The Well-Tempered Ear
Music education: Madison Youth Choirs perform their Spring Concert series “Seriously Funny” this Sunday
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
“This spring, the Madison Youth Choirs singers (below) are exploring the unexpected ways that elements of humor, from irony and incongruity to improvisation and timing, are reflected in a wide variety of classical and contemporary musical compositions.
“We’re learning that music, like humor, is a kind of language, operating with its own sense of logic, patterns, and conventions that composers can twist to surprise us and take our musical journey to new places.
“As we study the complexity of humor as a mode of creative expression, we are discovering the power of satire, wit, and misdirection to help us reexamine our assumptions, musical and otherwise.
“In our culminating concert series, our singers will present works including “No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel; Timothy Takach’s “I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach; the “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls; and the second movement of Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein.”
The MYC Spring Concerts, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit, and Whimsy” will take place this Sunday afternoon and evening, May 13, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall Stadium.
Performance are: 1:30 p.m. for Girlchoirs; 4 p.m. for Boychoirs; and 7 p.m. for High School Ensembles.
Tickets will be available at the door: $10 for general admission; $5 for students 7-18; and free for children under 7. A separate ticket is required for each performance.
This concert is supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. This project is also supported by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC):
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community.
Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
For further information, go to www.madisonyouthchoirs.org or call (608) 238-7464.
Here is the Repertoire List for MYC 2018 Spring Concert Series, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit and Whimsy”
1:30 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC GIRLCHOIRS)
Choraliers
“Bee! I’m expecting you!” by Emma Lou Diemer
“A Menagerie of Songs” by Carolyn Jennings
Con Gioia
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“The Fate of Gilbert Gim” by Margaret Drynan
“The Cabbage-Tree Hat,” traditional Australian folk song
Capriccio (below)
“Papageno-Papagena Duet” (from The Magic Flute) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Ich jauchze, ich lache” (from BWV 15) by Johann Sebastian Bach
“J’entends le Moulin,” French folk song, arr. Donald Patriquin
Combined Choirs
“Funiculi, Funicula” by Luigi Denza
4 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC BOYCHOIRS)
Combined Boychoirs
“Sumer is icumen in,” Anonymous, 13th century Middle English piece
Purcell Boychoir
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“Modern Major-General” from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan
“Weevily Wheat,” arr. Dan Krunnfusz
Britten Boychoir (below)
“Gloria Tibi” by Leonard Bernstein
“The Plough Boy,” Traditional, arr. Benjamin Britten
Holst Boychoir
“Il est bel et bon” by Pierre Passereau
“Hopkinton” by William Billings
Ragazzi Boychoir
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Rustics and Fishermen,” part V of Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Combined Boychoirs
“Chichester Psalms” II. Adonai ro-i by Leonard Bernstein
7 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING HIGH SCHOOL ENSEMBLES)
Cantilena
“A Girl’s Garden” from Frosting by Randall Thompson
“Love Learns by Laughing” by Thomas Morley
“Turn, Turn, Then Thine Eyes” from The Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell
“My Funny Valentine” from Babes in Arms by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
“Etude 1 pour les cinq doigts d’après Monsieur Czerny” by Claude Debussy
Ragazzi
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Cantabile
“sam was a man” by Vincent Persichetti, text by e.e. cummings
“No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel
“Cruel, You Pull Away Too Soon” by Thomas Morley
“This Sky Falls” by Jocelyn Hagen
“Svatba,” Traditional Bulgarian, arr. H.R. Todorov
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
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