Karlos Moser | The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: The gala opening this weekend of the UW-Madison’s new Hamel Music Center is SOLD OUT. What do you think of the building, the music and the event? Plus, veteran music critic John W. Barker has died

October 25, 2019
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ALERT: Word arrived late last night that the respected longtime music critic John W. Barker, a retired UW-Madison professor of medieval history, died Thursday morning. He wrote locally for Isthmus, The Capital Times and this blog. Details will be shared when they are known.

By Jacob Stockinger

This weekend, Oct. 25-27, marks the official gala opening of the new Hamel Music Center (below, in a photo by Bryce Richter for University Communications) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music. It is located at 740 University Ave., next to the new wing of the Chazen Museum of Art, which has a special exhibit relating to the new music center.

The impressive $58-million structure, which has taken many years to fund (completely privately) and then to build, will celebrate its opening tonight, Saturday night (while the 14th annual Halloween FreakFest on State Street is happening) and Sunday afternoon.

The performers will include distinguished alumni, faculty members and students.

Here is a link to an overall schedule as published on the School of Music’s home website: https://www.music.wisc.edu/hamel-music-center-opening-schedule/

Thanks to an astute reader who found what The Ear couldn’t find, here is a complete schedule — long, varied and impressive — of works and performers: https://www.music.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20191025-Hamel-Music-Center-Opening-Weekend.pdf

And here is a link to the official UW-Madison press release with more background and details about the building: https://news.wisc.edu/mead-witter-school-of-musics-hamel-music-center-opening-this-fall/

UW-Madison composer Laura Schwendinger (below) has been commissioned to write a Fanfare that will receive its world premiere tonight.

The opening promises to be a success, complete with receptions at the end of each performance.

In fact, the public has signed on enough that the FREE tickets to all events are SOLD OUT, according to the School of Music’s home website.

Taste is personal and varies, and The Ear has heard mixed reviews of the new building. (For the special occasion, you can hear “The Consecration of the House” Overture by Beethoven, performed by the La Scala opera house orchestra in Milan under Riccardo Muti, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Basically, people seem to agree that the acoustics are much improved over Mills Hall and Morphy Recital Hall in the old Humanities Building.

But public opinion seems more divided over other aspects, from the overall external architecture and interior design to the smaller size of the big hall, the seats and seating layout, and the restrooms.

So if you go – or have already gone – let the rest of us know what you think about those various aspects of the new building and about the various performers and programs.

As a warm-up preview, here are photos of the main halls or spaces, all taken by Bryce Richter for University Communications:

Here is the 660-seat Mead Witter Concert Hall:

Here is the 300-seat Collins Recital Hall:

And here is the Lee/Kaufman Rehearsal Hall:

But what do you say? You be the critic.

The Ear and others hope to see COMMENTS from listeners and especially performers. What is it like to perform there? Or to sit and listen?

What does the public think of the new building and concert halls? Are you satisfied? What do you like and what don’t you like?

Should some things have been done – or not done – in your opinion?

Does the building and do the concert halls live up to the expectations and hype?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: FREE Handel aria concert by area high school singers is this Saturday afternoon at Capitol Lakes

January 23, 2019
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IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.

ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, will feature flutist Marilyn Chohaney, of The Oakwood Chamber Players, with pianist Joseph Ross and clarinetist James Smith. The program is salon music by Arnold Bax, Florent Schmitt, Claude Debussy and Dmitri Shostakovich. Sorry, no titles have been given. The concerts run from 12:15 to 1 p.m.

By Jacob Stockinger

On this coming Saturday afternoon, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. at Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, 333 West Main Street – two blocks off the Capitol Square — there will be an hour-long program featuring five young singers performing Handel arias.

There will also be a guest performance of a Handel duet by the Handel Aria Competition’s new artistic director Sarah Brailey (below top) and founding artistic director Cheryl Bensman-Rowe (below bottom).

You can hear Brailey, who won the Handel Aria Competition in 2015 and is now doing graduate work at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music while pursuing her growing career, in the YouTube video at the bottom.

Karlos Moser, professor emeritus of the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music’s opera program, will accompany on the piano.

The performance is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

“Our goal is to encourage high school singers in the Madison, Wisconsin area to explore works from Handel’s vocal repertoire,” says Brailey.

All participating high school singers will receive a $100 Handel Aria Competition scholarship towards voice lessons or membership in the Madison Youth Choirs.

The high school singers who will perform are: Allana Beilke from Madison West High School; Daphne Buan from Verona Area High School; Ava DeCroix from Middleton High School; Cecilia League from McFarland High School; and Virginia Morgan from Madison West High School.

The students are all very active in the local arts scene and have participated in Wisconsin Badger All-State Choir, the Madison Opera Youth Apprentice Program, the Madison Symphony Chorus, the 50th anniversary Wisconsin School Music Association State Honors Treble Choir, and have won numerous awards in the National Association for Teachers of Singing Student Auditions and the State Solo and Ensemble Festival.

The program will include selections from operas and oratorios “Agrippina,” “Joshua,” “L’Allegro,” “Semele” and “Solomon.”

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Classical music: Local music critic John W. Barker will host a fundraiser this Wednesday night for the Fifth Handel Aria Competition

April 22, 2017
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following information to post:

John W. Barker (below right), local music critic for Isthmus and The Well-Tempered Ear and an arts supporter extraordinaire, will present “Handel and Other Friends,” a fundraiser for the Handel Aria Competition, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street, on this Wednesday night, April 26, at 7:30 p.m.

Performers will include:

Madison Savoyards
Karlos Moser
Trevor Stephenson of the Madison Bach Musicians
Paul Rowe and Cheryl Bensman Rowe
Pro Arte Quartet
Mosaic Chamber Players
Claire Powling, Rebecca Buechel and Talia Engstrom from the U.W. Madison Opera Program singing Handel duets

A highlight of the evening will be the official announcement of the seven national finalists in the Fifth Annual Handel Aria Competition (below is contestant and winner soprano Chelsea Morris).

Tickets to the April 26 fundraiser are $25 general admission, and $40 for special donor seating. They are available in advance at Orange Tree Imports, 1721 Monroe Street, online at Brown Paper Tickets, and at the door.

We are delighted to have received over 100 applicants from Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and 26 states — including Hawaii — for this year’s competition. Please plan to join us on Friday, June 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall in the Humanities Building, University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music for the Fifth Annual Handel Aria Competition.

The Madison Bach Musicians, under the direction of Trevor Stephenson, will again accompany the finalists. In addition to the professional judging for first, second and third prize, there will be a cash prize for Audience Favorite. (In the YouTube video below is Christina Kay singing from Handel’s “Joshua” during the 2016 Handel Aria Competition.)

Tickets will be $15 each and go on sale in May.

For more information, or to make a contribution, please go to www.HandelAriaCompetition.com

Classical music: Longtime musical partners singer Kathleen Otterson and pianist Jamie Schmidt close out the season of FREE Noon Musicales this Friday.

May 11, 2016
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear received the following note from Edgewood College faculty singer Kathleen Otterson and thought it worth passing along because of its timeliness and local interest:

I’d like to share a little information about the final Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison on this Friday, May 13.

I’m sorry that I don’t have a photo of pianist Jamie Schmidt and me together, but I’ve included a photo of myself and a collage of some of our printed programs (below) from over the years.

Here is our background:

Mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson and pianist Jamie Schmidt met while students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, and gave their first collaborative concert in 1996 at UW-Oshkosh, where Otterson was a member of the voice faculty.

Over the next 13 years, there were many more concerts for the duo around Wisconsin and in the Chicago area after Schmidt moved there to serve as Music Director at the American Girl Place Theater.

Kathleen Otterson (below) has been a member of the Edgewood College faculty since 1999, and Music Director at Christ Presbyterian Church since 2001.

Jamie Schmidt (below) has been touring all over the country, along with his wife and two young children, with “The Lion King,” which arrived in Madison on May 9 for a lengthy run at the Overture Center.

The two musicians will reunite to present the final Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, on Friday, May 13.

The program includes favorites from the years of their concertizing together: German Lieder, or art songs, by Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler; and American songs by Ned Rorem, Samuel Barber, Chris DeBlasio, Dominick Argento and others.

A very special part of the program is an excerpt from the song cycle “No Place, No Time,” composed by University Opera founder and UW-Madison Professor Emeritus Karlos Moser (below left, with his wife Melinda Moser), to texts of the Persian poet Rumi. Otterson and Schmidt commissioned this work from their teacher and mentor, which also features bassist, Ben Ferris.

The Friday Noon Musicales run from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium, 900 University Bay Drive, and are open to the public, FREE of charge.

Classical music: The New Hyperion Jazz Babies perform Sunday to raise funds for The Karlos and Melinda Moser Opera Ticket Fund and to mark 35 years of Opera Props

November 4, 2015
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, from 12:15 to 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features S. Christian Collins and Alyssa Smith, piano and harpsichord, performing music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Claude Debussy and S. Christian Collins.

By Jacob Stockinger

A friend writes:

The New Hyperion Orchestra, the New Hyperion Jazz Babies and friends celebrate the 35th anniversary of Opera Props — the supporting group for University Opera at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music — with a benefit fundraiser to support the Karlos and Melinda Moser Opera Ticket Fund.

The concert, entitled, “What’s Wrong with Me? Love, Phobias and other Ailments,” will take place on this Sunday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall, and will feature show tunes about maladies that have plagued the human race for centuries. (The Carol Rennebohm Auditorium is located in Music Hall, below, at the foot of Bascom Hill on North Park Street.)

Karlos Moser (below left), who founded Opera Props and saw five renovations of Music Hall during his 36 years as UW-Madison’s Opera Director, celebrates his 85th birthday this year. But age is no matter to a seasoned performer. Moser will head the concert as lead vocalist, crooning about everything from Spoonerisms to Arachnophobia.

Joining him are his wife, Melinda Moser (below right), on the piano, clarinetist Eric Ellis, violinist Rebecca Mackie, and bassist Ben Ferris. Together, they create the New Hyperion Jazz Babies, an offshoot of the Original Hyperion Oriental Fox Trot Orchestra.

“Last year, we celebrated the 40th year reunion of the founding of the OHOFTO with some of the original members,” says Moser. “We now want to pass on this rich tradition to a new generation.”

The Original Hyperion, founded in Madison in 1974 by Rick Mackie and Moser, began with a mix of students and professional musicians, who quickly established their standing in this jazz-influenced style.

In the spirit of passing the baton, the Sunday concert will conclude with a number of student musicians, including three opera ticket fund recipients and students from Sun Prairie High School, along with their musical director, Steve Sveum.

Also making special appearances are tenor Fabian Qamar and soprano Nicole Heinen, both Opera Props recipients in the graduate music program, as well as a mystery guest from Fleet, England, who was a ticket fund recipient.

Tickets are $25 for general admission, with students receiving two tickets for the price of one. In honor of Karlos Moser’s 85th birthday, every $85 donation to the Opera Fund will be met with one free ticket.

Please send donations of any amount directly to the UW Foundation online at supportuw.org/giveto/operatickets, or by mail at US Bank Lockbox, Box 78807, Milwaukee, 53278 (memo: “Moser Fund for Opera Tickets”). $85 gifts may be confirmed at kmoser@wisc.edu or 608-274-1150.

General admission tickets are available in advance through the Campus Arts Ticketing Box Office at (608) 265-ARTS and online at http://www.arts.wisc.edu/ (click “box office”). Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Saturdays, noon-5 p.m. and the Vilas Hall Box Office, Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Beginning one hour before the performance, tickets can be purchased at the door.

All proceeds will go to the Karlos and Melinda Moser Opera Ticket Fund, which buys expensive opera tickets for UW-Madison music students.

Classical music: “Grace Presents” gets its own new website just in time for its FREE vocal concert of Hugo Wolf’s “Italian Songbook” this Saturday at noon. Plus, Karlos Moser and friends perform FREE Brazilian music at noon on Friday.

October 24, 2013
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features Brazilian Song and Dance with retired University Opera director and pianist Karlos Moser and guests. It runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium (below).

By Jacob Stockinger

There are quite a few free classical music organizations and concert presenters in Madison.

“Grace Presents” is one of the most up-and-coming. It provides an enjoyable and increasingly well-known a series of FREE and PUBLIC concerts of all kinds of music presented by Grace Episcopal Church (below), which is downtown at 116 West Washington Avenue on the Capitol Square.

The church itself is a fine place to hold a concert – classical, pop, folk and others. The dark wood and stained glass windows make for a beautiful venue, and the resonant acoustics add to the charm of the music.

When she was appointed the new coordinator this summer, Kelly Hiser (below) , a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, said one of her first priorities was to generate a website for the series.

Now her promise has become a reality – just in time for the FREE vocal concert by soprano Marie McManama and tenor Daniel O’Dea of Hugo Wolf’s “Italian Songbook” this Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. (To what your appetite, an excerpt of alive performance by Lucia Popp and Hermann Prey is at the bottom in a YouTube video.)

The work by Hugo Wolf (below, in a 1902 photo) is a song collection of 46 Italian vignettes translated into German, divided between male and female perspectives. wolf

Writes Hiser: I’m happy to let you know that Grace Presents now has a website, which you can find at http://gracepresents.org/

The concert itself offers sanctuary, a perfect short respite from the crowds and business of the Dane County Farmers’ Market, which will hold its to last market on the Square for this season on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Here is more about the performers, who have local ties, this Saturday.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Marie McManama (below) is an accomplished opera singer and stage performer. Trained in classical voice at CCM in Cincinnati with both Bachelor’s and Masters degrees, McManama has performed in recital halls, concert halls, and operatic stages all over the country with the Madison Choral Project, Cincinnati Opera, St. Louis Symphony, San Francisco Festival Chorus, SongFest in Malibu, California, and the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson, Wyoming.

Though her background is in performance, she completed her music education licensure in December 2012 and has been teaching in the Madison area since January. In addition to her singing, she grew up studying violin and ballet and has recently added piano, guitar, and flute to her solo instrument skills. She teaches private voice in Waunakee and elementary general music in Madison.

Daniel O’Dea (below) is a tenor from Chicago, Illinois. He is currently working towards his Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he is the recipient of the Paul Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Fellowship. In Madison he has recently performed with Madison Choral Project and the role of Jean Valjean in “Les Mis” with Middleton Players Theater. He has recently performed with the Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus, Chicago Bach Project, Grant Park Symphony Chorus, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed in The Crossing choir in Philadelphia and with VAE Cincinnati.

He received his Artist Diploma in Opera from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), Masters of Music in Voice from CCM and Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance from Westminster Choir College. He was an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera and is an alumnus of the Aspen Opera Theater Center, Brevard Music Center and the Chautauqua Institute.

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The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: The gala opening this weekend of the UW-Madison’s new Hamel Music Center is SOLD OUT. What do you think of the building, the music and the event? Plus, veteran music critic John W. Barker has died

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Classical music: FREE Handel aria concert by area high school singers is this Saturday afternoon at Capitol Lakes

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Classical music: Local music critic John W. Barker will host a fundraiser this Wednesday night for the Fifth Handel Aria Competition

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Classical music: Longtime musical partners singer Kathleen Otterson and pianist Jamie Schmidt close out the season of FREE Noon Musicales this Friday.

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Classical music: The New Hyperion Jazz Babies perform Sunday to raise funds for The Karlos and Melinda Moser Opera Ticket Fund and to mark 35 years of Opera Props

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Classical music: “Grace Presents” gets its own new website just in time for its FREE vocal concert of Hugo Wolf’s “Italian Songbook” this Saturday at noon. Plus, Karlos Moser and friends perform FREE Brazilian music at noon on Friday.

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