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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement from the board of directors of the always imaginative Fresco Opera Theatre of Madison:
“Fresco Opera is trying to stay alive in the world of the global coronavirus pandemic. So many organizations are going to social media platforms with live streaming.
“We have found that audiences have become numb to this. So Fresco Opera has decided to change the game.
“Our artistic director has created a “geo-caching” opera — similar to a treasure hunt –where the patron goes on an interactive adventure to discover hidden spots in our city. It is accompanied with a recorded story and arias.
“Fresco Opera is pleased to present “Aria Hunt” – an interactive opera experience that will allow you to enjoy beautiful music, while you join in the experience.
“Beginning this Friday, Aug. 28, participants can explore and seek out seven “hidden” locations in the Madison area, which we have paired up with an operatic aria.
“Once you find a location, you will listen to an aria, which will be available on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.
“Fresco will provide clues to seek out each of the locations. In addition, a story will accompany you on your quest.
“You are the opera!
“To add to the excitement, we want you to take a “selfie” at each of the locations, to be posted on our social media sites. You will then be eligible for a reward!
“All locations must be discovered to qualify.
“Aria Hunt is the perfect way to end this summer on quite literally a high note! The hunt will run from this Friday, Aug. 28, through Sunday, Sept. 27.
“Here are details and the cast (below) of the Aria Hunt:
“Music Streaming Release Date: August 28th
“Per-Person tickets (or donations) are $8 and are available at www.frescoopera.com
“Singers are: Erin Bryan; Melanie Cain; Diana Eiler; Rachel Eve Holmes; Cat Richmond; Emily Triebold and Thomas Weis
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.
ALERT: The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will be suspending the remainder of its spring season until further notice. Music director Kyle Knox and executive director Bridget Fraser says they are hopeful that an adjusted end-of-year schedule might be possible. Many ideas are under consideration. But they say they have no idea at this point what might be possible given the restrictions currently in place at the UW-Madison. “All we can do is explore possible scenarios and be ready to react if the restrictions are lifted,” they add.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note from Rich Samuels (below), a retired Chicago reporter and broadcaster who is often seen at concerts with microphones and a laptop computer. His public service is especially commendable and useful during the current coronavirus pandemic when almost all live concerts in music-rich Madison have been canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future.
Jake:
WORT (89.9 FM and at wortfm.org) will shortly start to air recordings of past public performances by Madison area classical musicians within its regularly scheduled classical music broadcasts.
This should help keep our local musician friends in the public ear even though their local venues have been shuttered and their gigs canceled.
I’ve had the good fortune to record hundreds of hours of local performances since 2012. I’m now editing them into segments that can be inserted into the shows of WORT’s classical music hosts.
The first segment to air, if all goes well, will be part of the “Musica Antiqua” early music program, hosted by Carol Moseson, this Sunday, March 22, from 8 to 11 a.m.
It will feature Eric Miller on viola da gamba and Daniel Sullivan on harpsichord performing a suite by French Baroque composer Louis Couperin. I recorded the concert (below) last Oct. 11 in the Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society of Madison (FUS).
Other such segments will follow on the weekday classical music shows that air from 5 to 8 a.m. We are still working on the details.
Additionally, I’ll be pre-recording three-hour broadcasts that can be run in place of the regularly scheduled classical music shows, assuming the host, for whatever reason, is unable to make it to the station.
These will hopefully include complete concert performances from the FUS Friday Noon Musicale, Grace Presents (in the YouTube video at the bottom) and Willy Street Chamber Players (below) series.
I gave up my own Thursday morning WORT show about a year ago after my wife developed some health issues. But I’ve continued to record local musicians whenever possible. (My wife, by the way, is presently in good shape).
Hopefully, this WORT effort will benefit both local musicians and their audiences. (Below is Samuels recording at Bach Around the Clock, which has been canceled this year.)
Please join The Ear in thanking Rich Samuels and WORT for their service to the community by leaving word in the Comment section.
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: Starting this Sunday, radio station WORT-FM 89.9 will air recordings that Rich Samuels made of many live performances in the Madison area
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.
ALERT: The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will be suspending the remainder of its spring season until further notice. Music director Kyle Knox and executive director Bridget Fraser says they are hopeful that an adjusted end-of-year schedule might be possible. Many ideas are under consideration. But they say they have no idea at this point what might be possible given the restrictions currently in place at the UW-Madison. “All we can do is explore possible scenarios and be ready to react if the restrictions are lifted,” they add.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note from Rich Samuels (below), a retired Chicago reporter and broadcaster who is often seen at concerts with microphones and a laptop computer. His public service is especially commendable and useful during the current coronavirus pandemic when almost all live concerts in music-rich Madison have been canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future.
Jake:
WORT (89.9 FM and at wortfm.org) will shortly start to air recordings of past public performances by Madison area classical musicians within its regularly scheduled classical music broadcasts.
This should help keep our local musician friends in the public ear even though their local venues have been shuttered and their gigs canceled.
I’ve had the good fortune to record hundreds of hours of local performances since 2012. I’m now editing them into segments that can be inserted into the shows of WORT’s classical music hosts.
The first segment to air, if all goes well, will be part of the “Musica Antiqua” early music program, hosted by Carol Moseson, this Sunday, March 22, from 8 to 11 a.m.
It will feature Eric Miller on viola da gamba and Daniel Sullivan on harpsichord performing a suite by French Baroque composer Louis Couperin. I recorded the concert (below) last Oct. 11 in the Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society of Madison (FUS).
Other such segments will follow on the weekday classical music shows that air from 5 to 8 a.m. We are still working on the details.
Additionally, I’ll be pre-recording three-hour broadcasts that can be run in place of the regularly scheduled classical music shows, assuming the host, for whatever reason, is unable to make it to the station.
These will hopefully include complete concert performances from the FUS Friday Noon Musicale, Grace Presents (in the YouTube video at the bottom) and Willy Street Chamber Players (below) series.
I gave up my own Thursday morning WORT show about a year ago after my wife developed some health issues. But I’ve continued to record local musicians whenever possible. (My wife, by the way, is presently in good shape).
Hopefully, this WORT effort will benefit both local musicians and their audiences. (Below is Samuels recording at Bach Around the Clock, which has been canceled this year.)
Please join The Ear in thanking Rich Samuels and WORT for their service to the community by leaving word in the Comment section.
What do you think of his project?
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