The Well-Tempered Ear
Music con Brio starts an annual Black Composers project with a FREE virtual concert
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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 announcement from Carol Carlson, the co-founder and Executive Director of the Madison-based Music con Brio (below), who is a violinist and holds a doctorate in music from the UW-Madison:
Hello friends,
Happy summer! I hope you are able to enjoy some rest, relaxation and fun in the sun.
I am emailing you because Music con Brio embarked on an exciting new project this year, and I want to share it with you.
In an effort to diversify our repertoire and guest artists, we have launched our new “Music by Black Composers” project. Last winter, our staff chose four pieces of music by Black composers and made student-accessible arrangements of them.
We then taught these new pieces during our online lessons this spring. On May 8, we gathered together outside at the Goodman Community Center, with four phenomenal local Black guest artists, to professionally record all four pieces.
And now, in lieu of our regular Community Concert Series this year, we are thrilled to present our first-ever Virtual Community Concert!
Click on the link to YouTube video at the bottom to watch and hear the 12-minute performance. Once there, click on Show More to see the composers, pieces and performers.
We are incredibly proud of our students and staff for all their hard work making this so successful. I’m sure you will enjoy their performance!
Please do feel free to pass the video along to anyone else you think might be interested in watching it.
And if you feel so inclined, we would really appreciate a donation in support of this work, which we plan to do every year from now on. To support Music con Brio and our Black Composers project by making a secure, tax-deductible donation, go to: https://www.musicconbrio.org/donate/
Thank you so much for your support! We hope to see you at a live concert again sometime soon!
If you wish to know more about Music con Brio, go to: https://www.musicconbrio.org
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Classical music: This Friday night, the Wisconsin Union Theater presents a world-class Spanish string quartet and will also announce the special concerts to mark its centennial anniversary next season
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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.
By Jacob Stockinger
Think of it as a two-fer, and then some, at the Wisconsin Union Theater this Friday night, March 1.
The main event is the Madison debut of a world-class string quartet from Spain.
The other event is the announcement of the schedule for the Concert Series’ 2019-2020 season — the series’ 100th season.
The first event is the concert by Cuarteto Casals (below) at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall.
Prices for the event are: the general public, $25-40; for Union members, $25-36; for UW faculty and staff members, $25-38; for young people, $20; and for UW-Madison students, $10. Tickets can be bought online, by phone at 608-265-ARTS (2787) or in person. See locations and hours here.
The program includes the String Quartet in C Major “The Bird,” Op. 33, No. 3, by Franz Joseph Haydn; the String Quartet No. 3 by Bela Bartok; selections from the Fantasies for String Quartet by Henry Purcell; and the String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10, by Claude Debussy. (You can hear the Cuarteto Casals play a movement of a different Haydn string quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Cuarteto Casals was founded in 1997 at the Escuela Reina Sofia in Madrid. They are named after great 20th-century Catalan cellist Pau (Pablo) Casals (below). Members of the quartet are Vera Martinez Mehner and Abel Tomas, violins; Jonathan Brown, viola; and Arnau Tomas, cello.
The group achieved international recognition after winning First Prizes at the London and Brahms-Hamburg competitions. After receiving the prestigious Burletti-Buitoni Trust award designed to assist young musicians, the quartet acquired a matching set of Baroque and Classical period bows, used to distinguish between musical styles.
The year 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the quartet, and also the start of a commemorative project: a six-concert series of the complete Beethoven quartets, accompanied by six commissioned works from great composers since the 17th century.
The quartet was selected as ambassadors of Catalan culture by the Generalitat of Catalunya, and accompanies the King of Spain on diplomatic visits.
It is the quartet-in-residence at the Spanish Royal Palace through 2020 and the quartet-in-residence at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Carol Carlson (below) will offer a free pre-concert lecture at 6 p.m. Carol holds both Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from the UW-Madison.
Carlson dedicates herself to music education as co-founder, co-director and teacher of Music con Brio, a non-profit organization that provides affordable violin lessons and equipment for students at Emerson Elementary School in Madison. Music con Brio (below, in a photo by Scott Maurer) will perform on the stage of Shannon Hall from 7 to 7:20 p.m.
This program was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. The media sponsor is WORT 89.9 FM.
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Classical music education: Music con Brio gives a FREE concert this Thursday night with a world premiere and the acclaimed percussion group Clocks in Motion. Plus, two guitarists give a FREE recital on Friday at noon.
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, to be held from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meeting House of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, features guitarists Jaime Guiscafre (below) and Christopher Murray in music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Moreno, Paul Hindemith, Fernando Sor, Toru Takemitsu and Heitor Villa-Lobos.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following word from Music con Brio, a local group that specializes in music education:
Greetings!
You are cordially invited to a concert featuring Music con Brio (below top) and the acclaimed Madison-based percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion this Thursday, April 23, at 6 p.m. in Music Hall (below bottom) 925 Bascom Mall, Madison WI 53606 — NOT the Humanities building) on the UW-Madison campus at the foot of Bascom Hill.
We are proud to present the world premiere of “Illusions” by Madison composer Brad Fowler, which was commissioned specifically for this concert.
The concert is FREE and UNTICKETED.
However, parking on the UW-Madison campus can be a challenge. The UW-Madison website offers the following information: “The closest public parking to Music Hall is the Helen C. White Parking Garage at the end of Park Street. You may also want to check the Memorial Union Lot or the Lake Street Ramp. Please plan accordingly as parking can be challenging in this area. There is no free parking anywhere close to Music Hall as all of the lots surrounding the building are controlled 24/7. You can follow this link to check out the real-time parking availability in the Helen C White Garage.” http://transportation.wisc.edu/parking/lotinfo_occupancy.aspx
For more information about the various groups here are links:
For Music con Brio (below):
For Clocks in Motion (below):
http://clocksinmotionpercussion.com
For Sound Cloud samples of works by Brad Fowler (below):
https://soundcloud.com/composer-brad
Tags: Arts, Bach, Baroque, Brad Fowler, Brazil, Chamber music, Classical music, Clocks in Motion, composer, Fernando Sor, Frank Lloyd Wright, guitar, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison, Music con Brio, Music education, Paul Hindemith, percussion, Toru Takemitsu, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Wisconsin
Classical music education: This Thursday, Music con Brio will hold its first-ever “Summer Shindig” to raise money to support music education for diverse and economically disadvantaged young people. Plus, check in on the last day of WYSO’s tour in Argentina.
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ALERT: The Youth Orchestra under University of Wisconsin-Madison conductor James Smith (below), of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO), just concluded its 10-day tour to Argentina. Here is a link to the live blog where you can catch on up all the entries and events, including a final word from WYSO executive director Bridget Fraser:
By Jacob Stockinger
Normally, The Ear doesn’t post about fundraisers. There are just too many of them given by too many groups.
But certain kinds of fundraiser stand out as special, especially since The Ear considers money spent on music education the best possible investment one can make for both the future of musical performance and music appreciation by audiences.
So I have invited Music con Brio to submit a post. Think of it as “A friend writes” column from the New Yorker magazine.
Here it is, with photos by Scott Maurer, as written by Carol Carlson, who holds a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music and who is a co-founder and co-director of Music con Brio (Music with Force)
“In summer, the song sings itself.” From American poet William Carlos Williams
What a beautiful time it is in Madison right now! The flowers, the birds, the Dane County Farmers’ Market in full bloom –- it’s enough to make anyone hum a little tune with a spring in their step. And what better place to enjoy all that the Madison summer has to offer than the beautiful Capitol Square?
You are cordially invited to Music con Brio’s first-ever Summer Shindig on Thursday, August 7 from 6-8 p.m., generously hosted by the Boardman Law Firm, 1 South Pinckney Street, in downtown Madison on the Capitol Square.
Music con Brio, Inc. is committed to offering high quality music lessons at an affordable graduated tuition schedule to a diverse mix of Madison area students, forming an inclusive, supportive community to build students’ self-esteem and pride in their talents. (A sample of Music con Brio’s music-making from a 2013 appearance at Emerson Elementary School can be heard in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Music con Brio’s first-ever Summer Shindig will be held on this Thursday, August 7, from 6 to 8 pm, generously hosted by the Boardman Law Firm. The Pecatonica String Quartet (below) will be performing, as well as Music con Brio’s own Eagle Feather Fiddlers and advanced violin group. The Shindig will feature goodies by Barriques and artisan brews by Mobcraft Beer.
For a suggested donation of $10 per person or $20 per family, you can:
– Check out the fantastic view of the Capitol from Boardman’s beautiful balcony terrace.
– Enjoy Barrique’s goodies and Mobcraft beer.
– Bid on the fabulous silent auction filled with awesome, local arts-related items.
– Meet current Music con Brio students.
And you can do all this while listening to the beautiful music of the Pecatonica String Quartet, featuring Music con Brio’s own Carol Carlson and Amber Dolphin.
Check out more event details and RSVP here.
Donations of items for the silent auction are greatly appreciated -– if you have something you’d like to contribute, please email info@musicconbrio.org to let us know.
Music con Brio, Inc. is committed to offering high-quality music lessons at an affordable graduated tuition schedule to a diverse mix of Madison area students, forming an inclusive, supportive community to build students’ self-esteem and pride in their talents.
Now beginning its fourth year, the organization serves almost 100 students in 1st-9th grade, representing 10 different Madison schools. In addition to lessons in violin, cello, piano and percussion, Music con Brio presents an annual Community Concert Series around Madison in collaboration with local bands such as The Handphibians, Yid Vicious, and The Big Payback.
Contemporary percussion group Clocks in Motion (below), an affiliate ensemble with the UW-Madison School of Music, will be in residency with Music con Brio during 2014-15, which will include performing with Music con Brio on the Community Concert Series.
The Pecatonica String Quartet was founded in 2008 by young, vibrant musicians in the Madison area. The name of the group comes from a quaint, twisting stream in southwest Wisconsin, the Pecatonica River. The PSQ plays frequently around southern Wisconsin at weddings, private parties, schools, and in concert. Their performance for Music con Brio will include all types of music, ranging from arrangements of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concertos to contemporary rock. The quartet is happy to take requests as well.
For more information visit www.musicconbrio.org or write to carol@musicconbrio.org
Thank you so much for your support of Music con Brio!
Carol Carlson
Tags: Argentina, Arts, Bach, Brio, Chamber music, Classical music, Con Brio, contemporary music, disadvantaged, diversity, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison, Music, Music con Brio, Music education, New Music, New Yorker, Orchestra, Pecatonica River, Pecatonica String Quartet, percussion, public schools, Rock, rock music, self-esteem, String quartet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, William Carlos Williams, Wisconsin, WYSO, Yid Vicious, YouTube
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