission and one free — the festival will showcase Wisconsin-based composers and performers of new music, as well as world premiere performances by guest artists.

Tickets for each concert are $15 for adults and $5 for students. Subscriptions to all three concerts are available for $35. For more information, go to http://madisonnewmusic.org or to Facebook (@Madison New Music Festival) or Instagram (@madisonnewmusic).

Here is the line-up:

Concert 1: Music from Wisconsin – Friday, Aug. 9, at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (227 State St.)

What: In anticipation of this fall’s Wisconsin Triennial and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, this concert spotlights all Wisconsin-born, -based, or -educated composers, curated by pianist Robert Fleitz (below, with a toy piano he often performs on), whom The New York Times called “mesmerizing.” Joined by young local musicians, Fleitz explores music created right here in their own backyard.

Concert 2: World Premieres – Saturday, Aug. 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Where: First Unitarian Society of Madison’s Atrium Auditorium (900 University Bay Drive)

What: Internationally acclaimed violist Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti and Wisconsin-born pianist Karl Larson (below top) will give the world premieres of new viola sonatas from three of the world’s leading composers: Andrew Norman, Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Scott Wollschleger. In addition, local cellist James Waldo will kick off the evening with a premiere of a work for solo cello by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Les Thimmig (below bottom).

Concert 3: SistaStrings – Sunday, Aug. 11, at 2:30 p.m.

Where: Robinia Courtyard (829 East Washington Avenue)

What: The concert features the Milwaukee-based sister duo SistaStrings (below, in a photo by Adam Ryan Morris). Violinist Chauntee Ross and cellist Monique LaDora Ross blend their training as accomplished classical instrumentalists with “R&B and a touch of gospel influence that culminates in a vibey, lush sound.” The sisters will play tracks from their new and acclaimed Extended Play recording in the cozy courtyard. (You can hear them in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Partner concert: Madison New Music Ensemble (FREE concert) – Sunday, Aug. 11, at 5 p.m.

Where: Memorial Union Terrace (800 Langdon Street, below)

What: Join the newly formed Madison New Music Ensemble (below top), led by UW-Madison composer Joseph Koykkar (below bottom), at the Memorial Union Terrace as part of their Summer Serenade series. The group will perform works by Koykkar, Ian Clarke, Gabriela Lena Frank, Gareth Farr and Kirsten Volness.


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Classical music: The Oakwood Chamber Players conclude their season by performing Australian and New Zealand music this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. On Saturday afternoon, the Arbor Ensemble performs a benefit concert of works by English composers.

May 15, 2014
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ALERT: Violist Marie Pauls, a blog reader and music teacher, writes: “I have a newer chamber group called Arbor Ensemble, and I wanted to share with you info about a benefit recital we are doing. It is called “Steeped in Tradition: A Celebration of English Composers” and it will take place this Saturday, May 17, at 2:30 p.m. at the McFarland United Church of Christ, 5710 Anthony Street in McFarland.” 

The Anglophile recital program will include works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Rebecca Clarke, Ian Clarke and Sir Arthur Bliss. Tea and scones will be served following the performance.

Reservations are strongly encouraged to guarantee your place. PLEASE NOTE: Reserved tickets not claimed 10 minutes prior to the recital will be released to the public. Visit the lick below and click the “tickets link” to make your reservation today. If you are interested in donating an item to the silent auction, please contact Arbor Ensemble! Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for students. All ages are welcome.

http://arborensemble.com/events

Marie Pauls violist

By Jacob Stockinger

Talk about performing rarely heard repertory — even in the same English-speaking world!

Plus, add in some unknown women composers, and you have the makings of a memorable event.

This Saturday night and Sunday afternoon the Oakwood Chamber Players (below) will perform “Down Under,” its final concert in the season exploring music by composers from various regions around the world, featuring a program of music by Australian and New Zealand composers.

Oakwood Chamber Players 2012 2

Map of Australia and New Zealand

The Oakwood Chamber Players will present the program “Down Under” on Saturday, May 17 at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, May 18, at 1 p.m., in the Oakwood Village Center for Arts and Education, 6205 Mineral Point Road, 6205 Mineral Point Road, on Madison’s far west side.

Tickets are available at the door. Admission is $20 for the general public, $15 for seniors and $5 for students.

This is the fifth and final concert in the 2013-2014 Season Series titled “Origination: Exploring Musical Regions of the World.”

Australian compositions to be performed include a string quartet (at bottom in a YouTube video performed by the Australian String Quartet)  by Miriam Hyde (below top), written in the 20th century pastoral style, as well as “Concertina di Camera” for winds and piano by Peggy Glanville-Hicks (below bottom), who was a student of Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Miriam Hyde and music mss

Peggy Glanville-Hicks at piano

Compositions by Percy Grainger (below) will be represented with a grouping of favorites including “Country Gardens “ for solo piano and three pieces in mixed chamber ensemble settings including “Handel on the Strand”, “Shepherd’s Hey” and “Walking Tune.”

Percy Grainger

Two centuries of New Zealand compositions will be represented by Keith Statham’s melodic “Lansdown Gardens” and “Flora” for flute, clarinet and piano, by Keith Statham (below top) as well “Morningstar II” for mixed winds and strings by 21st century composer Paul Stanhope (below bottom, in a photo by Jacky Ghossein).

Keith Statham drawing

Paul Stanhope CR Jacky Ghossein

The lively and familiar “Jamaican Rumba” buy Australian Arthur Benjamin (below) will round out the programming.

Paul Stanhope CR Jacky Ghossein

arthur benjamin

The Oakwood Chamber Players is a group of Madison-area professional musicians who have rehearsed and performed at Oakwood Village for 30 years. Many have affiliations with and perform with well-known groups such as the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Madison Opera and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.

Visit www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com for more information.

The Oakwood Chamber Players are a professional music ensemble proudly supported by Oakwood Lutheran Senior Ministries and the Oakwood Foundation, in collaboration with Friends of the Arboretum, Inc.

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