The Well-Tempered Ear
Public ‘autopsy’ of UW Choral Union is Monday, Oct. 23
7 Comments
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
What was the cause of death?
Ever since last June — when the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music announced it was killing off the UW Choral Union after 130 years — the school has not issued any kind of public statement, specific explanation or response to the overwhelming negative reactions from the community.
That is finally about to change.
On Monday, Oct. 23, 2023 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the Hamel Music Center, the School of Music’s new director Dan Cavanagh will meet with former Choral Union singers and others members of the public to discuss the decision to cancel and to explore the future off campus-community choral activities.
Here is the email invitation that Cavanagh (below) sent out this week:
October 10, 2023
Dear Choral Union Singers,
I have been fortunate to meet several of you in my first few months in Madison as the new Director of the Mead Witter School of Music (MWSoM). I have felt welcomed and excited to make Madison my home, both personally and professionally.
As you know well, I started my position during a time of change here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I have learned much over the past few months about the long history, impact, and value that the Choral Union has had here in Madison and beyond.
I understand that many have felt disappointed by the decision to discontinue the Choral Union (shown below under longtime but now retired choral director Beverly Taylor) as it has been a longstanding and stalwart example of the Wisconsin Idea in action. I have begun having discussions with the local choral community writ large to explore ways to serve the Madison area in a way that honors that tradition while ensuring that we are able to serve our students in the most pedagogically and fiscally responsible way.
With the above in mind, I am writing to invite you and those interested to a conversation on Monday, October 23, from 7:00 p.m.-8:15 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center.
Janet Murphy has, in parallel, reached out to me about the new “Friends of the Choral Union” group, and I plan to meet with her and a few others prior to this larger meeting so that I can come prepared to be responsive and engaged in the discussion.
I hope to come away from our conversation having had a chance to explain in more detail why the original decision was made last spring before I arrived, as well as having had a chance to hear your concerns and hopes for how we can partner together in the future to serve the choral community around us.
When I interviewed for this position back in early March, I talked a lot about how Music is one of the “front doors” to the University, and how our public charge includes engaging outside the walls of the “ivory tower.”
This philosophy is uniquely enacted through the Wisconsin Idea, and I do not use that phrase lightly. While our focus needs to remain first and foremost on our students and our ability (and resources) to adapt our pedagogical practices to a rapidly changing arts and cultural environment in this country, I am excited to work together with you and others to find ways to connect that pedagogical work with the wider community in our state and nationally.
Please consider joining me for this important conversation on October 23. No RSVP is needed. I look forward to meeting each of you in person and to hearing your passion, ideas, and concerns.
With deep respect,
Dan Cavanagh
Pamela O. Hamel/Board of Advisors Director; Mead Witter School of Music Professor of Jazz Studies and Composition
University of Wisconsin-Madison: music.wisc.edu
NOTE: If you want more to see more background and reader public reactions to it, here are links to three previous blog posts:
The Ear wonders how well attended the meeting will be?
Will you attend or not? Why or why not?
Will anything change about the future of the Choral Union?
Will Mariana Farah (below top) — the highly acclaimed new Director of Choral Activities — be on hand to answer questions and offer her perspective?
Will former music school director Susan C. Cook (below bottom), who made the decision, also be there?
How convincing will the explanations for the past decision and for possible future activities be?
Did it change your mind or thinking? How?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, ability, acclaim, acclaimed, activity, alto, answer, Arts, audience, autopsy, Bach, background, Baroque, bass, Beethoven, Beverly Taylor, blog, Brahms, Campus, cause, change, choral music, Choral Union, chorus, Classical music, community, composer, Composition, concern, Concert, conversation, critically acclaimed, cultural, culture, Dan Cavanagh, death, decision, director, Early music, environment, explanation, Facebook, faculty, Focus, friends, Friends of the Choral Union, future, group, Hamel Music Center, hear, History, idea, impact, invitation, invite, ivory tower, Jacob Stockinger, Janet Roberts, Jazz, Johann Sebastian Bach, kill, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mariana Farah, mass, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mills Hall, mind, Mozart, Music, music faculty, needs, oratorio, Orchestra, Overture Center, Passion, past, pedagogical, perspective, philosophy, Piano, public, reply, Requiem, resources, response, RSVP, school, share, singer, Singing, soprano, students, Susan C. Cook, symphony, tag, tenor, The Ear, The Wisconsin Idea, think, thinking, tradition, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, value, vocal music, week, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
MSO and FUS community summer choir sings start Monday, July 10
2 Comments
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 message from the First Unitarian Society of Madison to distribute to the public:
*** PLEASE FORWARD TO MADISON SINGERS ***
Please join us for the second annual “Madison Sings!” community singing events.
A collaboration between the Madison Symphony Chorus and the First Unitarian Society.
• Open to all. Bring a friend!
- 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
- $10
- Scores available when you arrive or bring your own
- First Unitarian Society of Madison’s Atrium Auditorium (at bottom, in photo by Zane Williams)
- GPS: 900 University Bay Drive, Madison, WI 53711
- Casual environment
- Seating limited to 400 participants
- Piano accompaniment
“MADISON SINGS!” FOR SUMMER 2023
Attend one, two, or all three!
- July 10 — Mozart “Requiem”
- July 17 — Beethoven “Mass in C”
- July 24 — Fauré “Requiem”
If you are interested in singing one of the solo movements, please contact drewc@fusmadison.org.
Drew Collins, D.M.A. (he/him/his … what is this?)
Music Director
First Unitarian Society of Madison
900 University Bay Drive, Madison, WI 53705
drewc@fusmadison.org • 608.233.9774, x121 (I check email and voicemail Tues.–Fri. 9-5)
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, accompaniment, alto, amateur, Arts, Atrium Auditorium, audience, baritone, bass, Beethoven, blog, Casual, Choir, choral music, Classical music, community, composer, contact, Drew Collins, email, environment, Facebook, Faure, Faure Requiem, First Unitarian Society of Madison, friend, FUS, Jacob Stockinger, July, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mass, Mozart, MSO, Music, open, Piano, Requiem, score, share, sheet music, sing, soprano, summer, tag, tenor, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, voicemail, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
UW-Madison School of Music kills off the venerable campus-community Choral Union
22 Comments
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 University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music will end the long-lived campus-community Choral Union (below at the top, with soloists and the UW Symphony Orchestra at the bottom) starting this fall. You can hear an excerpt from Handel’s “Elijah” performed in the old Mills Hall in the YouTube video at the bottom.
The news, dated June 1, was posted quietly and anonymously on the school’s website. As The Ear understands it, members of the Choral Union were not contacted directly. They just had to find it. Plus, the summer seems a suspicious and inauspicious time for the announcement. Student, faculty and community members are on vacation. In addition, the new director Dan Cavanagh (below) will take over the office from Susan C. Cook in a little over two weeks, on July 1. No word on how he stands about the move.
Here is the music school’s website posting: https://music.wisc.edu/choral-ensembles/
It doesn’t come as a complete surprise to The Ear, since performances were reduced from two semesters to one semester shortly after Mariana Farah (below) became the new Director of Choral Activities in 2021 after the retirement of Beverly Taylor, who continues to serve as the choral director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Student, alumni and community protests are already coming in expressing the resolve to reverse the decision.
Little wonder since the Choral Union was founded in 1893 and is one of the oldest on-going organizations on campus. It is hard to think of a better embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea. That concept is that the public university is to serve the taxpaying public that funds it — and these days community engagement is still supposed to be a high priority.
The Choral Union also seems like an exemplary educational program that gets soloists, the choir of students and the public, and the symphony to work together on a major project that also raises money for the music school.
Over many years, the Choral Union performances have also provided much of the most memorable music-making The Ear has ever heard at the university — or in the city. Works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Verdi, Faure and Benjamin Britten, among others, come to mind.
Here is the exact text, which is vague about any reasons for the cancellation of the 130-year-old Choral Union:
Choral Union Update (June 1, 2023)
“Starting Fall 2023, the Mead Witter School of Music will no longer offer Choral Union. This change will allow the School of Music to devote resources to our core mission of serving UW–Madison students as well as to focus our public programming around new goals.
“The School of Music and its choral program deeply value and appreciate the partnerships we have formed over the years with the Madison-area choral community. And we recognize that ending the Choral Union may be disappointing to some.
“We hope that community members who participated in the Choral Union will continue to partake of the many opportunities available to engage with the School of Music such as choral concerts and the multitude of performances, lectures, and workshops we offer every year.”
The negative reactions and feedback have already started. Here is one example:
The oldest organization at the UW-Madison has been canceled with an unsigned email and no public input?
This can’t be right.
The Choral Union is a beloved institution.
We won’t let it go like this. We need to know what the issues are and solve them.
Let the discussion begin.
–Janet Murphy, alto member of the Choral Union, 2008-present
Spread the word. Should you or others wish to express an opinion of support or opposition, here are some email addresses and phone numbers:
General office:music@music.wisc.edu; 608.263.1900
School director Susan C. Cook: director@music.wisc.edu; 608.263.1900
Director of Choral Activities: mariana.farah@wisc.edu; 608.263.1900
What do you think of the UW killing off the Choral Union?
What would you like to know about the decision?
Would you like the UW School of Music to reverse its decision?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CommunitySupport, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Music-Making, #YouTubevideo, 2023, address, alto, anonymous, Arts, audience, Bach, bass, Beethoven, beloved, Benjamin Britten, blog, Britten, Campus, cancel, cancellation, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Choral Union, city, Classical music, community, composer, Concert, Dan Cavanagh, decide, decision, director, discussion, Early music, Education, Elijah, email, end, engagement, express, Facebook, faculty, fall, Faure, Faure Requiem, feedback, founded, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, fund, Fundraising, George Frideric Handel, Giuseppe Verdi, Hamel Music Center, Handel, Haydn, inauspicious, instiotution, issue, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, kill, kill off, lectures, link, long-lived, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mariana Farah, mass, Mead Witter School of Music, member, memorable, Mendelssohn, mission, money, Mozart, Music, new, news, number, offer, opinion, opportunity, Orchestra, outreach, partnership, performances, phone, player, project, protest, public, reaction, Requiem, resolve, resources, reverse, Schubert, serve, share, soprano, Student, support, Susan C. Cook, suspicious, symphony, tag, taxpayers, tenor, time, timing, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, vacation, venerable, Verdi, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, workshop, YouTube
A changing Earth demands changing music to mark Earth Day
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.
By Jacob Stockinger
Today — Saturday, April 22 — is Earth Day 2023.
It is the 53rd annual celebration of the environment that was started on this date in 1970 by the former Wisconsin governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson (below bottom).
As the website “Self-Help Africa” says: “Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to highlight environmental issues across the planet and demonstrate support for environmental protection.
“First held in the United States on April 22, 1970, it has since become THE BIGGEST SECULAR CELEBRATION OBSERVATION DAY IN THE WORLD, and an opportunity to highlight the issues and environmental challenges affecting our world.”
Here is the official Earth Day website: https://www.earthday.org/
Music has always been part of how the world celebrates the event.
But lately the trend in music seems to parallel the trends in the global warming crisis and species extinctions.
So, for example, in British composer Debbie Wiseman’s “Carnival of the Endangered Animals” in 2022 is meant to parallel but update the famous “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Other titles of works by contemporary composers that reflect current realities about the natural world are: “The Lost Birds” by American composer Christopher Tin (below top); “Mass for the Endangered” by American composer Sarah Kirkland Snider (below middle); “The Rising Sea” Symphony by British composer Kieran Brunt; and “Glaciers in Extinction” by Italian flutist and composer Roberto Fabbriciani (below bottom).
You can hear these and other contemporary works plus a more familiar and traditional musical celebration of the Earth and nature by Beethoven. Just go this site for Colorado Public Radio:
Do you have a favorite among the new pieces?
Is there other music you think is appropriate to celebrate Earth Day and the natural world as they exist today?
What composers and pieces do you suggest listening to?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #HealthCrisis, #YouTubevideo, Africa, America, American, animals, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, birds, blog, Britain, Brunt, Camille Saint-Saëns, Carnival, Carnival of the Animals, celebrate, celebration, Cello, Chamber music, change, changing, China, Chinese, choral music, Christopher Tin, Classical music, climate change, Colorado, Colorado Public Radio, composer, Concert, contemporary composers, contemporary music, CPR, crisis, Debbie Wiseman, Earth, Earth Day, endangered, England, environment, environmental, event, extinction, Facebook, favorite, flute, flutist, France, French, Gaylord Nelson, glacier, global warming, governor, habitat, hear, issue, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Kieran Brunt, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, mass, Music, National Public Radio, natural world, nature, NPR, opera, Orchestra, Piano, piece, planet, protection, public radio, Radio, realities, reality, rising sea level, Roberto Fabbriciani, Sarah Kirkland Snider, sea, secular, Self-Help Africa, senator, share, species, support, symphony, tag, The Ear, traditional, U.K., U.S., UK, United States, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Middleton Community Orchestra performs the second of four FREE outdoor summer concerts at Firemen’s Park this Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
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
This Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Firemen’s Park, the mostly amateur but critically acclaimed Middleton Community Orchestra (MCO) will give the second of its FREE four summer outdoors concerts.
Besides the fact that the day is Father’s Day holiday, weather predictions also call for a good chance of rain or even thunderstorms.
Updates on whether the concert will take place, be cancelled or postponed to a later date, can be found by checking the MCO’s website at 10 a.m.: https://middletoncommunityorchestra.org
Meanwhile, here are the programs, conductors and soloists for the remaining three concerts. All concerts take place in Firemen’s Park in Middleton close to Middleton High School:
CONCERT – SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (revised program)
Sergei Pavlov (below), conductor and professor at Edgewood College
George Walker – “Lyric for Strings”
Ralph Vaughan Williams – “Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis” (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom)
Giacomo Puccini – Lauretta’s aria from “Gianni Schicchi”; Mimi’s aria in Act 3 and Musetta’s aria in Act 2 from “La Boheme” with soprano Yanzel Rivera (below).
Selections from the Pixar movie COCO (piano and strings)
CONCERT – SUNDAY, JULY 25, 11:30 – a.m.-1 p.m.
Chris Ramaekers (below), conductor and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky – “March Slav”
Carl Maria von Weber — Clarinet Concerto No. 2 with soloist and Madison Symphony Orchestra principal clarinetist JJ Koh (below)
Tchaikovsky — Symphony No. 2 “Little Russian”
CONCERT 4 – SUNDAY, AUG. 15, 11:30-1 p.m.
Sergei Pavlov, conductor
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist and UW-Madison graduate Thomas Kasdorf (below)
Tags: #AgnusDei, #AlbumCover, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarlMariavonWeber, #ChoralMusic, #ChristopherRamaekers, #ClarinetConcerto, #Cocomovie, #CreoleMass, #CriticalAcclaim, #EdgewoodCollege, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FantasiaonaThemeofThomasTallis, #FantasyonaThemebyThomasTallis, #Father'sDay, #FilmMusic, #Firemen'sPark, #GeorgeWalker, #GiacomoPuccini, #JacobStockinger, #JJKoh, #JohannesBrahms, #LaBoheme, #LittleRussian", #LyricforStrings, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarchSlav, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MissaCriolla, #MovieScore, #MusicCritic, #Musicfaculty, #OperaMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoConcerto, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RomanCatholic, #RomanCatholicism, #SacredMusic, #SergeiPavlov, #SopranoSinger, #SouthAmerica, #SouthAmerican, #SpanishLanguage, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ThomasKasdorf, #ThomasTallis, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #VocalMusic, #YanzelRivera, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, Agnus Dei, amateur, aria, arias, arrangement, Arts, audience, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Brahms, cancel, Carl Maria von Weber, Catholicism, chance, channel, check, choral msuic, Christian, Christianity, Christopher Ramaekers, clarinet, clarinet concerto, clarinetist, Classical music, Coco, composer, Concert, concerto, concerts, conductor, Creole, Creole Mass, critic, critical acclaim, date, Early music, Edgewood College, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fact, Fantasia, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, fathers day, film, film music, Firemen's Park, forward, free, George Walker, Giacomo Puccini, graduate, Holiday, Jacob Stockinger, JJ Koh, Johannes Brahms, Kasdorf, Koh, La bohème, like, link, Little Russian, lyric, Lyric for Strings, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, march, March Slav, mass, MCO, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton High School, Missa Criolla, movie, movie score, Music, music critic, music faculty, opera, opera musiuc, Orchestra, outdoors, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Pixar, post, posting, postpone, prediction, principal, professor, programs, Puccini, rain, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ramaekers, remaining, Roman Catholic, Russia, sacred music, Sergei Pavlov, share, singer, Slav, soloist, soprano, South America, South American, Spain, Spanish, string music, strings, summer, Sunday, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, The Ear, Thomas Kasdorf, Thomas Tallis, thunderstorms, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin–Madison, update, UW, UW-Madison, vaughan williams, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Walker, weather, Weber, Website, Wisconsin, Yanzel Rivera, YouTube, YouTube video
Classical music: Here is music that asks for and then grants the peace we need now
2 Comments
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
Is The Ear alone in being reminded of the year 1968 and its various social, political and personal upheavals?
What explains it?
What are the parallels, if any?
Is it the national and international protests against police injustice and racism (below, in a photo by Getty Images)?
Is it the violence and riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and opposition to the Vietnam War?
Is it the isolation and deaths (below, in a photo by ABC News) brought about by the coronavirus pandemic and the more than 100,000 deaths in just the U.S. from COVID-19?
Whatever you think and whether you agree or not, we all can use some peace.
Here is some music that both asks for peace and grants it.
It is the “Dona Nobis Pacem” (Grant Us Peace) from the “Mass in B Minor” by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed in the YouTube video below by Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus with soloists.
If there are other pieces of classical music that serve that same purpose and you would like to hear, leave your suggestion in the comment section.
Tags: #ABCNews, #BaroqueMusic, #BlackLivesMatter, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BMinorMass, #ChoralMusic, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GeorgeFloyd, #GettyImages, #GrantUsPeace, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #MartinLutherKing, #RobertShaw, #SocialDistance, #SocialDistancing, #TheEar, #VietnamWar, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, 1968, ABC News, agree, Arts, assassination, Atlanta Symphony, Bach, Baroque music, big, black, Black Lives Matter, blog, choral music, chorus, Classical music, composer, conduct, conductor, coronavirus, death, destructive, Early music, Facebook, forward, George Floyd, Getty Images, Grant Us Peace, injustice, international, isolation, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, justice, like, link, Martin Luther King, mass, Mass in B Minor, MLK, Music, national, news, Orchestra, pandemic, parallels, peace, personal, photo, police, political, post, posting, protest, remind, riot, Robert Shaw, share, social, tag, Television, The Ear, think, TV, United States, upheaval, Vietnam War, violent, vocal music, war, YouTube
Classical music: The prize-winning critic Alex Ross grieves to Brahms. What composer and piece would you choose to mourn the tragedies of the past week?
6 Comments
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
This past week feels like a week that deserves mass grieving.
Of course, there was the life-changing, historic landmark of surpassing, in only a few months, more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
There were the spikes in new COVID-19 cases and deaths following the opening up from lockdowns and the mass gatherings over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, such as the party at the Lake of the Ozarks (below) in Missouri.
Then there was the tragic, racist death — an alleged murder — of George Floyd by the police and the ensuing rioting, violence and additional death in Minneapolis as well as the seven shootings among protesters in Louisville.
And depending of your political point of view, there were the incidents of White House threats against social media, especially Twitter, for simply telling the truth or at least directing viewers to it.
So what can one say about these sad events and sad times with music?
Well, not too long ago Alex Ross (below), the prize-winning and internationally respected music critic for The New Yorker magazine, wrote an engaging and moving essay about why he finds Brahms to be the perfect composer for grieving and mourning.
He mentions other composers as possibilities, including Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
But Ross still finds Brahms more suited for several reasons. He even cites a favorite performance of a Brahms short, late Intermezzo by the Romanian pianist Radu Lupu. (You can hear that performance in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Here is a link: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/grieving-with-brahms
What composers – and what pieces or performances – do you find best for grieving? For marking loss?
Read the essay, listen to the music.
Then let us know in the comment section what music – perhaps Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings? – that you would want to listen to during sad occasions.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AdagioforStrings, #AlexRoss, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ClassicalRecording, #COVID-19, #DonaldJ.Trump, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LakeoftheOzarks, #LouisvilleKentucky, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MassGathering, #MemorialDay, #MinneapolisMinnesota, #MusicCritic, #NewYorkCity, #OpeningUp, #PianoMusic, #PoliceOfficers, #PresidentDonaldTrump, #PresidentTrump, #Prize-Winning, #PublicHealth, #RaduLupu, #SamuelBarber, #SocialMedia, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheNewYorker, #TheNewYorkerMagazine, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #WhiteHouse, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, Adagio for Strings, Alex Ross, alleged, American, Arts, audience, Bach, Barber, Beethoven, blog, Brahms, Chamber music, Classical music, comment, composer, Concert, coronavirus, critic, death, engaging, essay, event, Facebook, favorite, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, gathering, grief, grieve, grieving, Haydn, historic landmark, History, Holiday, intermezzo, internationally, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, lake, Lake of the Ozarks, landmark, late, life-changing, like, link, listen, lockdown, loss, Louisville, Ludwig van Beethoven, magazine, mass, mass gathering, Memorial Day, Minneapolis, mourning, moving, Mozart, murder, Music, music critic, New York City, New Yorker, occasion, opening up, Orchestra, Ozark, pandemic, party, past, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, piano music, police, post, posting, President, protester, Public health, racist, Radu Lupu, reason, recording, respect, riot, sad, sadness, Samuel Barber, Schubert, share, shooting, shootings, simple, simply, social media, spike, string, strings, surpass, tag, tell, The Ear, The White House, threat, tragedy, Tragic, Trump, truth, Twitter, U.S., United States, violence, Website, week, weekend, White House, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: What will the fall concert season will look like? And what will the post-pandemic concert world be like?
3 Comments
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
This past week, The Ear listened to and read a lot of news about COVID-19 and the arts.
And it got him thinking: What will happen this fall with the new concert season? And even later, what will a post-pandemic concert world look like? (Below is the Madison Symphony Orchestra in a photo by Peter Rodgers.)
As you may have heard, the Tanglewood Festival, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has been canceled this year. So too has the Ravinia Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Locally, American Players Theatre in Spring Green also just canceled its summer season.
So far, the summer season seems to be one big cancellation for the performing arts.
True, there are some exceptions.
The Token Creek Chamber Music Festival has yet to announce its plans for August.
One also has to wonder if crowds of up to 20,000 will feel safe enough to attend the Concerts on the Square (below), now postponed until late July and August, by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra?
Will people still want to attend the postponed Handel Aria Competition on Aug. 21 in Collins Recital Hall at the UW-Madison’s new Hamel Music Center, assuming the hall is open?
Fall events seem increasingly in question.
Last night on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that sports events and concerts will be among the last mass gatherings to take place safely, probably not until next spring or summer or even later, depending on when a vaccine becomes available.
Some public health experts also offer dire predictions about how easing up lockdown restrictions too soon might lead to an even worse second wave of the coronavirus virus pandemic this autumn and winter, despite all the happy talk and blame-shifting by Team Trump.
So, what do you think will happen beyond summer?
The Ear wonders what the fallout will be from so many music groups and opera companies turning to free online performances by solo artists, symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles.
Will season-opening concerts be canceled or postponed? What should they be? Will you go if they are held?
Will at-home listening and viewing become more popular than before?
Will the advances that were made in using streaming and online technology (below) during the lockdown be incorporated by local groups — the UW-Madison especially comes to mind — or expected by audiences?
In short, what will concert life be like post-pandemic and especially until a vaccine is widely available and a large part of the population feels safe, especially the older at-risk audiences that attend classical music events?
Will larger groups such as symphony orchestras follow the example of the downsized Berlin Philharmonic (below, in a photo from a review by The New York Times) and play to an empty hall with a much smaller group of players, and then stream it?
Will some free streaming sites move to requiring payment as they become more popular?
Live concerts will always remain special. But will subscriptions sales decline because audiences have become more used to free online performances at home?
Will most fall concerts be canceled? Both on stage and in the audience, it seems pretty hard to maintain social distancing (below is a full concert by the Madison Symphony Orchestra). Does that mean the health of both performers – especially orchestras and choral groups – and audiences will be put in jeopardy? Will the threat of illness keep audiences away?
Even when it becomes safe to attend mass gatherings, will ticket prices fall to lure back listeners?
Will programs feature more familiar and reassuring repertoire to potential audiences who have gone for months without attending live concerts?
Will expenses be kept down and budgets cut so that less money is lost in case of cancellation? Will chamber music be more popular? (Below is the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet during its suspended Beethoven cycle.)
Will fewer players be used to hold down labor costs?
Will imported and expensive guest artists be booked less frequently so that cancellations are less complicated to do?
Will many guest artists, like much of the public, refrain from flying until it is safer and more flights are available? Will they back out of concerts?
Will all these changes leave more concert programs to be canceled or at least changed?
There are so many possibilities.
Maybe you can think of more.
And maybe you have answers, preferences or at least intuitions about some the questions asked above?
What do you think will happen during the fall and after the pandemic?
What do you intend to do?
Please leave word, with any pertinent music or news link, in the comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #60Minutes, #AirTravel, #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #BeethovenStringQuartets, #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonSymphony, #BudgetCuts, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #ChoralMusic, #CollinsRecitalHall, #ConcertHall, #ConcertSeason, #ConcertsontheSquare, #COVID-19, #DonaldJ.Trump, #DonaldTrump, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FederalReserve, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GuestArtist, #HamelMusicCenter, #HandelAriaCompetition, #HappyTalk, #HighTechnology, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #JeromePowell, #LaborCosts, #LastNight, #LiveMusic, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MassGathering, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicReview, #NewYorkTimes, #PerformingArts, #PresidentDonaldTrump, #PresidentTrump, #ProArteQuartet, #PublicHealth, #RaviniaFestival, #SecondWave, #shelter-at-home, #SixtyMinutes, #SocialDistance, #SocialDistancing, #SpringGreen, #Stayathome, #StringQuartet, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TanglewoodFestival, #TheEar, #TokenCreekChamberMusicFestival, #TokenCreekFestival, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubevideo, 60 Minutes, air travel, American Players Theatre, answer, aria, artists, Arts, at home, at-risk, attend, audience, August, Autumn, Beethoven, Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, blame, blog, Book, Boston Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, budget, budget cuts, cancel, cancellation, CBS, CBS-TV, chairman, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, choral music, Classical music, Collins Recital Hall, comment, Competition, complicated, composer, Concert, concert hall, concert season, Concerts on the Square, coronavirus, cost, costs, do, Donald J. Trump, downsize, empty, ensemble, event, expense, expensive, Facebook, fall, fallout, familiar, Federal Reserve, flight, fly, forward, free, George Frideric Handel, guest artist, Hamel Music Center, Handel, Handel Aria Competition, happy talk, happy', Health, Home, illness, imported, intend, intuition, Jacob Stockinger, jeopardy, Jerome Powell, July, labor, labor costs, large, last night, like, link, listener, live music, lockdown, Ludwig van Beethoven, lure, Madison, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mass, mass gathering, Mead Witter School of Music, MSO, Music, music review, new, New York Times, news, older, online, opera, Orchestra, pandemic, PAQ, part, past, payment, performer, Performing arts, pertinent, photo, Piano, players, popular, population, post, posting, postpone, postponement, preference, President Trump, price, pro arte hamel, Pro Arte Quartet, Public health, question, Ravinia Festival, read, reassuring, relevant, repertoire, repertory, require, restrictions, safe, safely, Season, second wave, section, share, shift, site, Sixty Minutes, social distance, social distancing, solo, Sports, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, stage, sting quartet, stream, streaming, subscriber, subscription, summer, suspend, symphony, tag, talk, Tanglewood Festival, team, technology, Television, The Ear, think, threat, ticket, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, Trump, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, Violin, vocal music, Website, week, winter, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wonder, world, YouTube
Classical music: Home or concert hall? Will older listeners follow new CDC guidelines about the coronavirus to stay home and avoid attending concerts? What will performers and presenters do in response?
17 Comments
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
Late yesterday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidelines for behavior during the outbreak of the coronavirus and COVID-19.
The CDC is asking all adults over 60, especially those with compromised immune systems and serious underlying illnesses and conditions, to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid attending events with big crowds. (Below is a sample of a full house at the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Overture Hall.)
Here is the full story — which also mentions other kinds of mass events such as movie theaters, mall shopping, sports events and religious services — from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/health/coronavirus-older-people-social-distancing/index.html
Moreover, the new guidelines apply nationwide — including here in Wisconsin where only one case has been confirmed and is now healthy– during the increasingly widespread, worldwide outbreak of confirmed cases and deaths.
The Ear wonders if the new advice will hit classical music especially hard because so much of the audience for it is made up of older people who are more vulnerable.
Will the guidelines affect your own attendance at concerts, even tonight and this weekend at the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Union Theater?
Will a lack of attendance and a more severe outbreak lead to empty concert halls and the cancellation of concerts? Refunds for seniors?
Will the guidelines lead to alternative ways of “attending” and hearing, such as live-streaming and other virtual attendance?
Pretty soon we should start hearing from music presenters and performers about their reactions, solutions and advice.
Meanwhile, here is a news story from The New York Times about what one string quartet did in Venice, Italy: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/arts/music/arts-coronavirus.html
Are you an older or vulnerable person?
Will you go to concerts or stay home?
What do you think presenters and performers should do to deal with the situation?
Please leave word about your plans and your thoughts.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BigCrowd, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentersforDiseaseControl, #ChamberMusic, #CNNNews, #ConcertHall, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FullHouse, #HomeWebsite, #ImmuneSystem, #JacobStockinger, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MallShopping, #MovieTheaters, #NewsUpdate, #ReligiousServices, #SeniorCitizen, #SocialDistance, #SportsEvents, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VeniceItaly, #WisconsinUnionTheater, 60, adult, advice, advisory, alert, alternative, America, American, Arts, ask, audience, Beethoven, behavior, blog, cancel, cancellation, case, cases, CDC, Centers for Disease Control, Chamber music, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, CNN, compromised, Concert, concert hall, condition, confirm, confirmed, coronavirus, crowd, death, distance, empty, Facebook, forward, full house, games, guidelines, hearing, hit, Home, home website, idea, ill, illness, immune, immune system, isolate, isolation, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, know, large, like, live-stream, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mall, mall shopping, mass, movie theaters, Music, nationwide, new, New York City, news, online, opera, Orchestra, outbreak, Overture Center, performer, performers, plans, post, posting, presenter, prevention, quarantine, reaction, refund, Religion, religious services, senior, senior citizen, share, Shopping, sick, social, social distance, solution, Sports, spread, stay, story, String quartet, symphony, tag, The Ear, The New York Times, The U.S., theater, theatre, think, tonight, underlying, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Venice, virtual, virus, vulnerable, way, Website, weekend, widespread, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, word, worldwide, yesterday
Recent Comments
 | Brian Jefferies on Classical music: A major reass… |
 | welltemperedear on What made Beethoven sick and… |
 | rlhess5d5b7e5dff on What made Beethoven sick and… |
| welltemperedear on Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200… |
 | Robert Graebner on Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 
NPR names relevant classical albums in a musical Diary of the Plague Year of the pandemic, racial protests, wildfires and hurricanes
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
For an unusual and difficult year, NPR (National Public Radio) and critic Tom Huizenga have found a new and unusual way to recommend this past year’s top classical music recordings.
On the “Deceptive Cadence” blog for NPR, Huizenga kept a personal month-by-month diary of “music and mayhem.”
For last February, for example, this ancient image of The Dance of Death inspired contemporary composer Thomas Adès to compose his own “Totentanz” or Dance of Death. (You can hear an excerpt from the work in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Some of the thematically-related music is modern or contemporary, some of it is from the Baroque or Classical era.
In June, as protests against the death of George Floyd (below top) flared up and spread worldwide, NPR names a recording of the “Negro Folk Symphony” by African-American composers William Dawson and Ulysses Kay (below bottom), thereby helping to rediscover Black composers whose works have been overlooked and neglected in the concert hall and the recording studio.
Devastating wildfires on the West Coast, Presidential impeachment and hurricanes on the Gulf Coast also found their way into the choices of music to listen to.
It is an unusual approach, but The Ear thinks it works.
See and hear for yourself by going to the sonic diary and listening to the samples provided.
Here is a link to the NPR album diary: https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2020/12/21/947149286/music-and-mayhem-a-diary-of-classical-albums-for-a-troubled-2020
But many roads, if not all, lead to Rome, as they say.
What is also interesting is that a number of the NPR choices overlap with ones listed by music critics of The New York Times as the 25 best classical albums of 2020.
Some choices also are found on the list of the nominations for the Grammy Awards that will be given out at the end of January.
In other words, the NPR diary can also serve as yet another holiday gift guide if you have gift cards or money to buy some new and notable CDs, and are looking for recommendations.
Here is a link to the Times’ choices, which you can also find with commentary and a local angle, in yesterday’s blog post: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/arts/music/best-classical-music.html
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/12/27/the-new-york-times-names-the-top-25-classical-recordings-of-2020-and-includes-sample-tracks/
And here is a list to the Grammy nominations: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/for-holiday-shopping-and-gift-giving-here-are-the-classical-music-nominations-for-the-63rd-grammy-awards-in-2021/
What do you think of the NPR musical diary of the plague year?
Do you find it informative? Accurate? Interesting? Useful?
Would you have different choices of music to express the traumatic events of the past year?
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Tags: #AbrahamLincoln, #African-AmericanComposer, #AlvinCole, #AmericanClassics, #AnnaClyne, #BaroqueMusic, #BerlinerBarockSolisten, #BerlinGermany, #BertrandChamayou, #Blackcomposers, #BlackMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BritishComposer, #BryceDessner, #C.E.P.Bach, #CarlPhilippEmanuelBach, #CarnegieHall, #CelloConcerto, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianReligion, #ClariceJensen, #Classicalera, #ConcertHall, #ContemporaryMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DanceofDeath, #DavidLang, #DeceptiveCadence, #DonaldNally, #DonaldTrump, #DriftMutiply, #ElectronicMusic, #EnslavedPeople, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FemaleComposer, #FerruccioBusoni, #FredericChopin, #FrenchMusician, #GeorgeFloyd, #GoodNight, #GrammyAward, #GrammyNominations, #GulfCoast, #HolidayGiftGuide, #HumanVoice, #iIanoConcerto, #InbalSegev, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JonasKaufmann, #JustConstellations, #KirillGerstein, #LeopoldStokowski, #LeosJanacek, #LithuanianNationalSymphony, #LiveMusic, #LondonEngland, #LondonPhilharmonic, #MarinAlsop, #MassProtests, #MichaelHarrison, #MusicCritic, #MusicCritics, #NationalPublicRadio, #NaxosRecords, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NewYorkTimes, #OlegBezborodko, #OperaMusiclibretto, #OrchestralMusic, #PaulMoravec, #PhiladelphiaPennsylvania, #PianoConcertino, #PoliceShooting, #PoliticallyRelevant, #PresidentTrump, #ProtectYourselfFromInfection, #RacialJustice, #RecordedMusic, #RecordingStudio, #RoomfulofTeeth, #SanctuaryRoad, #SarahKirklandSnider, #SocialJustice, #SociallyRelevant, #SocialMedia, #SystemicRacism, #TenorSinger, #TheCrossing, #TheEar, #TheodoreRoosevelt, #ThomasAdès, #TomHuizenga, #TristanPerich, #UkrainianComposer, #UndergroundRailroad, #UnitedKingdom, #UnitedStates, #ValentinSilvestrov, #VikingurOlafsson, #VocalMusic, #WestCoast, #WilliamDawson, #WilliamGrantStill, #YouTubevideo, 2020, 2021, Abraham Lincoln, Adès, African American, Album, Alsop, Alvin Cole, American, American Classics, ancient, angle, anicent, Anna Clyne, April, Arts, audience, August, award, Bach, Baroque, Baroque music, beauty, behvaior, Berlin, Berliner Barock Solisten, Bertrand Chamayou, best, black, black music, blog, bond, British, British composer, Bryce Dessner, Busoni, C.P.E. Bach, cadence, California, call, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Carnegie Hall, Catholic, cautionary, cellist, Cello, Cello Concerto, Chamber music, Child, Choir, Chopin, choral music, Christ, Christian religion, Christianity, Clarice Jensen, Classical era, Classical music, classicalmusic, Clyne, comfort, commentary, compelling, composer, Concert, concert hall, concerto, conductor, confrontation, Constellation, contemporary, coronavirus, dance, Dance of Death, David Lang, Davidsen, deals]new, death, December, Deceptive Cadence, diary, difficult, Donald Nally, Donald Trump, Drift Multiply, Early music, electronic, email, enslaved, enslaved people, ephemeral, escape, excerpt, Facebook, faith, fatal, fauna, February, Feburary, female, female composer, Ferruccio Busoni, flared, flora, folk, forward, fragility, France, Frédéric Chopin, freedom, French, George Floyd, Gerstein, gift, gift card, God, good night, Grammy, Gulf Coast, harmonie, Harrison, Holiday, holiday gift, holiday gift guide, hope, horrifying, human, human voice, Hurricane, image, impreachment, Inbal Segev, infection, inspire, Jacob Stockinger, Janacek, January, Jensen, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jonas Kaufmann, June, Just Constellations, Kaufmann, Kirill Gerstein, l, Leopold Stokowski, Leos Janacek, life, like, Lincoln, link, Lise Davidsen, listen, Lithuania, Lithuanian National Symphony, live concert, live music, Living composer, living composers, local, London, London Philharmonic, lullaby, Marin Alsop, Masonic, mass, mayhem, me, mesmerizing, Michael Harrison, money, Moravec, Mother, motorcycle, Music, music critic, National Public Radio, nature, Naxos, Naxos Records, Negro, nerves, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, nocturnal, nocturne, nominations, November, NPR, October, Olafsson, Oleg Bezborodko, opera, oratorio, Orchestra, orchestral, pandemic, Paul Moravec, People, Perich, personal, Philadelphia, Pianist, Piano, Piano Concertino, planet, poetic, police shooting, Politics, positive, post, posting, precise, precision, President, President Trump, programming, protect, Protect Yourself From Infection, protest, race, racial justice, racism, rally, reality, recorded music, recording, recording studio, rediscover, relevant, Religion, repetition, response, Revelation, rising, Roomful of Teeth, sanctuary, Sanctuary Road, Sarah Kirkland Snider, September, share, signature, Silvestrov, sing, singer, smart, smooth, social justice, social media, solitude, sonic, sorrow, soundtrack, spread, statues, studio, sweet, symphony, systemic racism, tag, tangy, tenor, terminal, test, texture, The Crossing, The Ear, thematic, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Ades, thrill, times, Tom Huizenga, top, Totentanz, traditional, traumatic, trial, Tristan Perich, troubled, U.K., Ukraine, Ukrainian, Ukrainian composer, Ulysses Kay, Underground Railroad, unite, United Kingdom, United States, unusual, Valentin Silvestrov, Vikingur Olafsson, Violin, violinist, vocal music, voice, west coast, wildfire, William Dawson, William Grant Still, Wisconsin, witty, woman, work, worldwide, year, yesterday, YouTube