The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: UW-Madison’s first countertenor Gerrod Pagenkopf returns to perform on Sunday night as a member of the acclaimed choral group Chanticleer. Here’s how he got from here to there. Part 1 of 2 

September 30, 2019
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ALERT: Madison Symphony Orchestra organist Greg Zelek did not announce his encore after he received a standing ovation at the MSO concert Sunday afternoon. It was the final movement from the Organ Symphony No. 1 by Louis Vierne.

By Jacob Stockinger

This coming Sunday night, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the inaugural  concert in the new Hamel Music Center’s main concert hall, the critically acclaimed a cappella singing group Chanticleer (below) will kick off the centennial anniversary celebration of the Concert Series at the Wisconsin Union Theater.

Tickets are $45 for the public; $40 for faculty staff and Union members; and $10 for students. For more information about the performers and the “Trade Winds” program, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/chanticleer/

Among the 12 members of the San-Francisco-based Chanticleer is Gerrod Pagenkopf, who is in his fifth year with the group as both a countertenor and the assistant music director. (You can hear Pagenkopf singing music by Henry Purcell in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

For a biography of Gerrod Pagenkopf, go to: https://www.chanticleer.org/gerrod-pagenkopf

Pagenkopf (below) is a graduate of the UW-Madison. When he performed here as a student, his high, clear countertenor voice was a new experience and made those of us who heard him sit bolt upright and take notice. “He is going places,” we said to each other. And so he has.

But Pagenkopf’s story is not only about him. It is also about the rediscovery of countertenors, about the changing public acceptance of them, and about the challenges that young musicians often face in establishing a professional performing career. So today and tomorrow, The Ear is offering a longer-than-usual, two-part interview with Pagenkopf.

Here is Part 1:

When were you at the UW-Madison?

I was a student at the UW-Madison from the fall of 1997 until I graduated in May of 2002. Although I received a bachelor’s degree in music education, performing ended up being a huge part of my last few semesters.

Growing up in rural Wisconsin about 30 miles north of Green Bay, I always thought that if you liked music and were good at it, you were supposed to be a teacher. It wasn’t until I was a junior that my voice teacher, the late Ilona Kombrink, and I discovered that I had a viable solo voice. Although I received the music education degree, embarking on a solo career became more important to me.

What did you do and how well did your studies and performances here prepare you for the life of a professional musician?

I was very lucky to have ample opportunities for performing during my time at the UW. Singing in choirs was very important to me. For many years I sang in the Concert Choir under Beverly Taylor (below top) as well as in the Madrigal Singers under Bruce Gladstone (below bottom,, in a photo by Katrin Talbot). I think there was one semester where I sang in just about every auditioned choir.

Beverly Taylor also gave me a lot of solo opportunities in the large-scale works that the Choral Union performed: Bach’s “St. John” and “St. Matthew” Passions, and Handel’s “Israel in Egypt.” For a 23-year-old to have those masterworks, along with the B Minor Mass and “Messiah,” on his resume was very impressive.

I was also lucky enough to perform with University Opera, singing in the chorus at first, but then singing a solo role in Handel’s “Xerxes” my final semester, and then returning as an alumni artist to sing Public Opinion in Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” and several years later Polinesso in Handel’s “Ariodante.” Director Bill Farlow took a lot of chances on my young, “raw” countertenor voice and gave me several opportunities to succeed.

I should also note the importance of the guidance and mentorship of Professor Mimmi Fulmer (below, performing at Frank Loyd Wright’s Hillside Theater at Taliesin in Spring Green) after I graduated from UW. She afforded me the opportunity to sing in recital with her numerous times — usually Brahms and Mendelssohn duets. But she also was a catalyst in bringing me back to Madison several years later to sing with the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble. Our continued relationship is actually the primary reason Chanticleer is singing in Madison this fall.

How do you feel about returning to perform at your alma mater with Chanticleer?

I’m over the moon about it. It still feels like a dream that I’m singing in Chanticleer. To be able to bring a group that I’m so proud to be a part of back to Madison feels like a great personal triumph. And to be the opening performance in the new Hamel Center (below) is such an honor!

Throughout my studies at UW-Madison, I was torn between the solo performance track and the choral career. I managed to straddle both, but my dream was always to make ensemble singing my career. Way back in the early 2000s, I heard Chanticleer sing at Luther Memorial Church, and I thought, “That’s what I want to do!”

I went down several other paths since that concert — mostly in the realm of solo, operatic singing — but it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to say I achieved my dream, and I’m coming back to place where the seed of that dream was planted almost 20 years ago.

Tomorrow: How countertenors re-emerged and were treated, the “Trade Winds” program and Pagenkopf’s future plans


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Music education: The Madison Youth Choirs explore the theme of “Legacy” in three concerts this Saturday and Sunday in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center

May 8, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement to post from the Madison Youth Choirs about their upcoming concerts this weekend:

This spring, Madison Youth Choirs singers are exploring the meaning of “Legacy,” studying works that have endured throughout history, folk traditions that have been passed on, and musical connections that we maintain with those who have come before us. Along the way, we’re discovering how our own choices and examples are leaving a lasting impact on future generations.

In our upcoming concert series in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center, 201 State Street, on this Saturday, May 11, and Sunday, May 12, we’ll present a variety of works. They  include Benjamin Britten’s “The Golden Vanity,” Palestrina’s beloved “Sicut Cervus,” Sweet Honey in the Rock’s “Wanting Memories,” the final chorus of Handel’s oratorio Samson, American and Scottish folk songs, and Zoe Mulford’s powerful modern folk piece, “The President Sang Amazing Grace.”

The concert will also pay tribute to our alumni, with selections featured on the very first Madison Boychoir album, and past Cantabile singers invited to join us on stage for “Sisters, Now Our Meeting is Over.”

At the Saturday concert, MYC will present the 2019 Carrel Pray Music Educator of the Year award to Diana Popowycz (below), co-founder of Suzuki Strings of Madison.

DETAILS ABOUT “LEGACY” MYC’S SPRING CONCERT SERIES

Saturday
7:30 p.m. Purcell, Britten, Holst and Ragazzi (boychoirs)

Sunday
3:30 p.m. Choraliers, Con Gioia, Capriccio, Cantilena and Cantabile (girlchoirs)

7:30 p.m. Cantilena, Cantabile and Ragazzi (high school ensembles)

THREE WAYS TO PURCHASE TICKETS:

  1. In person at the Overture Center Box Office (lowest cost)
  2. Online (https://www.overture.org/events/legacy)
  3. By phone (608-258-4141)

Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for students. Children under 7 are free, but a ticket is still required and can be requested at the Overture Center Box Office. Seating is General Admission.

This concert is supported by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, the Green Bay Packers Foundation, the Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation and Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, charitable arm of The Capital Times, and the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation. This project is also made possible by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with additional funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT 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, 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.

REPERTOIRE

SATURDAY

For the 7:30 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Boychoirs)

Britten

“The Golden Vanity,” by Benjamin Britten (to our knowledge, this will be the first time the work has ever been performed in Madison)

Purcell

“Simple Gifts” by Joseph Brackett, arr. Aaron Copland

“Tallis Canon” by Thomas Tallis

“Sound the Trumpet” from Come Ye Sons of Art by Henry Purcell

Britten   

“Ich jauchze, ich lache” by Johann Sebastian Bach

Holst

“Hallelujah, Amen” from Judas Maccabeus by George Frideric Handel

“Sed diabolus” by Hildegard von Bingen

“Bar’bry Allen” Traditional ballad, arr. Joshua Shank

“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon

Ragazzi

“Let Your Voice Be Heard” by Abraham Adzenyah

“Sicut Cervus” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

“Agincourt Carol,” Anonymous, ca. 15th century

Ragazzi & Holst

“The President Sang Amazing Grace” by Zoe Mulford, arr. Randal Swiggum

Holst

“Shosholoza,” Traditional song from Zimbabwe

Combined Boychoirs

“Will Ye No Come Back Again?” Traditional Scottish, arr. Randal Swiggum

Legacy Choirs

“Day is Done” by Peter Yarrow, arr. Randal Swiggum

SUNDAY

For the 3:30 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Girlchoirs)

Choraliers

“Music Alone Shall Live,” Traditional German canon

“Ut Queant Laxis,” Plainsong chant, text attributed to Paolo Diacono

“This Little Light of Mine” by Harry Dixon Loes, arr. Ken Berg

“A Great Big Sea,” Newfoundland folk song, arr. Lori-Anne Dolloff

Con Gioia

“Seligkeit” by Franz Schubert

“Blue Skies” by Irving Berlin, arr. Roger Emerson

“When I am Laid in Earth” from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell

“Pokare Kare Ana” by Paraire Tomoana

“Ah, comme c’est chose belle” Anonymous, 14th century

“Hope” by Marjan Helms, poem by Emily Dickinson

Capriccio

“Non Nobis Domine,” attributed to William Byrd

“Ich Folge Dir Gleichfalls” from St. John Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach

“Dirait-on” by Morten Lauridsen

Cantilena

“Aure Volanti” by Francesca Caccini

“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon

Cantabile

“Come All You Fair and Pretty Ladies” Traditional Ozark song, adapted by Mike Ross

“Wanting Memories” by Ysaye M. Barnwell

Legacy Choir

“Music in My Mother’s House” by Stuart Stotts

For the 7:30 p.m. concert (featuring High School Ensembles)

Cantilena

“Aure Volanti” by Francesca Caccini

“Una Sañosa Porfía by Juan del Encina

“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon

“O Virtus Sapientiae” by Hildegard von Bingen

Ragazzi

“Sicut Cervus” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

“Agincourt Carol,” Anonymous, ca. 15th century

“Let Your Voice Be Heard” by Abraham Adzenyah

“The President Sang Amazing Grace” by Zoe Mulford, arr. Randal Swiggum

Cantabile

“In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles” by Roger Bourland

“Sed Diabolus” by Hildegard von Bingen

“Come All You Fair and Pretty Ladies” Traditional Ozark song, adapted by Mike Ross

“Wanting Memories” by Ysaye M. Barnwell

Combined Choirs

“Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite” by George Frideric Handel

 Cantabile and Alumnae

“Sisters, Now Our Meeting is Over,” Traditional Quaker meeting song


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