The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music education: This Sunday the Madison Youth Choirs will present their Winter Concert Series celebrating “Shakespeare 400 “
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By Jacob Stockinger
This winter, the Madison Youth Choirs are joining cultural institutions around the world by celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare (below) and his ongoing legacy.
Singers of various ages will perform musical settings from the plays Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost and The Tempest by composers including William Byrd, Thomas Morley, Henry Purcell, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Benjamin Britten, Giuseppe Verdi, Cesar Franck, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi, John Rutter and others.
Examining the role that motif, tension, structure and rhythm play in the repertoire and Shakespeare’s vast body of work, the choirs will explore the elements that combine to create compelling art that stands the test of time.
The MYC Winter Concerts, “Shakespeare 400,” will take place this Sunday, Dec. 11, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ (below), 1609 University Ave., near Camp Randall stadium.
Here is the schedule: 1:30 p.m. Girl choirs; 4 p.m. Boy choirs; 7 p.m. High School Ensembles
Tickets will be available at the door. Admission to each of the three concerts is $10 for the general public, $5 for students 7-18, and free for children under 7
PROGRAMS
Here is the repertoire for the MYC 2016 Winter Concert Series “Shakespeare 400”:
1:30 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
“Hey Ho! To the Greenwood” by William Byrd
“Spirits” by Douglas Beam
“Orpheus With His Lute” by Ralph Vaughan Williams
“Double, Double Toil and Trouble” by Leeann Starkey
photo
Con Gioia
“When Icicles Hang by the Wall” by David Lantz III
“You Spotted Snakes” by Toby Young
“Ban Ban Caliban” by Dan Forrest
Capriccio
“Hark! The Echoing Air” by Henry Purcell
“Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind” by Sarah Quartel
“Philomel with Melody” and “I Will Wind Thee in My Arms” by Cary Ratliff
“It Was a Lover and His Lass” by John Rutter
Cantabile
When Icicles Hang” by Stephen Hatfield
“Che faceste” from Macbeth (sung in Italian) by Giuseppi Verdi
4 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Combined Boychoirs
“One December, Bright and Clear” Traditional Catalonian carol, arr. By Wilberg
“Panis Angelicus” by Cesar Franck
Purcell
“Chairs to Mend” by William Hayes
“Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind” by John Rutter (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom)
“The Coasts of High Barbary” Traditional English sea song, arr. By Julseth-Heinrich
Britten
“Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind” by Roger Quilter
“Full Fathom Five” by John Ireland
“Who is Silvia” by Franz Schubert
Holst
“Full Fathom Five” by Robert Johnson
“Sing We and Chant It” by Thomas Morley
Ragazzi
“Come Away, Death” by Gerald Finzi
“The Witching Hour” by Brandon Ayres
7 p.m. Concert (Featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
“The Willow Song” by Arthur Sullivan
“Willow, Willow, Willow” by Charles H.H. Parry
“Fair Oriana Seeming to Wink at Folly” by Robert Jones
“You Spotted Snakes” (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) by Felix Mendelssohn
“Give Them Thy Fingers” by Stefan Kalmer
Ragazzi
“Four Arms, Two Necks, One Wreathing” by Thomas Weelkes
“Come Away, Death” by Gerald Finzi
“And Draw Her Home with Music” by Nancy Hill Cobb
“The Witching Hour” by Brandon Ayres
Cantabile
“Che faceste” from Macbeth (sung in Italian) by Giuseppi Verdi
“Come Away, Death” by Roger Quilter
Selections from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten
“When Icicles Hang” by Stephen Hatfield
Cantabile and Ragazzi
“Ave Verum Corpus” by William Byrd
“Jingle, Bells!” by James Pierpont, arr. by David Wilcocks
These concerts are generously endowed by the Diane Ballweg Performance Fund with additional support from the American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC): Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community.
Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
For further information, contact: Nicole Sparacino, Madison Youth Choirs, Nicole@madisonyouthchoirs.org or call (608) 238-7464
Tags: A Midsummer Night's Dream, arrangements, Art, Arthur Sullivan, Arts, Baroque, Benjamin Britten, boy choir, boychoir, boys, Byrd, cantabile, Capriccio, Carol, Catalonia, Cesar Franck, Chamber music, chant, choral music, Classical music, comedy, David Wilcocks, death, drama, elementary school, folk song, Franz Schubert, Gerald Finzi, girls, girls choir, high school, Holst, Ireland, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, John Ireland, John Rutter, legacy, Love's Labour's Lost, lute, Madison, Madison Youth Choirs, Mendelssohn, Middle school, motif, Music, Music education, Orpheus, Parry, plays, Purcell, Ralph Vaughan Williams, rhythm, Schubert, sea, Shakepseare, snake, structure, Tempest, tension, Thomas Morley, tradition, traditional, tragedy, Twelfth Night, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verdi, vocal music, William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare's plays, willow, Wind, winter, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, youth choirs, YouTube
Classical music: The wind quintet Black Marigold announces its four upcoming FREE winter concerts. Plus there is a FREE concert of wind music this Friday at noon.
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, held from 12:15 to 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features bassoonists Rozan Anderson and Willy Walter with oboist Scott Ellington and English hornist Ruth Dahlke in music by Bela Bartok, Bill Malcolm, Ange Flegier, Sarah Woolsey, Thomas Morley and John Wilbye with a world premiere by Louise Hillery.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received word from the Madison-based wind quintet Black Marigold about its upcoming winter concerts running from January 23 through January 31.
Members of Black Marigold (below) include Elizabeth Marshall, flute; Laura Medisky, oboe; Bethany Schultz, clarinet; Kia Karlen, horn; and Carl Wilder, bassoon.
Here is the announcement:
“Add a dash of heat to your winter with a hearty dose of chamber music!
“Black Marigold’s winter program features: the Wind Quintet in C major, Op.79 (ca. 1898, heard at bottom in a YouTube video) by August Klughardt; “La Cheminée du Roi René,” Op. 205 (1939) by Darius Milhaud; and two contemporary pieces by Brian DuFord: Vignettes Balletiques (2011) and Variations on an Afro-Cuban Lullaby (2012).
“You can learn more about Black Marigold’s 2016 commissioning collaboration with Brian DuFord (below), a musical salute to Wisconsin craft brews and beer, at http://www.blackmarigold.com/beermusic.html
“All concerts are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Here is a complete schedule:
“Saturday, January 23, 2016 – 7 p.m. Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ 1501 Gilbert Rd, Madison
“Sunday, January 24, 2016 – 2 p.m. First United Methodist Church 203 Wisconsin Ave, Madison
“Friday, January 29, 2016 – 12:15 p.m. First Unitarian Society, Noon Musicale Series, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison
“Sunday, January 31, 2016 – 4 p.m. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Chamber Series, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
“Black Marigold is a dynamic wind quintet that has performed throughout Wisconsin since 2012.
“As advocates of new music and living composers, the quintet presents captivating concerts introducing new music, while also highlighting classic woodwind quintet repertoire.
“For more information, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/BlackMarigold/
Tags: African, Afro-Cuban, Arts, August Klughardt, Bartok, Bassoon, Beer, Black Marigold, Brian DuFord, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, craft brews, Cuba, Cuban, Darius Milhaud, English horn, First Unitarian Society of Madison, flute, Horn, Jacob Stockinger, John Wilbye, Louise Hillery, Madison, Milhaud, Music, New Music, Oboe, Orchestra, quintet, Thomas Morley, United Methodist Church, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wind quintet, winds, winter, world premiere, YouTube
Classical music education: The Madison Youth Choirs perform the 11th Annual Spring Concert Series this Sunday afternoon and night. They will premiere a new work about Shakespeare’s “Macbeth by UW-Madison alumnus Scott Gendel.
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By Jacob Stockinger
On this Sunday afternoon and evening, May 18, 2014, the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC, below) will ends the celebration of their 10th anniversary and celebrate the return of spring with a lively concert series featuring several groups whose membership total over 300 talented young singers.
All concerts will take place in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center for the Arts in downtown Madison.
Tickets are $10-$20, and can be purchased in three ways:
1. online at www.overturecenter.com
2. By phone at (608) 258-4141
3. In person at the Overture Center box office, 201 State St., Madison, Wisconsin.
Throughout this season, focused on the theme “Arts & Minds,” MYC’s singers have discovered connections between visual and vocal expressions of human creativity, using both mediums as a lens to explore the world.
Concert selections will include works from a wide variety of musical eras and cultures, including classical pieces by Bach and Vivaldi, traditional folk songs in Hebrew and Japanese, and contemporary pieces by Cindy Lauper and Eric Whitacre (below), creator of the “Virtual Choir,” which has become a global phenomenon on YouTube.
MYC’s boychoirs will make history with the world premiere of University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music alumnus Scott Gendel’s “Sound and Fury,” featuring text from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”
This ambitious new work by Gendel will be a fitting prelude to the boychoirs’ upcoming summer tour to Scotland, where they will perform in the invitation-only Aberdeen International Youth Festival (below).
For more information about Scott Gendel, visit:
Continuing its commitment to celebrating the work of outstanding local music teachers, MYC will also present the Music Educator of the Year Award to Jan Vidruk. Ms. Vidruk (below center ) is a nationally recognized leader in early childhood education who has inspired young people in music and movement classes for over 40 years.
Here is the Concert Information, Schedules and Programs for Sunday, May 18, 2014
1 p.m. – Choraliers (below in a photo by Cynthia McEahern
Hashivenu…Traditional Hebrew
Bee! I’m Expecting You… Emma Lou Diemer
Ae Fond Kiss… Traditional Scottish, arr. Kesselman
The Duel… Paul Bouman
Kojo no Tsuki… Traditional Japanese, arr. Snyder
Con Gioia (below in a photo by Karen Holland)
For the Beauty of the Earth… John Rutter
The Jabberwocky… Jennings
Tres Cantos Nativos dos Indios Krao… Leite
Annie Laurie… arr. Rentz
Capriccio (below in a photo by Mike Ross)
Hark! The Echoing Air… Henry Purcell
Hotaru Koi… Ro Ogura
The Seal Lullaby… Eric Whitacre
Niska Banja… Traditional Serbian, arr. Nick Page
4 p.m.: Purcell
Gloria Tibi (from Mass)… Leonard Bernstein
Simple Gifts… Traditional
Orpheus with his Lute… Ralph Vaughan Williams
Laudamus Te (from Gloria in D Major)… Antonio Vivaldi
Britten
The Lord Bless You and Keep You … John Rutter
Er Kennt die rechten Freudenstuden … Johann Sebastian Bach
Holst
The Bird…William Billings
The Cowboy Medley…arr. R. Swiggum
Anthem (from Chess)…Anderson/Ulveas, arr. R. Swiggum
Ragazzi (below in a photo by Dan Sinclair)
dominic has a doll… Vincent Persichetti
Si, Tra i Ceppi… George Frideric Handel
Fair Phyllis… John Farmer
Madison Boychoir (Purcell, Britten, Holst — below in a photo by Karen Holland — and Ragazzi combined)
Sound and Fury (world premiere)… Scott Gendel, text from Macbeth
Will the Circle Be Unbroken?… Traditional, arr. R. Swiggum
7:30 p.m. High School Ensembles
Cantilena
How Merrily We Live… Michael Este
Salut Printemps… Claude Debussy
Hope… Andrew Lippa
Hope is the Thing… Emma Lou Diemer
Ragazzi
dominic has a doll… Vincent Persichetti
Si Tra i Ceppi… George Frideric Handel
Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting…John Farmer
Cantabile
Cruel, You Pull Away Too Soon… Thomas Morley
Chiome d’Oro… Claudio Monteverdi
Mountain Nights… Zoltan Kodaly
Las Amarillas…Stephen Hatfield
Time After Time… Cyndi Lauper, arr. Michael Ross
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Come Thou Fount of Ever Blessing…arr. Mack Wilberg
A Hymn for St. Cecilia…Herbert Howells (heard at bottom in a YouTube video)
This project is supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, the Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation, American Family Insurance, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Evjue Foundation, charitable arm of The Capital Times, and BMO Harris Bank. 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.
ABOUT THE MADISON YOUTH CHOIRS (MYC)
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral education, MYC inspires enjoyment, learning, and social development through the study and performance of high-quality and diverse choral literature. The oldest youth choir organization in Wisconsin, MYC welcomes singers of all ability levels, challenging them to learn more than just notes and rhythms. Singers explore the history, context, and heart of the music, becoming “expert noticers,” using music as a lens to discover the world. MYC serves more than 500 young people, ages 7-18, in 11 single-gender choirs.
In addition to a public concert series, MYC conducts an annual spring tour of schools and retirement centers, performing for more than 7,000 students and senior citizens annually. MYC also collaborates with professional arts organizations including the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Ballet, and Madison Opera, while continually supporting and recognizing the work of public schools and music educators throughout the area.
In summer 2014, MYC boychoirs will travel to Scotland for their first appearance at the invitation-only Aberdeen International Youth Festival.
For further information about attending or joining, visit http://www.madisonyouthchoirs.org contact the Madison Youth Choirs at info@madisonyouthchoirs.org, or call (608) 238-7464
Tags: Aberdeen International Youth Festival, Antonio Vivaldi, Arts, Arts & Minds, Bach, Baroque, Benjamin Britten, BMO Harris Bank, boy choir, boychoir, Choir, choral music, Classical music, Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi, Cyndi Lauper, Debussy, Emma Lou Diemer, Eric Whitacre, George Frideric Handel, girl choir, girlchoir, Gustav Holst, Hebrew, Henry Purcell, Herbert Howells, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Rutter, Leonard Bernstein, Madison, Madison Ballet, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Youth Choirs, Michael Ross, Music, Music education, Overture Center, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Renaissance, Scotland, Scott Gendel, Serbia, St. Cecilia, Thomas Morley, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vincent Persichetti, Wisconsin, YouTube, Zoltan Kodaly
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