The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music education: Watch it on public television, hear it on public radio, stream it live or see it in person – “The Final Forte” teenage finalists’ FREE concert with the Madison Symphony Orchestra is this Wednesday night at 7

By Jacob Stockinger

This Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, four teenage finalists will perform the final round of the Bolz Young Artist Competition in a free live concert with the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO).

It will be broadcast live on Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) and Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), and available via live streaming on wpt.org, at 7 p.m.

The public can also reserve FREE tickets to attend the concert in person.

The Final Forte finalists are selected from a group of young artists who competed in the Bolz Young Artist Competition’s two preliminary rounds.

This year’s Final Forte features (below, in a photo by Amandalynn Jones, from left): violinist Julian Rhee of Brookfield, who will play the first movement of the Violin Concerto in D Major by Peter Tchaikovsky; harpist Naomi Sutherland of Viroqua, who will play the “Sacred and Profane Dances” by Maurice Ravel; pianist Michael Wu of Sun Prairie, who will play the first movement of the Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor by Camille Saint-Saens; and violinist Yaoyao Chen of Menasha, who will play the first movement of the Violin Concerto in D minor by Jean Sibelius.

Each of the finalists will perform with music director John DeMain and the MSO as they complete for top honors and scholarships that will be awarded at the end of the broadcast. WPR’s Lori Skelton and Jim Fleming will co-host the event.

More information, biographies and video profiles (also available on YouTube) for each finalist can be found at: http://madisonsymphony.org/finalforte

To reserve free seats at The Final Forte, call (608) 257-3734 or register online at: http://madisonsymphony.org/finalforte

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a live concert broadcast. All audience members must be seated by 6:45 p.m. in Overture Hall, prior to the start of the concert.

The Final Forte broadcast on WPT and WPR has won numerous honors including an Emmy nomination, and has reached several hundred thousand viewers and listeners in the area Madison and statewide.

REBROADCASTS

“The Final Forte” will be rebroadcast at the following times:

The Wisconsin Channel (WPT-2): Saturday, April 1, at 3:30 p.m.

Wisconsin Public Radio: Sunday, April 2, at noon

Milwaukee Public Television (Channel 36.1): Sunday, April 2, at 1 p.m.

Wisconsin Public Television (WPT-1): Sunday, April 2, at 2 p.m.

BACKGROUND AND SPONSORS

“Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte” is a partnership among the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.

The even is part of WPT’s multiyear Young Performers Initiative, a statewide effort to raise the visibility of the arts, celebrate the creative achievements of Wisconsin’s young people and support the arts in education.

The Bolz Young Artist Competition is made possible by a generous endowment from The Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Foundation.

Major funding for “Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte” is provided by Diane Ballweg, Julie and Larry Midtbo, Fred and Mary Mohs, Stephen Morton, Joe and Maryellyn Sensenbrenner, and The Boldt Company. With additional funds from A. Paul Jones Charitable Trust, James Dahlberg and Elsebet Lund, W. Jerome Frautschi, Ann and Roger Hauck, Elaine and Nicholas Mischler, Kato Perlman, Sentry Insurance Company, The Estate of Norene A. Smith, Paul Guthrie in memory of Ella Guthrie, Judith and Nick Topitzes, and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.