Percussion Ensemble | The Well-Tempered Ear

The Wisconsin Union Theater closes its 2020-21 season with only one online concert this weekend. Sō Percussion on Saturday night has been CANCELED. The Wisconsin Sound all-Beethoven concert with the Pro Arte Quartet will take place at noon on Sunday.

April 30, 2021
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By Jacob Stockinger

Two online concerts this weekend were supposed to close the 2020-21 season at the Wisconsin Union Theater.

On Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., the usual subscriber season was supposed to wind up with an online concert by the Sō Percussion Ensemble with the contemporary Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Caroline Shaw.

That concert has been CANCELED. No reason is listed.

On this Sunday, May 2, at noon CDT, however, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s acclaimed string quartet, the Pro Arte Quartet (below top), will by joined by pianist and UW-Madison graduate Thomas Kasdorf (below bottom) in an all-Beethoven concert.

This will be the last concert of the WUT’s innovative Wisconsin Sounds – they feature local performers– this season.

Here are more details:

PROGRAM and PERFORMERS

The “Beethoven in C Minor” program will feature two works:

String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3 (1797-98). Performers are Sally Chisholm, viola; Parry Karp, cello; and David Perry, violin.

Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 3 (1793-4). Performers are: Suzanne Beia, violin; Parry Karp, cello; and Thomas Kasdorf, piano. You can hear the opening movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.

The Pro Arte Quartet’s performance of early works by the young Beethoven (below) is part of the Wisconsin Sound Series, which showcases and supports local musicians and artists during the coronavirus pandemic.

Learn more about the series.

To learn more about the Pro Arte Quartet, go to the group’s Website or page on Facebook

TICKETS

Tickets cost $15 and are available at the Wisconsin Union Theater box office. You can purchase tickets and also see more information about the program and performers here: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/pro-arte-quartet/

For ticket buyers who purchase a ticket less than two hours before the event start time, the link to view the concert will be in the confirmation email you will receive immediately following your purchase. This link will be accessible for seven days following the initial broadcast.

For all other purchases, all emails will come from https://union.wisc.edu/visit/wisconsin-union-theater/theater-tickets/

If you do not receive your email to your inbox, please check your junk or spam folder in case it was filtered there. If you have questions or problems, the box offices phone number is (608) 265-ARTS (2787).

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Today – Monday, March 22 — is Day 6 of the 2021 online Bach Around the Clock festival. The program features string, keyboard, percussion and vocal music with some interesting transcriptions

March 22, 2021
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By Jacob Stockinger

Yesterday – Sunday, March 21 — was the actual birthday, the 336th, of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).

But the 10-day virtual and online celebration being held by Bach Around the Clock (BATC) continues.

Here are the pieces and performers that will take place.

The Ear is especaially pleased by some of the transcriptions, which offer more proof of just how indestructible and versatile Bach’s music remains.

Particularly interesting is the string quartet version of the famous cantata “Wachet auf” (Sleepers, Wake) and the Three-Part Inventions or Sinfonias transcribed for marimba, and played by Sean Kleve (below), a UW-Madison graduate who performs with the critically acclaimed experimental Madison-based percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion.

Monday’s program is available starting at 8 a.m.

Click here and scroll down to Day 6 to view.

Performers

• Minuet 2 in G Major, Anh 116; Suite in G Minor, BWV 822; Gavotte  from Double Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1043, I. Vivace. Suzuki Strings Sonora Ensemble

• Cantata 140: “Wachet Auf” (Sleeper, Wake), arranged for string quartet. St. Croix Valley String Quartet: Janette Cysewski and Debbie Lanzen, violins; Dianne Wiik, viola; and Joel Anderson, cello.

• French Suite No. 3 in B Minor for keyboard, BWV 814: Sarabande, Anglaise, Menuett and Trio. Kris Sankaran

• Sinfonia 1 in C Major, BWV 787; Sinfonia 7 in E Minor, BWV 793; Sinfonia 10 in G Major, BWV 796; Sinfonia 11 in G Minor, BWV 797; Sinfonia 15 in B Minor, BWV 801. Sean Kleve, marimba. (You can hear Glenn Gould playing the original version of the first Sinfonia in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

• Chorale: We thank Thee, Lord, for sending. Katie Hultman, soprano, and Kenneth Stancer, organ

Live and Recorded Evening Program at 7 p.m.

Click here and scroll down to Day 6 to view.

BATC audiences will remember pianist Lawrence Quinnett (below) from his exquisite renderings of selections from The Well-Tempered Clavier, at the 2018 Festival.

Quinnett, on the piano faculty of Livingstone College, returns in 2021 to give a brief talk on his approach to ornamentation in the six French Suites, as a prelude to his live performance of Suite No. 5. The floor will open for questions, followed by Quinnett’s recorded performance of the remaining five Suites.

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New York Times critics choose 10 online classical music concerts to stream in February, starting this Thursday

February 2, 2021
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By Jacob Stockinger

As they have done for previous months during the coronavirus pandemic, the classical music critics for The New York Times have named their top 10 choices of online concerts to stream in February, which is also Black History Month, starting this Thursday, Feb. 4.

Also predictably, they focus on new music – including a world premiere — new conductors and new composers, although “new” doesn’t necessarily mean young in this context.

For example, the conductor Fabio Luisi (below) is well known to fans of Richard Wagner and the Metropolitan Opera. But he is new to the degree that just last season he became the new conductor of Dallas Symphony Orchestra and its digital concert series.

Similarly, the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg (below top, in a photo by Saara Vuorjoki) and the American composer Caroline Shaw (below bottom, in a photo by Kait Moreno), who has won a Pulitzer Prize, have both developed reputations for reliable originality.

But chances are good that you have not yet heard of the young avant-garde cellist Mariel Roberts (below top) or the conductor Jonathon Heyward (below bottom).

Nor, The Ear suspects, have you probably heard the names and music of composers Angélica Negrón (below top), who uses found sounds and Tyshawn Sorey (below bottom). (You can sample Negrón’s unusual music in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Of course, you will also find offerings by well-known figures such as the Berlin Philharmonic and its Kurt Weill festival; conductor Alan Gilbert; pianists Daniil Trifonov and Steven Osborne; violinist Leonidas Kavakos; and the JACK Quartet.

Tried-and-true composers are also featured, including music by Beethoven, Schnittke, Weber, Ravel and Prokofiev. But where are Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann and Handel? No one seems to like Baroque music.

Here is a link to the events with links and descriptions. All times are Eastern: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/arts/music/classical-music-streaming.html

Do you have other virtual and online concerts to suggest? Please leave details in the Comment sections.

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Classical music: Four Madison Opera singers will collaborate with the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) to perform Winterfest Concerts this Friday night and Saturday afternoon

March 10, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

Each year, over a weekend, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) perform the Diane Ballweg Winterfest Concerts.

But this year a new collaboration will take place.

On this Friday night, March 13, at 7 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, the senior WYSO Youth Orchestra (below) will accompany four singers from the Madison Opera’s Studio Artist program in which they transition to a professional career by singing minor roles and being understudies for leading roles.

Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for youth under 19, and are available in advance through the Campus Ticket Office, and at the venue 30 minutes before the concert.

WYSO says the Friday night concert is close to selling out.

Here are some details: “Now in its eighth year, the Studio Artist Program is an important part of Madison Opera’s artistic and educational mission. The 2019-20 Studio Artists are four singers (below) in the transition between their education and their professional careers.

They are (from left, clockwise): baritone Stephen Hobe; mezzo-soprano Kirsten Larson; tenor Benjamin Hopkins; and soprano Emily Secor. They will sing duets, trios and quartets. There will also be an orchestral overture and a prelude.

WYSO music director Kyle Knox, who is also the associate music director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, will conduct both singers and instrumentalists. (You can hear WYSO members talking about playing and performing in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Says Knox (below): “Young instrumentalists rarely get to accompany soloists and singers. Playing opera in particular is something that tends to come much later in their careers, and for many of them, never at all.”

The program includes excerpts from favorite operas, including: arias by “Nabucco” and “Rigoletto” by Verdi; “La Clemenza di Tito” by Mozart; “The Barber of Seville” and “William Tell” by Rossini; “Lohengrin” by Wagner; “The Elixir of Love” by Donizetti; “Carmen” by Bizet; and “La Boheme” by Puccini. For a complete program with specific titles plus ticket information, go to:

https://www.wysomusic.org/diane-ballweg-winterfest-concerts/

For more detailed information about the Madison Opera Studio Atrists program and its WYSO collaboration, go to:

https://www.wysomusic.org/in-collaboration-with-madison-operas-studio-artists/

SATURDAY

On this Saturday, March 14, in Mills Hall in the Mosse Humanities Building, 455 North Park Street, the following groups will perform. No programs have been posted.

11:30 a.m. — Opus One and Sinfonietta (below)

1:30 p.m. — Harp Ensemble (below) and Concert Orchestra

4:00 p.m. — Percussion Ensemble (below) and Philharmonia Orchestra

The WYSO Winterfest Concert series is funded by: Diane Ballweg, with additional funding from the Wisconsin Arts Board; Dane Arts; Madison Arts Commission; American Girl’s Fund for Children; Eric D. Batterman Memorial Fund; and the Coe and Paul Williams Fund for New Musicians.

The performance in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall was made possible by an additional gift from Martha and Charles Casey. The appearance of the Studio Artists in this program has been underwritten by the Charles and Mary Anderson Charitable Fund, Charles and Martha Casey, and David Flanders and Susan Ecroyd.

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Classical music: On Saturday, concerto competition winners perform with the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO). On Sunday, Edgewood College gives a FREE concert of choral and guitar music

May 3, 2019
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ALERT: This weekend at Edgewood College, the Women’s Choir, Chamber Singers, Guitar Ensemble and Chorale will give FREE concerts. The performances are on Sunday, May 5, at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive.

The concert features the Women’s Choir, directed by Kathleen Otterson; the Chorale and Chamber Singers, both conducted by Sergei Pavlov; and the Guitar Ensemble, directed by Nathan Wysock.

The Women’s Choir will perform works including “One Voice” by Ruth Moody; the Chamber Singers continue with a variety of works, including “Ballad to the Moon” by Daniel Elder. The Guitar Ensemble performs “Walk, Don’t Run,” arranged by Nathan Wysock, and “New Beatles Medley,” arranged by Guitar Ensemble member Dick Stransky. The concert concludes with the Chorale performing works including “Schlof Mayn Fegeleby” by Mikhail Lermontov.

The Women’s Choir and Chamber singers are student ensembles, while the Chorale and Guitar Ensemble have both student and community members.

By Jacob Stockinger

This weekend, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will start presenting the Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Spring Concerts series on Saturday, May 4 and Saturday, May 18 in Mills Concert Hall, 455 North Park Street, in Madison. A schedule of times and groups is below.

Winners of the annual Youth Orchestra (below) and Philharmonia Orchestra Concerto Competitions will perform a concerto with their orchestra.

Youth Orchestra cellist Grace Kim (below), of Waunakee, will perform the Cello Concerto No. 1 by Camille Saint-Saens.

Youth Orchestra violinist Ellen Zhou (below), of Middleton, will perform the Violin Concerto by Felix Mendelssohn.

Philharmonia Orchestra percussionist Anais Griffith-Oh (below), of Madison, will perform the Concertino for Xylophone and Orchestra by Toshiro Mayuzumi.

WYSO orchestras will also perform pieces from Modest Mussorgsky, Lili Boulanger, Jean Sibelius, Antonin Dvorak and more. Visit wysomusic.org to view the concert repertoire and learn more about the WYSO program. You can listen to young participants talk about WYSO in the YouTube video at the bottom.

Tickets for each concert are available at the door 45 minutes prior to each concert, and are $10 for adults and $5 for youth 18 and under.

WYSO students travel from communities throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois during the concert season to rehearse on the UW-Madison campus.

Each orchestra performs three concerts per season, with additional performance opportunities available to students.

Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Spring Concerts

Saturday, May 4, in Mills Hall at 4 p.m. —  Youth Orchestra

Saturday, May 18, in Mills Hall — 1 p.m. Opus One and Sinfonietta; 4 p.m. Harp Ensemble and Concert Orchestra; 7 p.m. Percussion Ensemble and Philharmonia Orchestra

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Classical music: Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras perform the Evelyn Steenbock fall concerts TODAY and next Friday night. The Edgewood Chamber Orchestra performs this Sunday afternoon

November 10, 2018
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ALERT: This Sunday afternoon, Nov. 11, at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive, the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra will give its fall concert. Conducted by Blake Walter, the chamber orchestra will play Franz Joseph Haydn’s “The Word on the Moon” Overture, Arthur Honegger’s Pastorale D’été (Summer Pastoral) and Symphony No. 1 in C minor by Felix Mendelssohn. Tickets are $5 for general admission, free with Edgewood College ID.

By Jacob Stockinger

The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO, below) will present their first concert series of the 2018-19 season, the Evelyn Steenbock Fall Concerts TODAY, Saturday, Nov. 10, and next Friday, Nov. 16.

WYSO orchestras will perform works by Igor Stravinsky, Aram Khachaturian, Soon Hee Newbold and more. The Youth Orchestra concert will include a performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo” Variations with special guest cellist Joseph Johnson.

“Joseph Johnson is an extraordinary artist and person and it will be a treat for us all to hear and collaborate with someone of his stature,” says Youth Orchestra Conductor Kyle Knox (below).

Johnson has been heard throughout the world as a soloist, chamber musician and educator. Principal cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since the 2009-10 season, he previously held the same position with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. (You can hear an interview with Joseph Johnson in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

He also serves as principal cellist of the Santa Fe Opera, and during the 2008-2009 season was acting principal cellist of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his Milwaukee appointment, Johnson was a member of the Minnesota Orchestra cello section for 11 years.

“The Youth Orchestra couldn’t be more excited to present a program of all-Russian music for our first concert of the season,” Knox says. “We will begin with a rarely performed gem by 20th-century composer Igor Stravinsky, followed by one of the great solo works in the cello repertoire, the “Rococo” Variations by Tchaikovsky. Finally, we will finish the evening with the mighty Symphony No. 4 by Tchaikovsky, one of the most famous orchestral works in history, which features all sections of the orchestra.”

TODAY’S concerts begin at 11:30 a.m. in Mills Hall at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, 455 North Park Street, Madison.

The Nov. 16 Youth Orchestra concert with guest soloist Joseph Johnson begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Middleton Performing Arts Center, 2100 Bristol Street, next to Middleton High School, with a reception to follow.

WYSO students travel from communities throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois each weekend throughout the concert season to rehearse on the UW-Madison campus.

Each orchestra performs three concerts per season, with additional performance opportunities available to students, including ensembles and chamber groups.

Concert admission is $10 for adults, and $5 for youth 18 and under, with tickets available at the door.

Full concert repertoire is available at https://www.wysomusic.org/evelyn-steenbock-fall-concerts-repertoire/

To learn more about Joseph Johnson, go to: www.joecello.com.

Evelyn Steenbock Fall Concerts

Saturday, Nov. 10, Mills Concert Hall
11:30 a.m. Opus One and Sinfonietta
1:30 p.m. Harp Ensemble & Concert Orchestra
4 p.m. Percussion Ensemble (below) and Philharmonia Orchestra

Friday, Nov. 16, Middleton Performing Arts Center
7:30 p.m. Youth Orchestra, reception to follow
With guest artist Joseph Johnson, cello

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AntoninDvorak, #AramKhachaturian, #ArthurHonegger, #BlakeWalter, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassSection, #CelloConcerto, #ChamberEnsemble, #ChamberGroup, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusician, #ChamberOrchestra, #ChristianReligion, #ConcertSeries, #EdgewoodCollege, #EvelynSteenbock, #FacebookPost, #FelixMendelssohn, #FolkMusic, #FranciscoTarrega, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzvonSuppe, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GuestArtist, #HarpEnsemble, #HonoluluHawaii, #HonoluluSymphonyOrchestra, #IgorStravinsky, #JesusChrist, #JohannStrauss, #JosephJohnson, #KyleKnox, #LouisGottschalk, #LouisMoreauGottschalk, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MiddletonPerformingArtsCenter, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MillsHall, #MilwaukeeSymphonyOrchestra, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MinnesotaOrchestra, #MusicEducation, #MusicHistory, #NikolaiRimsky-Korsakov, #OrchestralMusic, #PecussionSection, #PercussionEnsemble, #PercussionSection, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PeterWarlock, #PhilharmoniaOrchestra, #PrincipalCellist, #RococoVariations, #RussianMusic, #SaintJoseph, #SantaFeOpera, #SoonHeeNewbold, #SouthernWisconsin, #StringSection, #StudentID, #StudentMusicians, #SymphonicMusic, #TorontoCanada, #TorontoSymphonyOrchestra, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WindSection, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #YouthOrchestra, #YouTubevideo, adult, alert, Antonín Dvořák, Aram Khachaturian, Arthur Honegger, artist, Arts, blog, Blog post, brass section, cellist, Cello, Cello Concerto, Chamber music, chamber musician, chapel, Christian religion, Christianity, Classical music, collaborate, community, composer, Concert, concerto, concerts, conductor, Edgewood Chamber Orchestra, Edgewood College, Edgewood College Chamber Orchestra, educator, Evelyn Steenbock, evening, Facebook, fall, famous, Felix Mendelssohn, Folk music, folk song, folksong, forward, Francisco Tarrega, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz von Suppe, Georg Philipp Telemann, guest artist, harp, Hawaii, History, Honolulu, Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, ILLINOIS, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus Christ, Johann Strauss, Joseph Johnson, Kyle Knox, link, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton, Middleton Performing Arts Center, Mills Hall, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota, Minnesota Orchestra, moon, Music, New Mexico, Newbold, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, opus, Opus number, Orchestra, Overture, pastoral, Percussion Ensemble, percussion section, performer, person, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Peter Warlock, Philharmonia Orchestra, plog posting, principal, reception, Rococo Variations, Russian music, Saint Joseph, Santa Fe, Santa Fe Opera, SantaFeNewMexico, Saturday, section, Sinfonietta, soloist, Soon Hee Newbold, southern Wisconsin, student ID, student musicians, summer, Sunday, symphony, Toronto, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, weekend, wind section, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, word, works, WYSO, WYSO Chamber Music Program, Youth, Youth Orchestra, YouTube

Classical music: Percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion joins UW-Madison ceramic artist in making an MFA installation a “smashing success.”

May 21, 2015
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By Jacob Stockinger

Loyal readers of this blog know very well the name of Mikko Rankin Utevsky. The young violist, baritone and conductor is a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, where he studies with Pro Arte Quartet violist Sally Chisholm, plays in the UW Symphony Orchestra, and sings with the University Opera.

Utevsky, who has won awards and impressive reviews for his work in music education since his days at Madison’s East High School, is the founder and conductor of the Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra (MAYCO — www.MAYCO.org), which will perform its fifth season this summer. He also directs a local community orchestra, The Studio Orchestra (www.disso.org).

You can check out his many honors and projects by typing his name into the search engine on this blog site.

Utevsky offered The Ear a guest preview review of this past weekend’s performance by Clocks in Motion.

I immediately took him up on the offer. After all, he is a fine and perceptive writer who, you may recall, blogged for this post when he was on tour with the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) tour to Vienna, Prague and Budapest.

Here is the review by Mikko Rankin Utevsky (below), who also took the performance photos:

By Mikko Rankin Utevsky

On Sunday, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music graduate percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion performed as part of artist Jeannine Shinoda’s MFA Exhibition “The Collector’s Set” in what can only be described as a smashing success.

Shinoda’s exhibition consisted of a room filled with ceramic plates, cups and dishes suspended from the ceiling by strings (below), which the attendees were invited to cut, sending the dishes crashing to the concrete floor.

The performance took place in an adjacent room, where it was counterpointed by the occasional crunching noise from the exhibition.

The four core members of Clocks (below) played an assortment of bowls, plates, cups, spoons and ceramic-shard wind chimes in a four-movement composition – his Opus 1 — by music director Sean Kleve. Composed as a set of rhythmic patterns and relative pitches before the instruments were chosen, the creatively scored work was orchestrated cooperatively by the ensemble for this eclectic assortment of pottery, played mostly with chopsticks.

It was structured in four movements. I quite enjoyed the lively second one in particular. A slightly eerie third movement made use of threaded metal rods that were scraped along the edges of the instruments to produce a sustained tone, and wind chimes made of broken plates and ceramic spoons (below).

One of the curiosities of the piece was discovering the range of sounds that can be produced from kitchenware — in particular, the gradual acclimation of the ear to the variety of pitches produced. The music seemed to coalesce out of the clatter of dishes and smashing china from the other room, emerging in minimalist rhythmic patterns and creative imitative passages.

All four parts were of equal importance, and each player could be seen taking the lead at various points — a sense of equality that is a hallmark of Clocks performances.

The fourth movement introduced a couple of small gongs, as though signaling that the grand finale was at hand. As the rest of the ensemble played, Dave Alcorn solemnly crossed in front and began the ritualistically choreographed conclusion — slowly and deliberately smashing the instruments.

The other three joined in with equal gravitas, sending plates and cups and bowls alike crashing to the ground. (The performers and audience, seen below, were equipped with protective eyewear for this portion of the work.)

As the last of the instruments were reduced to shattered fragments, the four musicians — straight-faced among stifled laughter from the audience — produced brooms and proceeded to sweep the remains into a single pile in the center of the stage, leaving the rooms silently when finished. They returned moments later to a standing ovation.

Here in his first work, Kleve demonstrates a sophisticated ear for texture and a shrewd understanding of pacing, both key to crafting a musically satisfying work that does not leave the listener feeling that the whole thing was just a setup to the final gambit of breaking dishes — an admitted risk with such a performance piece.

One of the wonderful gifts of Clocks in Motion is its ability to focus the ear on the sounds of “found objects” — whether they are plates or brake drums or cow jawbones — and provide a framework for listening to them as musical.

And, as is so often the case with Clocks in Motion, their strength of commitment and musical integrity is such that the enthusiastic audience is drawn into the fabric of even the most outwardly implausible works — their striking “Percussion is Revolution” program in September 2013 was a powerful example.

It is a testament to Madison’s musical community and to the School of Music percussion program that we continue to host such a remarkable performing ensemble, and this innovative performance is just the latest feather in their collective cap.

A PERSONAL NOTE:

Clocks in Motion will be joining my own ensemble, the Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra (MAYCO) on June 20 to open our fifth season, “Concerto Grosso!” It features the world premiere of UW-Madison graduate composer Jonathan Posthuma’s Concerto Grosso No. 1 in E minor for Percussion, Piano and Strings.

The performance will be at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, and tickets are $7 at the door with students admitted by donation).

The program will also feature UW-Madison Professor and Pro Arte Quartet cellist Parry Karp in Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor; the American premiere of contemporary British composer Cecilia McDowall‘s “Rain, Steam and Speed”; and the Symphony No. 6 in D major (“Le Matin” or Morning) by Joseph Haydn. (You can hear the sound painting that gives the symphony its nickname in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Classical music education: The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras showcase both soloists and ensembles on this Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Plus, a FREE collaborative concert-arts event takes place tonight at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.

May 13, 2014
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ALERT: University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music viola student Sharon Tenhundfeld (below) is the director of the Artist Collective Concert Series. She writes: “You are invited to the FREE DEBUT concert tonight, Tuesday, May 13, at 8 p.m. in DeLuca Forum at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, located at 330 North Orchard Street. This concert series is an opportunity for UW-Madison musicians, dancers, visual artists, and actors to freely explore collaboration across art disciplines and present their collaborative works of art to the public. The concert includes three performance pieces as well as an audience art piece. The three works involve a total of 15 collaborating artists. The concert is free of charge and should be a ton of fun! The program includes: Distance – video art and musicians; Tomato Magic – actress, comics, and musicians; and Mobile – dancers and a string quartet. We look forward to seeing you.”

By Jacob Stockinger

On this Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18, 2014, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will present the annual Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Spring Concerts, the last major event of the current regular concert season. (There are summer events.)

The Bolz Family Spring Concerts will be held in Mills Concert Hall, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the George Mosse Humanities Building, 455 North Park Street, in Madison.

There is not much The Ear can add except that he is almost sure you will be impressed by the skills of these many young people – hundreds of middle school and high school student from dozens of communities around south-central Wisconsin –- especially if you have never heard them before. Just listen to them tackle the massive and iconic Fifth Symphony by modern Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich in the YouTube video at the bottom.

I suspect you, like me, will also be impressed with the size, young age and enthusiasm of the audiences, who cheer when the musicians first come on the stage and never stop. It is as if you are at some kind of sporting event – an atmosphere that the performing arts and various academic events could use a lot more of.

I say: Try it, you’ll like it! And you will be supporting a great cause. Music skills last a lifetime and translate into other careers and endless appreciation and ageless enjoyment.

Tickets are available at the door, $10 for adults and $5 for children under 18 years of age. The family-friendly concerts, informal in atmosphere, generally last about 90 minutes.

Here are programs and performers:

On Saturday, May 17 at 1:30 p.m., WYSO will kick off the concerts with Sinfonietta (below) performing “Oblivion” by Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla; a traditional Chinese tune entitled “The Brilliant Red Shandadan Flowers: and American composer Aaron Copland’s “Grovers Corners.”

The Concert Orchestra (below) will perform “Song of Jupiter” by Baroque master George Frideric Handel; the “Triumphant March from Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique” by Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky; “Vignettes”by Kirk; “Song without Words” by Gustav Holst; and Gavotte in D minor by the Baroque French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully.

At 4 p.m., WYSO’s Philharmonia Orchestra will feature its two concerto competition winners. Davis Wu will play Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor by the American composer Edward MacDowell; and violinist Isabelle Krier will perform Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), Op. 20, for solo violin and orchestra by the Spanish composer Pablo de Sarasate. The Philharmonia Orchestra will then play the fourth movement of the Symphony No. 6, Op. 74, B Minor and the Danse Bacchanale by French composer Camille Saint Saens, and the Caucasian Sketches No. 2, fourth movement by the Russian composer Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov.

On Sunday, May 18, at 1:30 p.m., WYSO will display three of their smaller ensembles: Percussion Ensemble (below top) under the direction of Vicki Jenks; the Brass Choirs under the direction of Dan Brice; and the Harp Ensemble (below bottom) under the direction of Karen Beth Atz.

At 4 p.m., WYSO will welcome its Youth Orchestra, which will feature the four winners of the concerto competition. Violinist Savannah Albrecht (below top) will perform Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saens; marimbist Ephraim Sutherland will perform Concerto for Marimba and Strings by Sejourne.

Pianist Isabella Wu will perform the Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 1, by Sergei Rachmaninoff; and pianist Charlie Collar will perform the Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16, by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

The Youth Orchestra will also perform two additional works it will play on its concert tour to Argentina this summer: Overture to “Candide” by Leonard Bernstein and the Danza final (Malombo) from “Estancia” by the Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera.

For more information about those concerts and about WYSO, including its history, how to support it and how to audition to join it, visit:

http://wyso.music.wisc.edu

Posted in Classical music
Tags: Aaron Copland, Alberto Ginastera, America, Argentina, Arts, Baroque, Bernstein, brass, brass choir, Camille Saint-Saëns, Classical music, concert tour, concerto, Copland, dance, Dmitri Shostakovich, drums, Edvard Grieg, Edward MacDowell, France, George Frideric Handel, George Mosse, Ginastera, Grieg, harp, harp ensemble, high school, Ippolitov-Ivanov, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Leonard Bernstein, Lully, Madison, marimba, Middle school, Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Music, Norway, Orchestra, Pathetique Symphony, percussion, Percussion Ensemble, Philharmonia Orchestra, Piano, Piano concerto, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Russia, Saint-Saens, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, soloist, Spain, String quartet, strings, Sunday, symphony, tour, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Institutes for Dis, WYSO, YouTube

Classical music: Heading into Spring Break, the University of Wisconsin School of Music offers FREE concerts of percussion, vocal music from operas, piano quartets and orchestral music this week.

March 10, 2014
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By Jacob Stockinger

The headlong rush toward the end of the semester at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is about to begin with the Spring Break, which runs from March 15-23. After that is over, about six weeks or so of concerts remain, and the UW-Madison School of Music concert calendar will get even more jammed with conflicts.

So here are the events for this week before the break.

TUESDAY

At 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall, at the foot of Bascom Hill, an Opera Workshop will take place –probably the last one for University Opera to be done by its outgoing director Bill Farlow (below, in a photo by Kathy Esposito), who will retire at the end of the semester.

The event usually features student singers in scenes from famous operas with piano accompaniment. Sorry, no word yet about the specific performers or works on the program. But the programs and performers usually get high marks from local opera fans.

Also on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, guest marimba player Andy Harnsberger (below), will perform a FREE concert.

Harnberger will perform with members of the UW Western Percussion Ensemble (below), though The Ear has not received word of specific works on the program.

Andy Harnsberger (below) has performed as percussionist with numerous American orchestras, as well as the contemporary music ensemble “Currents”, and has toured extensively as percussionist and xylophone soloist with The Jack Daniel’s Silver Cornet Band. He has also made several guest appearances on NPR, both in interviews and in live performances, to bring public awareness to the marimba as a solo instrument.

Harnsberger is Assistant Professor of Music and Percussion Coordinator at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee and is active throughout the year as a freelance percussionist and recitalist. He is in demand as a clinician across the country and internationally, presenting clinics and master classes at many universities each year.

His compositions have been performed at PASIC and around the world and he is a recipient of the ASCAP PLUS award for his contributions to American Concert Music. Harnsberger earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he also received the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. Andy is a performing artist and clinician for Pearl Drums and Adams Musical Instruments, Innovative Percussion, Inc., Evans Drum Heads, Sabian Cymbals, Ltd., and Grover Pro Percussion.

Also on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. but in Morphy Recital Hall, cellist Mark Kosower and his pianist wife Jee-Won Oh (both below) will perform an evening of famous piano quartets: one in G minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (at the bottom you can hear a popular YouTube video the final movement of the Mozart quartet with an intriguing abstract animation or illustration); the other in C Minor by Johannes Brahms.

They will be joined by another wide-and-husband team: UW violin teacher and Madison violinist Eugene Purdue (below top) and Pro Arte Quartet violist Sally Chisholm (below bottom).

Principal Cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra, Kosower will be at the UW School of Music March 10-12. He is on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music, and previously taught at the San Francisco Conservatory. He is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and has performed in Madison on many previous occasions.

Kosower will also offer a cello master class on Wednesday, March 12, in the afternoon. The time and place are yet To Be Announced.

Learn more about Kosower at:

http://www.colbertartists.com/ArtistBio.asp?ID=62

WEDNESDAY

There is an afternoon master class with resident guest cellist Mark Kosower (below). SEE ABOVE.

At 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the UW Chamber Orchestra (below), under director and conductor James Smith, will give a FREE concert.

The program includes the “Lucient” Variations by Milwaukee-born composer Michael Torke; “The Birds” by Ottorino Respighi; and  the Serenade No. 2 by Johannes Brahms.

Classical music: This coming Sunday is busy with lots of live concerts from Con Vivo, Sound Ensemble Wisconsin and Edgewood College as well as Wisconsin Public Radio and the Pro Arte Quartet. Plus, on Saturday afternoon the Percussion Ensemble of Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) performs its annual EXTRAVAGANZA concert.

February 27, 2014
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ALERT: On Saturday at 1 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras’ (WYSO) Percussion Ensemble will perform the 13th annual Percussion ‘EXTRAVAGANZA’ in the UW Humanities Building. Directed by Vicki Peterson Jenks, the WYSO Percussion Ensemble is comprised of 12 talented young percussionists and one bassist from Madison, Middleton, Verona, Viroqua, Mount Horeb, DeForest, and Barneveld. (See the impressive individual profiles in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

WYSO will donate part of proceeds to support the American Red Cross Badger Chapter.

The concert features special guest artist Steve Houghton. A Kenosha, Wis., native, Houghton is an internationally renowned jazz drummer, percussionist, clinician, author and educator who is currently a professor at Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music. Also joining the WYSO Percussion Ensemble in guest appearances will be two WYSO alumni, composer and pianist Jon D. Nelson and bassist Sam Olson – both Sun Prairie natives – the UW World Percussion Ensemble, UW-Madison Professor of Saxophone Les Thimming, and WYSO student flugelhorn player Noah Mennenga.

Tickets for the 2014 WYSO Percussion EXTRAVGANZA! are $10 for adults, $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased at the door beginning one hour prior to the start of the concert. For more information, contact the WYSO office at (608) 263-3320. Parking is available at State Street Campus Ramp, Helen C. White Hall, and Grainger Hall parking facilities. You can also visit:

http://wyso.music.wisc.edu

By Jacob Stockinger

What a close friend and colleague calls “train wrecks” — that is, competing or conflicting events and concerts — just keep on happening.

It is true that choices become more difficult, and more mutually exclusive, as the classical music scene continues to expand in the Madison area.

Take this Sunday, which is normally a pretty quiet day — but NOT this week.

Of course, from 12:30 to 2 p.m., the Pro Arte Quartet (below) will give the second premiere performance of Belgian composer Benoit Mernier’s String Quartet No. 3 on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen.” It will air live from the FREE concert in Brittingham Gallery No. 3 of the Chazen Museum of Art on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

But check out these other events:

CON VIVO

At 2:30 p.m., the ensemble Con Vivo (“Music with Life) continues its 12th season of chamber music with a concert entitled “Germanic Gems” at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue, across from Camp Randall.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and students.

The program includes the First Suite for Solo Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach; a duet for violin and viola by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and the “Fairy Tales” Trio for clarinet, viola and piano by Robert Schumann. The program will also feature the outstanding church organ with duets for violin and organ by Joseph Rheinberger, a solo work for organ by 17th-century composer Johann Reincken, and “Ein Alterblatt” (An Old Page), a romantic piece for violin, viola, cello and organ by Ferdinand Manns.

To round out the afternoon’s offering, Con Vivo will perform a quintet for clarinet, two violas, cello and piano by a mystery composer who will be reveled at the concert!

Audience members are invited to join musicians after the concert for a free reception to discuss this chamber music literature and to hear about their Carnegie Hall debut this past December.

Con Vivo is a professional chamber music ensemble comprised of Madison area musicians assembled from the ranks of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and various other performing groups familiar to Madison audiences.

EDGEWOOD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Also at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra will perform in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive, on Madison’s near west side.

Admission is $5 for the public; free with Edgewood College ID.

The orchestra will perform under the direction of music conductor Blake Walter (below). The program of masterworks includes the Symphony No. 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven; the Orchestral Suite No. 3 by Johann Sebastian Bach; and the Overture to “Abduction from the Seraglio” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Included in the program is a special performance of the Piano Concerto in D Major by Franz Joseph Haydn. It will be performed by the recent Madison Memorial High School alumna Johanna Novich-Leonard (below), winner of the Edgewood College Student Concerto Competition.

SOUND ENSEMBLE WISCONSIN

At 6 p.m., Sound Ensemble Wisconsin (SEW) will be collaborating with Chef Dan Bonanno and poet Katrin Talbot (below in a photo with violinist Mary Theodore on the far right holding a violin bow) for a “delicious” event at A Pig in a Fur Coat restaurant, located at 940 Williamson Street, Madison, WI, 53703. Phone is (608) 316-3300.

Tickets are currently on sale at www.sewmusic.org and are $105 per person or $100 by check (with guests’ names) to: Sound Ensemble Wisconsin, 716 Edgewood Avenue, Madison, WI 53711. Performing musicians (below) are SEW members and incude violinists Mary Theodore and Mary Perkinson, violist Chris Dozoryst, and cellist Maggie Townsend.

More information and tickets are available at www.sewmusic.org.

Here is an excellent story written by Gayle Worland of The Wisconsin State Journal:

http://host.madison.com/entertainment/music/a-menu-of-music/article_7668c3ef-b514-546a-9be5-e25aab9a0a70.html

And here is the SEW press release:

“What does food sound like? What does music taste like?

“Participants enjoy a lovely evening out as they explore their senses as the pathway to their souls through the performing arts of food and music, accompanied by poetry. “SEWing Taste and Sound, Bite by Byte” is a collaboration between Sound Ensemble Wisconsin, Chef Dan Bonanno of Madison’s celebrated Pig in a Fur Coat, and SEW’s 2013-14 Artist-in-Residence, who is Madison poet and violist Katrin Talbot.

“The event centers around the aesthetic similarities of food and music, both of which Mary Theodore, SEW’s director and violinist, considers performing arts. SEW has based the evening on a movement from a Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 5, Andante Cantabile, that is a theme and variations.

“Each variation, or byte of music, will inspire Chef Bonnano and be paired with one course, or bite, of food — and performed and served as such to create a seven-course meal, including a beverage pairing for each course.

“For example, the third variation, which might remind one of a bubbling brook with a contrast of smooth, running water and sunlight glistening through the trees as well as a touch of sweetness, has inspired Chef Bonanno to create a smooth, creamy risotto with fresh blueberries and sweetbreads.

“Katrin Talbot will also read poems composed for each variation.

“At the end of the meal, SEW musicians will perform the quartet movement from beginning to end with the aim of offering participants a new experience of the music, a new journey of taste and sound.

“As a large part of SEW’s mission is to bring more people to classical music, SEW makes an effort to demonstrate that music can be found in many things that we experience every day.

“SEW achieves this by collaborating with other artists, institutions, etc. through innovative programming and authentic events. Also, as SEW’s founding principle is that music is a vital part of humanity and should serve everyone, the ensemble strives to both offer engaging and unique programming to regular participants (their term for “audience”), as well as to offer music to those who might not have access to it otherwise.

“As part of the March 2 program, SEW will be performing during dinner hour at a food pantry and offering two free tickets to the Sunday event. As a side note, SEW also played at a correctional facility as a precursor to their last event.”

Posted in Classical music
Tags: A Pig in a Fur Coat, American Red Cross, Arts, Beethoven, Belgium, Carnegie Hall, Chamber music, Chazen Museum of Art, chef, Classical music, composer, Dan Bonanno, Edgewood College, flugelhorn, food, Franz Joseph Haydn, Indiana University, Jacob Stockinger, Jacobs School of Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Rheinberger, Katrin Talbot, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Wisconsin, Music, Music education, New Music, Orchestra, percussion, Percussion Ensemble, Piano, Poetry, Pro Arte, Pro Arte Quartet, Saxophone, Sound Ensemble Wisconsin, String quartet, Suite, Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen, theme and variations, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WYSO, YouTube

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