The Well-Tempered Ear
The UW-Madison’s Wingra Wind Quintet performs a FREE online virtual concert this Wednesday night. Plus, local music critic Greg Hettmansberger has died
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NEWS ALERT: Local music critic and blogger Greg Hettmansberger (below) was killed in a car accident on Dec. 2, near Wichita, Kansas. Hettmansberger, 65, was driving when he hit a deer and then another car hit him. His wife survived but remains hospitalized in Wichita in critical condition. Here is a link to a news account: https://www.kake.com/story/42993718/man-dies-in-crash-caused-by-deer-in-pratt-county
By Jacob Stockinger
This Wednesday night, Dec. 9, the UW-Madison’s Wingra Wind Quintet (below, in 2017) will perform a FREE virtual online concert from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Here is a direct link to the pre-recorded video premiere on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/e1NhVZJW2cA
Due to the pandemic, the Wingra Wind Quintet has been unable to perform chamber music in a traditional way since March 2020. (You can hear the quintet play “On, Wisconsin” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
In response, the quintet put together a program that allowed each member to record parts separately and have those parts edited together.
Current faculty members (below) are: Conor Nelson, flute; Lindsay Flowers, oboe; Alicia Lee, clarinet; Marc Vallon, bassoon; and Devin Cobleigh-Morrison, horn
The engineer/producer is Kris Saebo.
The program is:
The first piece “Allegro scherzando” from Three Pieces by Walter Piston (below, 1894-1976)
The Chaconne from the First Suite in E-flat for Military Band by Gustav Holst (below, 1874-1934)
“Retracing” by Elliott Carter (below, 1908-2012)
Selections from “Mikrokosmos” by Bela Bartok (below, 1881-1945)
“A 6 letter letter” by Elliott Carter
Intermezzo from the First Suite in E-flat for Military Band by Gustav Holst
“Esprit rude/esprit doux” by Elliott Carter
Since its formation in 1965, the Wingra Wind Quintet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music has established a tradition of artistic and teaching excellence.
The ensemble has been featured in performance at national conferences such as MENC (Miami), MTNA (Kansas City), and the International Double Reed Society (Minneapolis).
The quintet also presented an invitational concert on the prestigious Dame Myra Hess series at the Chicago Public Library, broadcast live on radio station WFMT.
In addition to its extensive home state touring, the quintet has been invited to perform at numerous college campuses, including the universities of Alaska-Fairbanks, Northwestern, Chicago, Nebraska, Western Michigan, Florida State, Cornell, the Interlochen Arts Academy, and the Paris Conservatoire, where quintet members offered master classes.
The Wingra Wind Quintet has recorded for Golden Crest, Spectrum, and the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music recording series and is featured on an educational video entitled Developing Woodwind Ensembles.
Always on the lookout for new music of merit, the Wingra has premiered new works of Hilmar Luckhardt, Vern Reynolds, Alec Wilder, Edith Boroff, James Christensen and David Ott. The group recently gave the Midwest regional premiere of William Bolcom’s “Five Fold Five,” a sextet for woodwind quintet and piano, with UW-Madison pianist Christopher Taylor (below).
New York Times critic Peter Davis, in reviewing the ensemble’s Carnegie Hall appearance, stated “The performances were consistently sophisticated, sensitive and thoroughly vital.”
The Wingra Wind Quintet is one of three faculty chamber ensembles in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music.
Deeply committed to the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea, the group travels widely to offer its concerts and educational services to students and the public in all corners of the state. (Editor’s note: For more about the Wisconsin Idea, which seems more relevant today than ever, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Idea.)
Portions of this recording were made at the Hamel Music Center, a venue of the Mead Witter School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tags: #20thCentury, #AlecWilder, #AliciaLee, #AmericanComposer, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarnegieHall, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoIllinois, #ChicagoPublicLibrary, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClarinetMusic, #ConcertSeries, #ConorNelson, #ConservatoiredeParis, #CornellUniversity, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidOtt, #DevonCobleigh-Morrison, #DoubleReed, #EdithBoroff, #ElliottCarter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyConcert, #FloridaStateUniversity, #FluteMusic, #GoldCrestRecords, #GregHettmansberger, #GustavHolst, #HamelMusicCenter, #HilmarLuckhardt, #HomeState, #husband-and-wife, #InterlochenArtsAcademy, #InternationalDoubleReedSociety, #JacobStockinger, #JamesChristensen, #KansasCity, #KrisSaebo, #LindsayFlowers, #LiveBroadcast, #MarcVallon, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiamiFlorida, #MilitaryBand, #MinneapolisMinnesota, #ModernMusic, #MusicCritic, #MusicEducation, #Musicfaculty, #MusicReview, #MyraHess, #NationalConferences, #NewMusic, #NewWorks, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkTimes, #NorthwesternUniversity, #OnlineConcert, #ParisConservatory, #ParisFrance, #RecordedMusic, #RegionalPremiere, #SarasotaFlorida, #SpectrumRecords, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ThreePieces, #UniversityofAlaska-Fairbanks, #UniversityofChicago, #UniversityofNebraska, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VerneReynolds, #VirtualConcert, #WalterPiston, #WesternMichiganUniversity, #WFMTRadioStation, #WichitaKansas, #Wikipediaentry, #WilliamBolcom, #WindMusic, #WingraWindQuintet, #WisconsinIdea, #WoodwindInstruments, #WoodwindMusic, #YouTubevideo, 2020, 20th-century, accident, Alaska, Alec Wilder, Alicia Lee, allegro scherzando, American, American composer, artistic, Arts, audience, auto, automobile, band, Bartok, Bassoon, bassoonist, Béla Bartók, blog, blogger, Bolcom, Boroff, Broadcast, Campus, Carnegie Hall, Carter, chaconne, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Public Library, Christensen, Christopher Taylor, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, college, Colleges and Universities, composer, Concert, concert series, condicition, Conor Nelson, Conservatoirre de Paris, Cornell University, coronavirus, critical, current, dame, David Ott, death, deer, Devin Cobleigh-Morrison, died, direct, double reed, drive, edited, Edith Boroff, Elliott Carter, engineer, ensemble, ever, excellence, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, faculty, Fairbanks, feature, Florida State University, flowers, flute, flutist, formation, forward, France, free, Gold Crest Records, Greg Hettmansberger, Gustav Holst, Hamel Music Center, Hilmar Luckhardt, Holst, Home, Horn, horn player, hornist, Hospital, hospitalized, husband, ILLINOIS, Interlochen Arts Academy, intermezzo, International Double Reed Society, invitational, Jacob Stockinger, James Christensen, Kansas, Kansas City, killed, Kris Saebo, Lee, letter, like, Lindsay Flowers, link, live, local, Luckhardt, Madison, Marc Vallon, march, master class, masterclass, Mead Witter School of Music, merit, Miami, Michigan, Midwest, Mikrokosmos, military, military band, Minneapolis, modern music, Music, music critic, Music education, music faculty, music review, Myra Hess, national conferences, Nebraska, Nelson, new, New Music, new works, New York, New York City, New York Times, Northwestern University, Oboe, oboist, On, online, Ott, pandemic, Paris, Paris Conservatory, parts, perform, performerance, Pianist, Piano, pieces, Piston, post, posting, pre-recorded, premiere, premiered, prestigious, producer, program, public, quintet, recorded, recorded music, regional, regional premiere, relevant, response, Reynolds, sare, selections, sensitive, separately edit, sophisticated, Spectrum Records, spirit, state, Suite, survive, tag, Taylor, teaching, The Ear, Three Pieces, today, together, tour, touring, traditional, travels, United States, universities, university, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, University of Chicago, University of Nebraska, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, update, UW, UW-Madison, Vallon, venue, Verne Reynolds, video, virtual, vital, Walter Piston, way, Wednesday, Western Michigan University, WFMT, Wichita, wife, Wikipedia, Wilder, WILLIAM BOLCOM, wind music, Wingra Wind Quintet, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, woodwind, woodwind music, YouTube
Classical music: This Sunday afternoon brings percussion music from Clocks in Motion and a performance by the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Sunday afternoon brings two noteworthy concerts: a selection of percussion music from Clocks in Motion and a performance of classic composers by the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra.
Here are the details:
CLOCKS IN MOTION
This Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., the local percussion group Clocks in Motion will perform at its Rehearsal Facility, located at 126 West Fulton Street in Edgerton, Wisconsin.
Members of Clocks in Motion (below, performing in 2017) are Matthew Coley, Chris Jones, Sean Kleve and Andrew Veit.
Admission to the limited seating is $10, with donations accepted.
For more information, tickets and driving directions, go to:
https://www.artful.ly/store/events/15960
Presenting music never before heard in Wisconsin, Clocks in Motion Percussion will be performing classic repertoire and local premieres in this special event.
Here is the complete program: *”Gravity” by Marc Melltis; *Atomic Atomic” by Andrew Rindfleisch (below and heard in the YouTube video at the bottom); “Third Construction” by John Cage; selections from “Threads” by Paul Lansky; “Mechanical Ballet” by Anders Koppel; “Fantezie” by Sergiu Cretu; and “Glitz!” Bejorn Berkhout
*Denotes this piece was written specifically for Clocks in Motion.
Hailed as “nothing short of remarkable” (ClevelandClassical.com) and “the most exciting addition to Madison’s classical music scene” (Isthmus), Clocks in Motion is a percussion quartet that performs new music, builds many of its own instruments, and breaks down the boundaries of the traditional concert program.
Formed in 2011, Clocks in Motion is quickly becoming a major artistic force in today’s contemporary music scene. Among its many recent and upcoming engagements, the group served as performers at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan; The Stone in New York City; The Overture Center for the Arts; Casper College in Wyoming; the University of Michigan;, Baldwin-Wallace University in Ohio; the University of North Carolina-Pembroke; and the Ewell Concert Series in Virginia.
EDGEWOOD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
The Edgewood Chamber Orchestra will give a concert on this Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the newly remodeled St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive.
The orchestra will perform under the baton of Blake Walter (below).
The program features three arrangements of piano works by Claude Debussy; Arabesques 1 and2, arranged by Henri Mouton, and the seldom-performed Sarabande, arranged by Maurice Ravel.
Other works to be performed include Luigi Cherubini’s Overture to the opera Medea, and Symphony No. 59, subtitled “Fire,” by Franz Joseph Haydn.
Admission is $5 for the general public, free with Edgewood College ID.
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Classical music: Percussion quartet Clocks in Motion gives world premieres of two works by UW-Madison composers Laura Schwendinger and Joseph Koykkar this Friday night
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By Jacob Stockinger
Performing world premieres of new compositions by Laura Schwendinger and Joseph Koykkar, Madison’s premiere percussion quartet, Clocks in Motion (below, in a photo by Strom Strandell) will present an evening of experimental new music at the First Unitarian Society of Madison on this Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
The Atrium Auditorium at 900 University Bay Drive is a stunning piece of architecture (below in a photo by Zane Williams) attached to the historic Meeting House designed by the great architect Frank Lloyd Wright and will provide a wonderful setting for this concert.
Included in this program is the first-ever performance of a new composition, Aviary, by UW-Madison composer Laura Schwendinger (below). Schwendinger’s composition, written for the members of Clocks in Motion plus piano, is a sound tapestry of imaginary bird songs.
Clocks in Motion will also premiere a new composition by composer Joseph Koykkar (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) entitled Time in Transcendence. Written specifically for Clocks in Motion, Koykkar makes use of the group’s hand-made microtonal percussion instruments and a myriad of drums and keyboard instruments.
Clocks in Motion will also perform “Workers Union” by Louis Andriessen, Mallet Quartet by Steve Reich and “Gravity” by Marc Mellitus. (You can hear Clocks in Motion perform “Gravity” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
This event is supported by Dane Arts.
Admission is $15 for the general public, $5 for Students with valid ID. Cash or credit cards are accepted.
BACKGROUND
Hailed as “nothing short of remarkable” (ClevelandClassical.com) and “the most exciting addition to Madison’s classical music scene” (Isthmus), Clocks in Motion is a percussion quartet that performs new music, builds many of its own instruments, and breaks down the boundaries of the traditional concert program.
Formed in 2011, Clocks in Motion is quickly becoming a major artistic force in today’s contemporary music scene. Among its many recent and upcoming engagements, the group served as performers at the Interlochen Arts Academy (Michigan), The Stone (New York), The Overture Center for the Arts, Casper College (Wyoming), University of Michigan, Baldwin-Wallace University (Ohio), The University of North Carolina-Pembroke and The Ewell Concert Series (Virginia).
Clocks in Motion members are Matthew Coley, Kyle Flens, Sean Kleve and Andrew Veit.
Find out more at www.clocksinmotionpercussion.com
Tags: Arts, aviary, Baldwin-Wallace University, bird, bird songs, Casper College, Chamber music, Classical music, Clocks in Motion, Dane Arts, drum, Ewell Concert Series, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Frank Lloyd Wright, gravity, instrument, Interlochen Arts Academy, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Joseph Koykkaar, Keyboard, Laura Schwendiger, Louis Andriessen, Madison, mallet, Marc Mellits, microtonal, microtonality, Music, New Music, New York, Ohio, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, percusssion, Piano, Quartet, Steve Reich, union, United States, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Virginia, Wisconsin, workers, world premiere, Wyoming, YouTube
Classical music: Clocks in Motion and Transient Canvas perform new music for winds and percussion this Wednesday night. Plus, the Pro Arte Quartet performs a FREE concert of Mozart, Beethoven and Webern on Saturday night.
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ALERT: The Pro Arte Quartet, artists-in-residence at the UW-Madison School of Music, will give a FREE concert this Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall. The program features: the String Quartet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 1 (1799-1800) by Ludwig van Beethoven; the Langsamer Satz (Slow Movement) for String Quartet (1905) by Anton Webern; and the String Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 428 (1783) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following word from Clocks in Motion:
Clocks in Motion (below), Madison’s premier new music ensemble, welcomes the renowned bass clarinet and marimba duo Transient Canvas to Madison for a collaborative performance of new sounds, new instruments, and new music.
Featuring a world premiere by Italian-American modernist composer Filippo Santoro, as well as rarely heard works by Daniel T. Lewis, Matthew Welch, and Franco Donatoni, this concert offers a singular chance to experience the cutting edge of new music.
The performance is this Wednesday night, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. in the DeLuca Forum (below bottom) of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (below top), across from the Union South at 330 North Orchard Street.
It will feature Transient Canvas (below), which consists of the “dazzling” (Boston Globe) clarinetist Amy Advocat and the “expert and vivid” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) marimbist Matthew Sharrock performing thrilling repertoire commissioned for their distinctive instrumentation, as well as larger works in partnership with Clocks in Motion.
Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 the day of the show; $5 with a student ID. PURCHASE TICKETS
Advance tickets are available at https://www.artful.ly/store/events/7534
Praised by the Boston Globe as “superb,” Transient Canvas has been blazing its own trail in the world of contemporary music since 2011. In four years, they have premiered over 40 new works, essentially creating an entirely new repertoire for their unique instrumentation. Fearless in their programming and hungry for new collaborations, TC actively seeks out new composers who will stretch their instrumentation to its limits. (You can hear a sample in the YouTube video at the bottom)
Learn more about Transient Canvas at http://www.transientcanvas.com/
Hailed as “nothing short of remarkable” (ClevelandClassical.com), Clocks in Motion is a group that performs new music, builds its own instruments, and breaks down the boundaries of the traditional concert program. The group Clocks in Motion consistently performs groundbreaking concerts involving performance art, theater, and computer technology.
Featuring world premieres alongside rarely performed classic works, the ensemble strives to create a new canon of percussion repertoire.
Clocks in Motion works passionately to educate young audiences through master classes, residencies, presentations, and school assemblies. The ensemble’s unique skill sets and specialties contain an impressive mix of rock, jazz, contemporary classical, orchestral, marching, and world styles.
Clocks in Motion has served as resident performers and educators at the Interlochen Arts Academy, Casper College, the University of Michigan, Baldwin-Wallace University, VIBES Fine and Performing Arts, Traverse City West High School, Traverse City East Middle School, Rhapsody Arts Center, and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.
Formed in 2011, Clocks in Motion began as an extension of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Graduate Percussion Group, and now serves as an affiliate ensemble of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.
Tags: Arts, Baldwin-Wallace University, bass clarinet, Beethoven, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, Clocks in Motion, composer, computer, Daniel T. Lewis, Filippo Santoro, Franco Donatoni, Harvard University, Interlochen, Interlochen Arts Academy, Italian-American, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, marches, marimba, Massachusetts, Matthew Welch, MMOCA, Mozart, Museum, Music, Music education, New Music, Orchestra, orchestral music, percussion, performance art, Pro Arte Quartet, Rock, String quartet, technology, The Boston Globe, theater, Transient Canvas, Union South, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Webern, winds, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, World music, YouTube
Classical music: The Mosaic Chamber Players opens their new season with violin sonatas by Mozart, Grieg and Szymanowski this Friday night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Violinist Wes Luke and pianist Jess Salek will perform a “passionate program”of violin and piano music called “Sonatas and Myths” tomorrow night, Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive.
The program includes: the elegant and intense Sonata in G Major K. 379, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (you can hear the sonata in a YouTube video at the bottom); the fiery Sonata in C minor, Op. 45, by the 19th-century Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg; and the extraordinary and unique “Myths,” Op. 30, by the 20th-century Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.
There will be a reception following the program.
Tickets are $15 for the public; $10 for seniors; and $5 for students. Check or cash only will be accepted.
Information about upcoming concerts can be found on Mosaic’s website http://www.mosaicchamberplayers.com/ or you can “like” or follow Mosaic Chamber Players on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Here is some background information about the performers::
Wes Luke (below) is a violinist and educator who performs and teaches across the upper Midwest. He currently serves as the Concertmaster of the La Crosse (Wisconsin) Symphony Orchestra, the Principal Second Violinist of the Dubuque (Iowa) Symphony Orchestra, and a section violinist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra. He also regularly plays in the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Wisconsin Philharmonic, where he has also served as Concertmaster.
Jess Salek holds degrees from Lawrence University (Bachelor of Music in piano performance) in Appleton, Wisconsin, and State University of New York at Stony Brook (Master of Music in piano performance). He has worked as Music Theory Instructor at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and as a piano instructor at Prairie Music Academy in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. He also has served as a judge for piano competitions and music festivals throughout Wisconsin.
From 2009-2013, Salek (below) served as Music Director of Fresco Opera Theatre, which in 2013 received Bronze in the Performing Arts Group category in Madison Magazine’s “Best Of Madison” competition -– an award voted by fans.
He is the founder and owner of Salek Piano Studio, Inc., where he teaches a diverse group of over 45 students of all ages and levels on the west side of Madison.
Salek performs as substitute keyboardist with Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra for Concerts on the Square and Madison Symphony Orchestra. He is also a member of Sound Ensemble Wisconsin (SEW), a non-profit chamber music organization in Madison, and serves as accompanist for Madison Youth Choirs, a non-profit performing group based in Madison.
Most recently, Salek founded the Mosaic Chamber Players, a professional group dedicated to performing varied chamber music programs throughout Wisconsin. The Mosaics were recently described as “among the finest purveyors of chamber music in Madison” in a review by John W. Barker for The Well-Tempered Ear blog.
Here is a poster about the upcoming season of the Mosaic Chamber Players (using the magnifying tool will help you read it):
Tags: Appleton, Arts, Best of Madison, blog, Chamber music, Classical music, Concerts on the Square, Facebook, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Fresco Opera Theatre, Grieg, harpsichord, Instagram, Interlochen Arts Academy, Iowa, Jacob Stockinger, Jess Salek, John W. Barker, Lawrence University, Madison, Madison Magazine, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Youth Choirs, Michigan, Mosaic Chamber Players, Mozart, Music, myths, Norway, Orchestra, Piano, Poland, Sonata, Sound Ensemble Wisconsin, Szymanowski, The Well-Tempered Ear, Twitter, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, violin sonatas, Wes Luke, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: The University of Wisconsin-Madison hosts its second annual Brass Festival this Friday through Sunday.
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By Jacob Stockinger
A fanfare, please!
The brassier, the better!
Last year’s inaugural Brass Fest at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music proved so successful that another will take place later this week.
This year’s Brass Fest – which seems on its way to becoming an annual event — will run from this coming Friday, Oct. 9, through Sunday, Oct. 11.
The organizer and director of the festival is the virtuoso trumpeter John Aley (below), who teaches at the UW-Madison and is also principal trumpet with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. He also gives workshops at schools and festivals around the country, including the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
Some festival events are FREE while others -– concerts on Friday and Saturday nights — require admission that benefits the scholarship fund at the UW School of Music.
The repertoire is varied and includes classical music, jazz and folk music.
The lineup of performers is impressive.
It includes the Axiom Brass Quintet (below), which you can hear in a YouTube video at the bottom:
It includes trumpeter Adam Rapa (below top) and singer Elisabeth Vik (below bottom):
And it includes the UW-Madison’s Wisconsin Brass Quintet (below):
But the details are so many and the impressive biographies of performers so long that The Ear thinks it is better not to duplicate them. So instead I am directing readers right to the UW-Madison School of Music’s website and A Tempo blog where you can find out all the details.
Here are three links:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/brass-fest-ii-axiom/
https://uwmadisonschoolofmusic.wordpress.com
Tags: Adam Rapa, Arts, Axiom Brass, Baroque, brass, Brass quintet, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Dane County, Elisabeth Vik, Folk music, Horn, Interlochen, Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, singer, Trombone, Trumpet, Undergraduate education, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, YouTube
Classical music: Here are four for the Fourth.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Yesterday The Ear asked readers for suggestions about classical music that would be appropriate to post and play today, which is Independence Day or the Fourth of July.
I got some good answers.
Some of the suggestions were great music but seemed inappropriate like “On the Transmigration of Souls” by the contemporary American composer John Adams. It won the Pulitzer Prize. But it deals with the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and strikes The Ear as a bit grim for this holiday.
So, here are four others for The Fourth:
Ann Boyer suggested the Variations on “America” by Charles Ives, who was certainly an American and a Yankee original. The original scoring for organ was transcribed for orchestra by the well-known American composer William Schuman and it is performed below in a YouTube video by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the famous composer-arranger Morton Gould, who seems to specialize in Americana:
Tim Adrianson suggested Aaron Copland’s great Third Symphony. It is long but the most famous part of the symphony is “Fanfare for the Common Man,” played here by Metropolitan Opera artistic director James Levine and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. And that seems a perfectly fitting piece of music to celebrate the birth of American democracy:
Reader fflambeau suggested anything by Howard Hanson, but especially Syphony No. 2 “Romantic.” Here is the famous slow movement — performed by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra — that is also the appealing theme of the Interlochen Arts Academy and National Summer Music Camp:
Finally, The Ear recently heard something that seems especially welcome at a time when there is so much attention being paid to matters military.
It is also by Aaron Copland and is called “A Letter From Home.” It was dedicated to troops fighting World War II but it strikes me for its devotion to the home front and to peaceful domestic life, which is exactly what the Fourth of July should be about. Be sure to look at the black-and-white photographs that accompany the music:
And The Ear reminds you that you can hear a lot of American composers and American music today on Wisconsin Public Radio.
Have a Happy Fourth of July and Independence Day, everyone!
Tags: 9-11, 9/11, Aaron Copland, America, American Indian, Arts, Charles Ives, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Classical music, Fireworks, Fourth of July, Gerard Schwarz, Homeland security, Howard Hanson, Independence Day (United States), Interlochen Arts Academy, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Morton Gould, Music, My Country T'Is of Thee, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra, Pulitzer Prize, Romantic, Romanticism, Seattle, Seattle Symphony, Sept. 11, terrorism, terrorist attacks, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, William Schuman, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, World War II
Classical music education: The Green Lake Festival of Music opens the 17th year of its Chamber Music Camp, with FREE public concerts, this week.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear’s friends at the Green Lake Festival of Music write to tell us about a program important to music education – which means a program important to the future of classical music:
Here is the press release:
On Sunday, July 5, at the Thrasher Opera House (below bottom) in Green Lake, The Green Lake Chamber Players open the 17th annual Green Lake Music Festival Chamber Music Camp, as string and piano students (below top) from nine states, ages 11 to 20, convene at Ripon College for two weeks of stimulating music-making along with just plain fun.
Part of the fun includes a trip to Larry Miller’s farm and a shopping scavenger hunt at K-Mart.
The daily schedule includes coaching sessions by Thomas Rosenberg (Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Director, cellist and the Camp’s Artistic Director); Samantha George, Associate Professor of Violin at Lawrence Conservatory of Music; Karen Kim, Grammy Award winning violinist; David Perry, Professor of Violin at the UW-Madison and first violin of the Pro Arte String Quartet; Renee Skerik, Instructor of Viola at Interlochen Arts Academy; Andrew Armstrong from the Amelia Piano Trio; James Howsmon, Professor of Instrumental Accompanying at Oberlin College Conservatory; and guest artists, including Shen Lu, 2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition Winner, the Jupiter Quartet (below top), and the Bergonzi String Quartet (below bottom).
Jupiter Quartet at Studio Theatre, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. From left: Liz Freivogel, Nelson Lee, Daniel McDonough, and Meg Freivogel
Join us for the first of several Green Lake Chamber Players concerts on Sunday, July 5, at 3 p.m. This concert is a “BUY ONE, GET ONE” ticket concert. The Green Lake Chamber Players includes the Green Lake Festival Chamber Music Camp faculty and guest artists who will perform music by Alexander Scriabin, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms. This is also the first concert in a series of matinees that offer a special package for bus pick up and ticket from Appleton, Oshkosh, and Beaver Dam. Call the Festival office for more details on this package.
The 2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition Winner, Shen Lu (below) will perform Thursday, July 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Thrasher Opera House, along with teaching a piano master class on Friday, July 10, at 10 a.m. John O’Conor, the Jury Chair from the 2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, says, “Shen Lu is a young Chinese pianist with an exciting future. His interpretations have great depth, his technique seems effortless and he communicates wonderfully with his audience.”
Students will attend master classes and five Festival concerts, and perform a variety of community service engagements in such facilities as nursing homes, service clubs, and libraries.
The program includes three public concerts – a Chamber Camp Student Recital on Saturday, July 11, and the popular “Circle of Sound” string orchestra concert at the Boston Barn on Tuesday, July 14, as part of the Boston Barn Concert package that includes appetizers and music by the Bergonzi String Quartet, and the final Chamber Music Celebration at Rodman Center for the Arts, Ripon College, on Saturday, July 18.
Please visit www.greenlakefestival.org for information about these and other artists performing throughout July at the Festival or to purchase tickets. Tickets are also available by calling the office at 920-748-9398. You can also stop by one of the following ticket outlets: Green Lake Bank (Green Lake) and Ripon Drug (Ripon).
The Green Lake Festival of Music is supported in part by the Arts Midwest Touring Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funding from the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Crane Group, and General Mills Foundation. Additional support comes from the Horicon Bank, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, Agnesian Healthcare, Wisconsin Department of Tourism, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, and private and corporate donations.
Chamber Workshop FREE Public Events
Get the inside story on the rehearsal process as you watch these artists work with talented students. All master classes will be held at the Rodman Center for the Arts at Ripon College.
- Piano Master Class with Shen Lu. Friday, July 10, 10 a.m.
- Cello Master Class with The Jupiter Quartet. Monday, July 13, 10 a.m.
- Violin Master Class with The Bergonzi String Quartet. Thursday, July 16, 10 a.m.
Chamber Workshop Concerts
- Chamber Camp Recital. Join us for this FREE community concert at the Rodman Center for the Arts, Ripon, Wisconsin on Saturday, July 11, at 2 p.m. No tickets are need for this event; seating is first come, first served.
- “A Circle of Sound” Tuesday, July 14, 6:30 p.m. at the Boston Farm, Green Lake, Wisconsin. Be in the center of the music as The Bergonzi String Quartet, faculty and students encircle the audience in a historic Wisconsin barn. This concert is preceded with cocktails and appetizers with an Italian flair. This concert is offered only as a package.
- Chamber Music Celebration Showcase Performance. Saturday, July 18, 3 p.m., Rodman Center for the Arts (below), Ripon, Wisconsin. Hear the stars of tomorrow as the talented students perform in trios, quartets and quintets, concluding with their trademark Circle of Sound strings. A student-led preconcert conversation begins at 2:30 p.m.
Tags: Amelia Piano Trio, Arts, Arts Midwest, barn, Beethoven, Bergonzi String Quartet, Boston, Brooklyn Academy of Music, camp, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Education, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Green Lake, Green Lake Festival of Music, Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Horicon, Interlochen Arts Academy, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John O'Conor, Jupiter String Quartet, Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Ludwig van Beethoven, master class, Music, Music education, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New York City, Oberlin College, Oberlin College Conservatory, Oshkosh, Pennsylvania State University, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, Ripon, Ripon College, Rodman Center for the Arts, Scriabin, Shen Lu, tourism, United States, University of Wisconsin Arboretum, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, YouTube
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