The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music education: Brother and sister alumni return to play cello and conduct in the fall concerts by Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. Plus, hear a free concert of three solo cello suites by Bach on Friday at noon

ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison 900 University Bay Drive, features cellist Leonardo Altino playing Suites Nos. 1, 5 and 6 for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.

By Jacob Stockinger

WYSO will kick-off its 51st season with the Evelyn Steenbock Fall Concerts on this Saturday, Nov. 12, and next Saturday, Nov. 19. Nearly 500 young musicians will display their talents to the community during the concerts, which are dedicated to music teachers.

The Youth Orchestra concert on Nov. 19 will be performed at the River Arts Center in Prairie du Sac, where WYSO will welcome back two alumni guest artists: Kenneth Woods and Cynthia Woods.

Kenneth will be playing cello and Cynthia will be conducting in the Cello Concerto by British composer Philip Sawyers. (You can hear Kenneth Woods conduct the opening movement of the cello concerto in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

The Youth Orchestra, under the direction of James Smith, will also be playing Symphony No. 2 by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Overture to the opera “Der Freischuetz” by Carl Maria von Weber.

Cynthia Woods (below) is currently the Music Director of the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra and the conductor for the Youth Preparatory Orchestra at the New England Conservatory, where she serves on the violin, chamber and conducting faculty.

Along with her conducting activities, Ms. Woods is also a frequent speaker and writer. She has been a guest lecturer at institutions such as MIT and the Longy School of Music of Bard College, a panelist for radio shows such as WGBH’s Callie Crossley, and a frequent contributor to The Boston Herald’s State of the Arts blog. Cynthia was a member of WYSO from 1984–1989 in Concert, Philharmonia and Youth Orchestra.

For more background about Cynthia Woods, go to:

http://www.wysomusic.org/guest-artists/cynthia-woods/

https://www.wysomusic.org/events/concerts-recitals/evelyn-steenbock-fall-concerts/interview-with-cynthia-woods/

Kenneth Woods (below) is currently the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra. As a cello soloist and chamber musician, Wood’s collaborators have included members of the Toronto, Chicago and Cincinnati symphonies, the Minnesota, Gewandhaus and Concertgebouw orchestras and the La Salle, Pro Arte, Tokyo and Aubudon String Quartets.

He also  is currently cellist of the string trio Ensemble Epomeo, with whom he performs regularly in the UK, Europe, and the USA. He writes a popular blog, “A View From the Podium.” Kenneth was a member of WYSO from 1980–1986 in Concert, Philharmonia and Youth Orchestra. He also studied cello at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music with Parry Karp, of the Pro Arte Quartet.

For more background and an interview with Kenneth Woods, go to:

http://www.wysomusic.org/guest-artists/kenneth-woods-cellistconductor/

https://www.wysomusic.org/events/concerts-recitals/evelyn-steenbock-fall-concerts/interview-with-ken-woods/

Schedule and Programs

November 12, 2016 – 1:30 P.M., Mills Hall

Philharmonia Orchestra

• Rimsky- Korsakov: Procession of the Nobles from Mlada 
• Shostakovich: Finale from Symphony No. 5, Op. 47 
• Prokofiev: Montagues and Capulets from Romeo and Juliette, 2nd suite
• Shostakovich: Six Pieces from the First Ballet Suite Op. 84

November 12, 2016 – 4 P.M., Mills Hall

CONCERT ORCHESTRA (below)

• Jack Bullock: Okeanos
• James Curnow: Phoenix Overture
• Jaromír Weinberger: Polka from the Opera Schwanda, the Bagpiper
• Albert O. Davis: Moonlight Masquerade
• Richard Strauss: Allerseelen (All Souls’ Day) Op. 10 No. 8

SINFONIETTA

• Domenico Gallo: Sinfonia in G
• Grieg: A Nordic Lullaby Op. 68, No.5 
• Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings 
• Robert S. Frost and Mary Elledge: Tales from Sherwood Forest
• Brian Balmages: Wood Splitter Fanfare
• Norman Leyden: Serenade for String Orchestra
• Michael Korb and Ulrich Roever: Highland Cathedral 
• William Owens: Carpathia
• Sebastian Yradier: La Paloma 

November 19, 2016 – 7 P.M., River Arts Center

YOUTH ORCHESTRA (below)

• Symphony No.2– Ralph Vaughan Williams
• Overture to the opera “Der Freishuetz”– Carl Maria von Weber
• Cello Concerto– Philip Sawyers 
with Kenneth Woods – Cello, Cynthia Woods – Conductor

The Evelyn Steenbock Fall Concerts will be held in Mills Concert Hall in the UW Humanities Building, 455 N. Park Street, Madison, and at the River Arts Center, 105 Ninth St. Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.

WYSO concerts generally run about an hour and a half in length, providing a great orchestral concert opportunity for families.

Tickets are available at the door, $10 for adults and $5 for youth 18 and under.

This project is supported by Dane Arts with additional funds from the Evjue Foundation, Inc., the charitable arm of The Capital Times. This project is also supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.