The Well-Tempered Ear
Just Bach concludes its season this Wednesday morning with highlights of the past season
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post about this season’s final Just Bach online concert this Wednesday:
Greetings from Just Bach!
We hope this finds you all well, enjoying the spring, and ready to experience more of the timeless beauty of Bach’s music.
Our May concert features musical highlights from this extraordinary past season.
The complete program listing is below. It is organized in two parts, corresponding to the two semesters.
Indoor singing was risky during the pandemic, so the bulk of our programming was instrumental, with strings and keyboard for the most part (below in a photo by Barry Lewis).
The Sinfonia from the Christmas Oratorio was recorded at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Waukesha, because of the Dane County Emergency Order prohibiting indoor gatherings in November and December during the pandemic.
We were back at Luther Memorial Church for the January concert, and by April we were able to include woodwinds (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis)
You can view the May concert here, starting at 8 a.m. this Wednesday, May 19, and then staying available indefinitely: https://justbach.org/concerts/
Please join us for a half-hour live Zoom post-concert reception on Wednesday night, May 19, at 7 p.m. Chat with the performers by following the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85144014343?pwd=RmVURXBBU1hMcloyalJhbUdCQ1NmQT09
Viewing the concerts is FREE, but we ask those who are able, to help us pay our musicians by making a tax-deductible donation at: https://justbach.org/donate
Just Bach will take a break for the summer, and concerts will resume in September.
Here is the May program:
• Welcome
Part I – Fall Semester
• Cantata 146: Sinfonia
• Violin Sonata, BWV 1001: movement 4 Presto
• Double Violin Concerto: movement 3 Allegro (in the YouTube video, with an animated graphic, at the bottom)
• Christmas Oratorio, Part II: Sinfonia
• Christmas Oratorio: Chorale “Ich steh’ an deiner Krippen hier” (I stand here by your crib)
Part II – Spring Semester
• Cantata 35: Sinfonia
• Trio Sonata, BWV 526: movement 2 Largo
• Violin Sonata, BWV 1019: movement 5 Allegro
• Flute Sonata BWV 1034: movement 1 Adagio ma non tanto
• Cantata 42: Sinfonia
• Cantata 149: Chorale “Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein” (O Lord, let your dear little angel)
Performers are: Kangwon Kim, Christine Hauptly Annin, Leanne League, Xavier Pleindoux, Nathan Giglierano and Aaron Yarmel, violin; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; Charlie Rasmussen and Lindsey Crabb, cello; Linda Pereksta and Monica Steger, traverse flute; Marc Vallon, bassoon; Grammy-winner Sarah Brailey, soprano; John Chappell Stowe and Jason Moy, harpsichord; Mark Brampton Smith, organ; and Bruce Bengston, organ.
Dave Parminter is the videographer and Barry Lewis is the photographer.
For more information, go to:
youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
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Longtime friends organist Greg Zelek and Madison native and award-winning trumpeter Ansel Norris team up for a FREE live-streamed concert this Tuesday night
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By Jacob Stockinger
Two longtime friends and fellow musicians will team up this Tuesday night, April 27, to close this season’s organ concert series, sponsored in the Overture Center by the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
It will be live-streamed online because of the pandemic restrictions on attendance.
The concert features the critically acclaimed MSO organist Greg Zelek (below left) and Ansel Norris (below right), an award-winning trumpeter who is a native of Madison.
The program includes works by Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn and Samuel Barber among others.
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. CDT. It is FREE but you must register. The concert will be available to registered listeners for unlimited access through May 31.
Here is a link to the MSO website where you can register. It also has more information about the program and biographies of the two performers: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/norris-zelek-2021-streamed/
Here is more background. It appeared in the latest issue of the email newsletter of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO), of which Norris was a member for many years:
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Ansel Norris and Greg Zelek first met in 2010 as high school seniors who had both been selected as finalists in the YoungARTS Awards. The YoungARTS Award is a big competition with just a small percentage of students selected for the $10,000 prize from the thousands of high school applicants. In classical music that year, 12 students became finalists and assembled in Miami for a week of master classes with internationally recognized arts leaders. “You know, there really is a synergy with trumpet and organ. The sounds are produced in a similar way and the way the sounds blend together is really special. Even then, I imagined a concert together.” Ten years later, the two friends were dreaming up this concert when Greg was in Miami in February, 2020. And then the world shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Norris has distinguished himself as a solo, orchestral and chamber musician. As Greg Zelek (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) writes: “Concerti of Bach and Haydn will bookend this program filled with music that is both written and arranged for this electrifying pairing of instruments. Mr. Norris’ remarkable technique and soaring lyricism will be on full display while our Mighty Klais both supports and shimmers in this exhilarating performance you won’t want to miss!” Register here for Tuesday’s concert!
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Just Bach’s FREE concert for April welcomes back woodwinds and will be posted early this Wednesday morning
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following notice from Just Bach about the FREE concert they will post starting at 8 a.m. this Wednesday morning, April 21.
Our April concert program opens with a welcome and overview from our co-director, Grammy-winning soprano and UW-Madison graduate student Sarah Brailey (below, in a photo by Miranda Loud).
And then comes the music: after a season of pieces for strings and keyboards, we’re delighted to welcome woodwinds back to our stage! (Below from left, in a photo by Barry Lewis, are Monica Steger, Linda Pereksta and UW-Madison Professor Marc Vallon.)
The exuberant Sinfonia from Cantata 42 was composed for the first Sunday after Easter, and its jubilant writing is the perfect way to celebrate spring and the expanded musical forces (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) made possible by the vaccine.
Linda Pereksta follows this up with a performance of the Sonata in E Minor for Flute and Keyboard, BWV 1034. Her musical partner is harpsichordist Jason Moy (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis), making his Just Bach debut.
The program closes with our popular chorale sing-along, this time “Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt” (The Lord Is My Faithful Shepherd), BWV 104. (You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Sarah Brailey introduces the text, Andrew Schaeffer plays the music on the organ, and then Sarah and Andrew perform it together. The music and text are displayed on the computer screen, so please join in, if you’d like!
Our concerts are posted on the Just Bach and Luther Memorial YouTube Channels at 8 a.m. on the third Wednesday of every month: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
Concert viewers are invited to a half-hour live Zoom Post-concert Reception is this Wednesday night, April 21, at 7 p.m. Chat with the performers and other audience members, via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85490470546…
Viewing the concerts is free, but we ask those who are able, to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation: https://justbach.org/donate/
The final Just Bach concert of this season launches on Wednesday, May 19.
Performers are: Linda Pereksta, traverso 1; Monica Steger, traverso 2; Marc Vallon, bassoon; Leanne League, violin 1; Aaron Yarmel, violin 2; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; Lindsey Crabb, cello; Jason Moy, harpsichord; Sarah Brailey, soprano; Andrew Schaeffer, organ.
Dave Parminter is the videographer and Barry Lewis is the photographer.
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Today’s Just Bach concert starts the 10-day Bach Around the Clock festival that runs through March 26. All events are free and online. Here are the lineups
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today — Wednesday, March 17 – brings the free monthly Just Bach concert that is online for 30 minutes.
This year that concert will also serve as the opening event of the annual Bach Around the Clock (BATC) festival to celebrate the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Here is a link to the lineup of the Bach Around the Clock events. As of this writing, many of the special morning and evening guests and events are listed. But the daytime programs and performers are listed only for today, tomorrow and the final concert. The Ear understands the rest of the listings will be up by the end of today: https://bachclock.com/concert-schedule
There might be frequent additions, changes and updates, so it is best to check back often.
The Ear has heard that, as usual, the festival will include students, amateurs and professionals; young people and adults; individuals, smaller chamber music ensembles and larger groups; and many well-known and neglected works from many genres.
Those genres include vocal and choral music; keyboard music for clavichord, harpsichord, piano and organ; string music for violin, viola and cello; wind and brass music; and much more.
Daily festival concerts will be posted starting at 8 a.m. Central Daylight Time and evening segments will begin at 7 p.m CDT. All events and concerts will be posted and available during the entire festival.
As for today’s Just Bach concert, here is the announcement from Marika Fischer Hoyt (below), the artistic director of Bach Around the Clock and a co-founder and co-director of Just Bach:
Greetings from Just Bach! We hope this finds you well, and ready to experience more of the timeless beauty of Bach, this month in music for organ and strings.
Our concert TODAY opens with a welcome and program overview from me. We figure when Just Bach and Bach Around The Clock join forces, the Master himself (below, in a cutout, in a photo by Barry Lewis) is summoned.
Today’s program opens with organist Mark Brampton Smith (below) playing two Sinfonias from Cantata 35.
These are arrangements of two dramatic organ concerto movements, and Mark brings off the virtuosic passages with flair, while the strings provide a spirited accompaniment.
Then the strings take center stage – in arrangements for string quartet — bringing a yearning melancholy to the slow Andante movement of Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, BWV 1047, and energy and excitement to Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048.
The program closes with our popular chorale sing-along, “Befiehl du deine Wege” (Commend Your Ways), BWV 271. I will introduce the piece and the text, and my sister, soprano Barbara Fischer, will sing it — with Mark on the organ.
We encourage viewers to sing along by following the chorale sheet music, which will be displayed on the computer screen.
Do you have a question for the performers? Would you like to listen in as they chat about the program? Please join us for a half-hour live Zoom post-concert reception tonight, March 17, at 7 p.m. The link is posted on the Just Bach website: https://justbach.org/concerts/
As regular performers on Luther Memorial Church’s weekly “Music at Midday” concert series, Just Bach presents half-hour programs starting at 8 a.m. on the third Wednesday of each month and then remain posted. Remaining dates this semester: March. 17, April 21, and May 19. Our concerts are posted on the Just Bach and Luther Memorial YouTube Channels: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
Viewing the concerts is free, but we ask those who are able, to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation at: https://justbach.org/donate/
Today’s performers include members of the Madison-based early music group Sonata à Quattro (below in photo by Barry Lewis) and are: Christine Hauptly Annin and Aaron Yarmel, violin; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; Charlie Rasmussen, cello; Mark Brampton Smith, organ; and Barbara Fischer, guest soprano.
Dave Parminter is the videographer and Barry Lewis is the photographer.
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Bach Around the Clock 2021 will incorporate many new aspects – including more audiences and artists of color — into the 10-day free virtual festival that runs March 17-26
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following update about Bach Around the Clock (BATC), the annual March free event to celebrate the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (below). Like last year, the year’s will be virtual and online and spread out over 10 days, from March 17 to March 26.
The BATC 2021 Festival is shaping up brilliantly. We have about 50 participants signed up so far, with musical selections totaling more than eight hours.
As always, it has a nice mix of ages and levels of performers, from young students to seasoned professionals. It also runs from traditional instruments like the violin, viola, cello, oboe, bassoon, piano and organ as well as the human voice to more unusual instruments like the clavichord, 6-string electric bass and a saxophone quartet.
We are so grateful to all the participants who have volunteered to share their talents. (Below is the Webb Trio playing last year from home.)
Last year’s virtual format forms the basis of this year’s festival, but we’ve expanded on that in some very exciting ways.
BATC board member Melanie de Jesus (below) is producing two mini-films aimed at making the festival more accessible to participants. For the tech-challenged among us, the “How to Film Yourself” video will make it easier for musicians to participate virtually.
This film will be available this THURSDAY, Feb. 25, in time to help participants film and submit their performances by the March 5 deadline. Would you like to perform? For information about signing up for slots. Click here to let us know!
Make your own recording or request a time slot at a BATC venue where a professional videographer will create a recording for you to keep. Harpsichord, piano and organ are available.
Melanie’s “Bach for Kids” film will be published during the festival, and will introduce basic musical concepts to the youngest participants. It will culminate in a sing-along, play-along, dance-along performance of some simple Bach tunes, as demonstrated by some (very) young students at the Madison Conservatory, where de Jesus is the director.
Another significant new element of this year’s festival will be our evening Zoom events, including receptions with performers, and guest artists giving special performances, lecture/demos, master classes and panel discussions.
In keeping with this year’s theme of “Building Bridges Through Bach,” we will celebrate and feature musicians and guest artists of color.
We are thrilled to announce Wisconsin Public Radio music host Jonathan Overby (below) as our keynote speaker. Overby’s work to research and demonstrate how music, especially sacred music, serves as a cultural bridge, has taken him all over the planet. His core values are in close alignment with the theme of this year’s festival, and his address will set the tone for the rest of the festival.
The virtual format enables us to bring in guest artists from afar. Lawrence Quinnett (below), on the piano faculty of Livingstone College, a private, historically black college in Salisbury, North Carolina, will perform all six French Suites, and give a brief talk on his approach to ornamentation. (You can hear Quinnett performing French Suite No. 1 by Bach in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Clifton Harrison (below, in photo by Stephen Wright), violist in the Kreutzer String Quartet, in residence at Oxford University in England, will give a master class for interested BATC participants. Information on how to audition for this opportunity will be shared very soon.
We are extremely pleased that Trevor Stephenson (below), artistic director of the Madison Bach Musicians, will give an evening lecture and demonstration on the Goldberg Variations.
Through his performances, interviews and extremely popular pre-concert lectures, Trevor has served as a very important builder of bridges to the music of J.S. Bach in Madison and beyond. It would be hard to overstate the impact of Trevor’s work to make Bach’s music accessible to local audiences of all ages and backgrounds. We’re sure viewers will enjoy this event.
An astonishing new development resulted from BATC’s outreach efforts to local high schools: Steve Kurr (below), orchestra director at Middleton High School and former conductor of the Middleton Community Orchestra, decided to incorporate BATC into his curriculum this semester.
Fifteen of his students will perform for BATC, filmed by four other students, and then the students will all view the performances and write essays about them.
BATC is delighted with this creative initiative, looks forward to receiving the videos from this cohort of students, and hopes to expand on this kind of outreach in future years. Maybe we can include the final essays on our website, if the students agree.
There are a few other ideas still under construction; perhaps a panel discussion with educators, or one with local musical bridge-builders (aka “Angels in our Midst”)?
Please help us keep this festival free and open to all.
Bach Around The Clock is a unique program in our community. It offers everyone the opportunity to share their love of the music of Bach. There is no charge to perform or to listen.
But the festival is not free to produce! BATC provides venues, instruments, videographers, editors, and services for performers and audience.
We need your support!
Click on there link below to donate securely online with a PayPal account or credit card: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=WU7WWBW5LBMQJ
Or you can make a check out to Bach Around The Clock and mail it to: Bach Around The Clock, 2802 Arbor Drive #2, Madison, WI 53704
Bach Around The Clock is a 501(c)(3) organization; your donation is tax-deductible as allowed by the law. Donors will be listed on the acknowledgments page of the BATC website .
For the latest updates, please visit our website, bachclock.org, or our Facebook page, facebook.com/batcmadison.
We hope you will join us.
Marika Fischer Hoyt, Artistic Director, Bach Around The Clock, (608) 233-2646
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Just Bach will release its FREE online concert for this month on this Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 8 a.m. The program features a virtuosic violin and harpsichord sonata and a sing-along cantata chorale
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post from violist Marika Fischer Hoyt of the group Just Bach:
February greetings from Just Bach!
We hope this finds you all well, keeping warm and ready to experience more of the timeless beauty of Bach’s music.
As regular performers on Luther Memorial Church’s weekly “Music at Midday” concert series (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis), Just Bach presents half-hour programs on the third Wednesday of each month. This semester’s dates: Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19.
Our concerts are FREE and online indefinitely once they are released at 8 a.m. They are posted on the Just Bach and Luther Memorial YouTube Channels.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
Concert viewers are invited to a 30-minute live Zoom Post-concert reception on this Wednesday, Feb. 17,at 7:30 p.m. Those who would like to join us and chat with the performers can follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84516271617?pwd=THR5bTFwRkh0VTBIWDlzR2VxSGIrUT09
Viewing the concerts is free, but we ask those who are able, to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation. https://justbach.org/donate/
Our February concert opens with Just Bach co-founder, Grammy-nominated soprano and UW-Madison graduate student Sarah Brailey (below), providing welcoming remarks.
The program offers the sonata for that belongs to a set of six that Bach wrote for violin and harpsichord.
Violinist Kangwon Kim (below left, in a photo by Dave Parminter) and harpsichordist Professor John Chappell Stowe (below right), of the UW-Madison, join forces for a performance of the Sonata No. 6 in G Major, BWV 1019.
This five-movement work includes an extraordinary middle movement for solo keyboard — a jaunty Allegro in E minor that has more attitude than any Allegro has a right to!
Sarah closes the program with the final chorale from Cantata 159, “Jesu, deine Passion ist mir lauter Freude” (Jesus, Your passion is pure joy to me), which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.
We encourage viewers to sing along by following the chorale sheet music, which will be displayed on the computer screen as Sarah sings and Professor Stowe accompanies on the organ.
The videographer is Dave Parminter.
For more information, contact Marika Fischer Hoyt, a co-founder and performer, at the Just Bach Concert Series: justbach.marika@gmail.com
Here are more links, including a preview with the Allegro movement in the last one:
youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ?
Tags: #BachCantata, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ClassicalMusician, #ComputerScreen, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaveParminter, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GrammyAward, #GrammyNominations, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnChappellStowe, #KangwonKim, #LutheranReligion, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicatMidday, #Musicfaculty, #MusicProfessor, #OnlineConcert, #SacredHymnofThanksgiving, #SacredMusic, #SarahBrailey, #SingAlong, #SopranoSinger, #SpringSemester, #TheEar, #TheLord, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, accompany, allegro, Arts, attitude, audience, Bach, Bach cantata, Baroque, Baroque music, beauty, blog, Brailey, BWV, Cantata, Chamber music, choral music, Chorale, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, computer, Concert, concert series, coronavirus, Dave Parminter, display, Early music, email, encourage, experience, extraordinary, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, February, forward, free, Grammy, harpsichord, harpsichordist, help, indefinitely, information, Jacob Stockinger, jaunty, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Chappell Stowe, join]forces, Joy, Just Bach, Kangwoo Kim, Keyboard, Kim, like, link, Lord, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter School of Music, moivement, Music, Music at Midday, music faculty, online, organ, organist, pandemic, Passion, performance, performer, post, posted, posting, professor, pure, ready, remark, sacred, sacred music, Sarah Brailey, screen, semester, share, sing-along, singer, solo, Sonata, soprano, Stowe, tag, The Ear, timeless, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, videographer, viewer, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, virtuosic\monthly, vocal music, wearm, welcome, well, Wisconsin, work, YouTube
This Wednesday, Just Bach debuts its free 30-minute online concert of solo and chamber organ music with a sing-along cantata chorale
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
Happy New Year from Just Bach!
We hope this finds you all well, and ready to experience more of the timeless beauty of music by Johann Sebastian Bach (below, 1685-1750) in 2021, because we have a lovely new program ready to debut on this Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 8 a.m. (It will stay up indefinitely after the premiere, so you can listen to it before or after the Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.)
As regular performers on Luther Memorial Church’s weekly “Music at Midday” concert series, Just Bach presents half-hour programs on the third Wednesday of each month. The spring semester’s dates are: Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19.
Our online concerts — Dave Parminter is the videographer — are posted early Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. on the Just Bach and Luther Memorial YouTube Channels. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
Viewing the virtual concerts is free to the public, but we ask those who are able to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick…
Our January concert opens with Just Bach co-founder and Grammy-nominated soprano Sarah Brailey (below) – a graduate student at the UW-Madison — providing welcoming remarks.
The program offers two trio sonatas from the set of six that Bach composed for solo organ. Bruce Bengston (below) will perform Sonata No. 4 in E Minor, BWV 528, on the big Austin organ up in the church’s balcony.
Then Bruce will switch to the small portative organ and join violinist Kangwon Kim (below top) and violist Marika Fischer Hoyt (below middle) in a performance of Sonata No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 526, arranged for violin, viola and organ continuo (a rehearsal photo is below bottom).
Sarah, who also recorded herself paying a cello part, closes the program with the final chorale from Cantata 149 —Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein (Ah, Lord, let your dear little angel) — a powerfully transcendent movement that Bach also used to close the St. John Passion. (You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
We encourage viewers to sing along by following the chorale sheet music, which will be displayed on the computer screen as Sarah sings and Bruce accompanies on the organ.
The world needs this soul-centering music now more than ever. Please join us this Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Tags: #All-Bach, #AustinOrgan, #BachCantata, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BruceBengtson, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ComputerScreen, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaveParminter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GraduateStudent, #GrammyAward, #HappyNewYear, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #KamalaHarris, #KangwonKim, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicatMidday, #OnlineConcert, #PayPal, #PortativeOrgan, #PresidentBiden, #ProtestantReligion, #SaintJohn, #SarahBrailey, #SheetMusic, #SopranoSinger, #SpringSemester, #St.JohnPassion, #TheEar, #TheInauguration, #TheUW, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #Vice-PresidentHarris, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, 2021, accompany, angel, Arts, audience, Austin, Bach, balcony, Baroque, Baroque music, beauty, Biden, blog, Bruce Bengtson, BWV, Cantata, cellist, Cello, center, Chamber music, choral music, Chorale, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, Classical music, close, co-founder, compose, composer, computer, computer screen, Concert, concert series, continuo, coronavirus, Dave Parminter, debut, display, donate, donation, Early music, ever, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, final, forward, founder, free, graduate student, Grammy, half-hour, Happy New Year, hope, inauguration, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, join, Joseph Biden, Just Bach, Kamala Harris, Kangwon Kim, like, link, Lord, lovely, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheranism, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter School of Music, movement, Music, Music at Midday, need, new, nomination, now, online, open, organ, pandemic, part, Passion, performance, photo, portative organ, post, posting, POTUS, powerful, President, President Biden, program, Protestant, public, ready, rehearsal, Religion, remarks, Saint John, Sarah Brailey, screen, semester, series, share, sheet music, sing, sing-along, singer, solo, Sonata, soprano, soul, Spring, spring semester, St. John Passion, tag, tax-deductible, The Ear, timeless, transcendent, trio sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, vice president, Vice-President Harris, videographer, viewer, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, virus, vocal music, Wednesday, week, weekly, welcome, well, Wisconsin, world, YouTube, YouTube channel, YouTube video
Bach Around the Clock 2021 will be virtual again. It runs March 17-26, and will feature daily performances plus new activities
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post from violist Marika Fischer Hoyt – the founder, participant and artistic director of the annual Bach Around the Clock (BATC). It is one of the most enjoyable events in the area and celebrates the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750, below).
It features performances by student, amateur and professional individuals and groups — local, regional and national. (Performance photos come from last year’s videos, thanks to Rich Samuels, who recorded and edited the WORT-FM radio show devoted to BATC 2020, which you can hear in the impressive 3-hour YouTube video at the bottom. Listen to it in its entirety or skip around.)
The Bach Around the Clock (BATC) Board of Directors is delighted to present the BATC 2021 Festival, a series of online and virtual events designed to make the joy of Bach’s music as widely available as possible.
Our theme this year is Building Bridges with Bach, and we look forward to expanding our activities to reach new performers and new audiences. (Below is pianist Vibhu Akella playing an electric keyboard.)
The 2021 Virtual Festival launches on Wednesday, March 17, with a concert by our Ensemble-In-Residence, Sonata à Quattro (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis). SAQ will present a program recorded in Luther Memorial Church, as part of the monthly Just Bach concert series.
BATC will add a new festival program every day for 10 days, through March 26, with all programs posted FREE on our home website at https://bachclock.com. (Below is the Webb Trio.)
Interested performers should visit the “Contact/Sign Up” page to submit their proposals and ideas.
BATC participants, who are located far and wide, have two options this year: they can pre-record their performances at home or elsewhere and submit them electronically; or they can request to perform in a BATC concert venue with a professional recording crew. (Below is cellist Derick Handley.)
We will provide keyboard players with the use of a concert-level piano, organ and harpsichord in a space roomy enough to safely accommodate small ensembles. (Below is harpsichordist Dan Sullivan.)
The resulting videos will be incorporated into one of the festival day’s free public programs, and will be available to the performers to keep. This option might be particularly attractive for high school seniors, looking to augment their college applications. (Below is clarinetist Brian Gnojek.)
Other new festival initiatives include Bach Chorale sing-alongs; evening Zoom receptions; mini-courses to help participants of all ages take part; and possibly a Guest Artist. More details will be announced closer to the festival.
The BATC Board hopes the 2021 Festival provides an outlet for musicians to share their talent and passion with the warmly appreciative local community.
Live music nourishes the soul of performer and audience member alike, and the transcendent, life-giving joy woven into the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is something we need now more than ever.
Tags: #10Days, #AtHome, #AudienceMember, #BachAroundtheClock, #BachChorale, #BaroqueMusic, #BarryLewis, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoardofDirectors, #BrassMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianaLiberis, #ChristianChurch, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #ElectricKeyboard, #Ensemble-in-residence, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FrenchHorn, #GuestArtist, #HighSchool, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #LiveMusic, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicaAntiqua, #OnlineConcert, #OnlineFestival, #RecordedMusic, #RichSamuels, #SarahBrailey, #SignUp, #SonataaQuattro, #TheEar, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VirtualFestival, #VocalMusic, #WindMusic, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, #ZoomMeeting, 10 days, 2021, accommodate, add, ages, amateur, announcement, annual, application, appreciative, area, around, Artistic director, Arts, at home, attractive, audience, augment, available, Bach, Bach Around the Clock, Bach chorale, Baroque, Barry Lewis, BATC, birthday, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Board of Directors, brass, bridge, building, celebrate, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Chorale, Christian church, Christianity, church, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, closer, college, community, composer, Concert, concert series, concert-level, concerto, contact, coronavirus, courses, crew, daily, days, delight, designed joy, details, Early music, edit, electric, electric keyboard, electronically, elsewhere, enjoyable, enough, evening, event, ever, every day, everyday, expand, Facebook, far, festival, forward, founder, free, group, guest artist, hear, high school, home website, Horn, hour, idea, impressive, incorporate, individual, initiative, interested, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joy, Just Bach, keep, Keyboard, launch, life-giving, like, link, listen, live, live music, local, locate, Luther Memorial Church, march, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter School of Music, member, mini-course, Music, Musica Antiqua, Musician, need, new, nourish, online, option, Orchestra, organ, organist, outlet, page, pandemic, pandemic playlist, participant, Passion, performer, photo, Pianist, Piano, play, playing, pre-record, present, professional, program, proposal, provide, public, reception, record, recorded, recorded music, recording, Rich Samuels, roomy, safely, Sarah Brailey, senior, seniors, share, sign-up, sing-along, skip, Sonata, Sonata à Quattro, soul, space, Student, submit, symphony, tag, talent, The Ear, theme, transcendent, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, venue, Viola, Violin, violist, virtual, virtual festival, vocal music, we, Website, wide, Wind, Wisconsin, WORT, year, YouTube, Zoom
The Madison Symphony Orchestra and Chorus plus guest artists premiere a virtual online Christmas concert this Wednesday night. It runs through Dec. 31. Plus, PBS Wisconsin will rebroadcast the 2018 holiday concert on Sunday, Dec. 20.
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ALERT: Tomorrow — Wednesday, Dec. 16 — Wisconsin Public Radio will mark the 250th birth of Ludwig van Beethoven. The day’s programming is sure to feature many of the composer’s most popular works as well as some neglected ones. Which Beethoven work most moves you? Leave word in the Comment section.
By Jacob Stockinger
This Wednesday night, Dec. 16, at 7:30 p.m., the Madison Symphony Orchestra will premiere its FREE virtual and online holiday concert of “A Madison Symphony Christmas.”
This special new one-hour concert production will feature vocalists Kyle Ketelsen and Emily Secor; the Madison Symphony Chorus; the Madison Youth Choirs; and the Mt. Zion Gospel Ensemble (below), with performances and accompaniment by John DeMain and Greg Zelek on piano and the Overture Concert Organ, respectively.
This concert is offered for FREE upon registration and will be available for viewing through Dec. 31, 2020.
Featured music includes Joy to the World, Peace Carol, O Holy Night, Sleigh Ride, The Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland, Christmas Hope and more — plus the traditional sing-along where you can join the MSO singing to a medley of favorites from your home.
To register and find out more information about the individual and group performers (below), go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-virtual-madison-symphony-christmas-2020/
In addition, you can relive the 2018 Madison Symphony Christmas concert on Sunday, Dec. 20, at 4 p.m. on your local PBS Wisconsin station.
For more information about the one-hour program and performers, go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/a-madison-symphony-christmas-2018-re-broadcast/
Tags: #AtHome, #BeethovenYear, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChristmasCarol, #ChristmasHope, #ChristmasMusic, #CityofMadison, #ConcertProgram, #CoronavirusPandemic, #EmilySecor, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GregZelek, #HolidayConcert, #HolidayMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JohnDeMain, #JoytotheWorld, #KyleKetelsen, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #Mt.ZionGospelEnsemble, #OHolyNight, #OnlineConcert, #OvertureConcertOrgan, #PBSWisconsin, #PeaceCarol, #SleighRide, #TheChristmasSong, #TheEar, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #Wednesdaynight, #WinterChamberSeries, #WinterWonderland, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, accompaniment, Arts, audience, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, birthday, blog, Broadcast, choral music, Christ, Christian, Christmas, Christmas Hope, Classical music, comment, composer, Concert, conductor, coronavirus, Emily Secor, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, favorite, favorites, forward, free, gospel, Greg Zelek, group, holiday concert, holiday music, Home, hour, individual, information, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, John DeMain, Joy to the World, Kyle Ketelsen, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Youth Choirs, medley, move, MSO, Mt. Zion Gospel Ensemble, Music, neglected, O Holy Night, offer, online, organ, organist, Overture Concert Organ, pandemic, PBS, PBS Wisconsin, peace, Peace Carol, performances, performer, Pianist, Piano, popular, post, posting, premiere, production, program, programming, Radio, register, registration, relive, section, share, sing-along, Sleigh Ride, special, stream, streaming, Sunday, symphony, tag, Television, The Christmas Song, The Ear, traditional, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, viewing, virtual, vocal music, Wednesday night, Winter Wonderland, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, word, work, you, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
Does Wisconsin Public Radio play too much harp music?
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PLEASE NOTE: Due to a technical glitch, the following commentary was posted briefly yesterday and then withdrawn. That also disabled the commentary function temporarily. Once the glitch is solved, The Ear will post it again. That means some of you will get it twice. I apologize for any inconvenience. And to the fans who have kindly greeted my return, heartfelt thanks. I will be posting more details about the use and frequency of this blog in the near future.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Can’t help it.
The harp always reminds The Ear of a giant egg slicer.
Still, The Ear loves the sound of the harp — in the right works.
That usually means when it is blended into orchestral works (Brahms, Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Mahler come to mind) and chamber music works (Debussy and Ravel come to mind).
But when it comes to solo harp and harp concertos, no thanks. Barring some Baroque music and Classical works — Handel’s concerti grossi and Mozart’s “Brunch” Concerto for Flute and Harp — he’ll pass for the most part.
So much harp music, both original and arranged, just sounds second-rate or worse. Can anyone name a masterpiece for the solo harp written by a great composer? And I don’t mean Louis Spohr who composed for his harpist wife.
The solo harp repertoire is very small, hence the need for so many transcriptions.
That’s a problem.
The harp tends to make music for other instruments sound so .. so … so pleasant! Even when the original is dramatic, it’s all pluck pluck, twang twang, zing zing. Just listen to the YouTube video at the bottom of J.S. Bach’s mighty Toccata and Fugue in D minor for Organ played on the harp.
So, The Ear asks, why has Wisconsin Public Radio started playing so much harp music on almost every show? (Below is WPR host, accomplished harpist and harp evangelist Ruthanne Bessman, who often includes harp music in her Saturday Morning program “Classics by Request.”)
Is it because the public really loves hearing the harp so much?
Is it because the radio show hosts do?
Do listener surveys indicate a preference for the harp?
Does the covid pandemic play a role in seeking bland but soothing music?
What do you think?
Do you like or even crave harp music?
Do you think WPR is programming too much harp music these days?
Too little?
Or the right amount?
Leave a comment, please.
The Ear wants to hear.
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