The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The world premiere of John Harbison’s Sonata for Viola and Piano this Sunday night headlines a busy weekend at the UW that includes wind music and band music
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By Jacob Stockinger
This is a big and busy weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
The most publicized event this week, justifiably, is the world premiere of a new Sonata for Viola and Piano by composer John Harbison, who has won many awards and honors including a Pulitzer Prize and a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. The guest pianist, from Minnesota, is Timothy Lovelace.
The premiere takes place in Mills Hall on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. The Pro Arte Quartet will also play the “Sunrise” Quartet by Franz Joseph Haydn and “Four Encores for Stan” by Harbison. Pro Arte violist Sally Chisholm (below, in a photo by Rick Langer) will perform the new work that was written for her. It was commissioned by an anonymous patron to mark the composer’s 80th birthday.
For more information about the concert, the piece and tickets, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/2018/12/17/world-premiere-of-john-harbisons-viola-sonata/
In addition, Harbison (below) will give a free and public master class on Monday, Feb. 18, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Mills Music Library Seminar Room (Room B162G in the Memorial Library).
But that is far from the only important or noteworthy event going on.
Here is a day-by-day schedule, not including the concert by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras’ Youth Orchestra with guest clarinetist Amitai Vardi that takes place TODAY in Mills Hall at 4 p.m. Here is a link to more about the WYSO concert:
TODAY
At 3 p.m. in Morphy Hall, the winners’ FREE concert of the Irving Shain Woodwind-Piano Duo Competition will take place. To see the four winners and their complete programs, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/irving-shain-woodwind-piano-duo-competition-winners-recital-2/
At 7:30 p.m., faculty member bassoonist Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill), who plays with the Wingra Wind Quintet, and friends will give a FREE concert. Music to be performed includes works by Robert Schumann, John Harbison, Ida Gotkowsky, Emmanuel Chabrier, Georges Bizet, Jules Massenet and Marc Vallon, although specific titles are not listed. For more information, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/faculty-recital-marc-vallon-bassoon-2/
SUNDAY
At 2 p.m. in Mills Hall, a FREE concert will be the inaugural Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition and its winner Midori Samson (below). Scott Teeple is the faculty conductor, and Cole Hairston and Ross Wolf are graduate student conductors. The concert will be STREAMED LIVE. Here is a link to the streaming portal, which also has an archive of other streamed concerts: https://www.music.wisc.edu/video/
At 4 p.m. in Mills Hall, the UW Concert Band will perform a FREE concert under the baton of its retiring director Mike Leckrone (below).
The program, subject to change, include: “Nessum Dorma” by Giacomo Puccini; “Universal Judgment” by Camille de Nardis; “Psalm for Band” by Vincent Persichetti; “La Boutique Fantastique” by Gioacchino Rossini, arranged by Ottorino Respighi; and “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine” by John Philip Sousa.
Here is a link to the program: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-concert-band/
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Classical music: Tonight brings an all-Bach organ recital at Overture Hall. At the UW-Madison, this week brings music for band, brass and strings
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By Jacob Stockinger
TONIGHT, Tuesday, Oct. 23
At 7:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, Paul Jacobs (below) will perform an all-Bach program. Jacobs, who is the only organist to have won a Grammy Award, is the chair of the organ department at the Juilliard school in New York City and was the teacher and mentor of Greg Zelek, who is the new organist for the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Heralded as “one of the major musicians of our time” by Alex Ross of The New Yorker and as “America’s leading organ performer” by The Economist, the internationally celebrated Jacobs combines a probing intellect and extraordinary technical mastery with an unusually large repertoire, both old and new. He has performed to great critical acclaim on five continents and in each of the 50 United States.
Jacobs made musical history at age 23 when he played Bach’s complete organ works in an 18-hour marathon performance on the 250th anniversary of the composer’s death. (You can hear Jacobs play Bach in the YouTube video at the bottom.) Jacobs has premiered works by Samuel Adler, Mason Bates, Michael Daugherty, Wayne Oquin, Stephen Paulus, Christopher Theofanidis and Christopher Rouse, among others.
During the 2018-19 season, Jacobs will perform the world premiere of John Harbison’s “What Do We Make of Bach?” for organ and orchestra with the Minnesota Orchestra under conductor Osmo Vanska; with the Cleveland Orchestra he will give the American premiere of Austrian composer Bernd Richard Deutsch’s “Okeanos” for organ and orchestra.
For more details about Jacobs, his complete all-Bach program and tickets ($20), go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/paul-jacobs/
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 24
At 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the UW Concert Band will perform a FREE concert of music by Leonard Bernstein (excerpts from “Candide”), Vincent Persichetti, Percy Grainger, Mark Markowski and Steven Bryant.
For more information about the performance and the program, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-concert-band-fall-concert-2/
THURSDAY, Oct. 25
At 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Wisconsin Brass Quintet and special guest UW percussionist Anthony DiSanza (below, in a photo by Katherine Esposito) will perform a ticketed concert of genre-bending music by Michael Tilson Thomas, Pat Metheny, Modest Mussorgsky, Alan Ferber, James Parker and David Sanford.
Admission is $17 for adults, $7 for students and children.
For more information about the performers, the program and how to purchase tickets, go to:
Members of the Wisconsin Brass Quintet (below, from left, in a photo by Michael R. Anderson) are: Daniel Grabois, horn; Mark Hetzler, trombone; Matthew Onstad, trumpet; Tom Curry, tuba; and Alex Noppe, trumpet.
SATURDAY, Oct. 27
At 8 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Pro Arte Quartet will perform a FREE concert.
The program features: the String Quartet in C Major, D. 46 (1813), by the young Franz Schubert; Three Rags for String Quartet (“Poltergeist” from 1971, “Graceful Ghost” from 1970, and “Incinteratorag” from 1967) by William Bolcom; and the String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2 (1837), by Felix Mendelssohn.
For more information about the Pro Arte Quartet and its long, historic and fascinating background, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/pro-arte-quartet-3/
Members of the Pro Arte Quartet (below, from left, in a photo by Rick Langer, are: David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violins; Sally Chisholm, viola; and Parry Karp, cello.)
Tags: #AlanFerber, #AlexNoppe, #AlexRoss, #All-Bach, #AnthonyDiSanza, #AustrianComposer, #BandMusic, #BaroqueMusic, #BerndRichardDeutsch, #CandideOpera, #ChamberMusic, #ChristopherRouse, #ChristopherTheofanidis, #ClevelandOrchestra, #ConcertBand, #DanielGrabois, #DavidPerry, #DavidSanford, #FelixMendelssohn, #FranzSchubert, #GracefulGhost, #GrammyAward, #GregZelek, #HornMusic, #JamesParker, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnHarbison, #JuilliardSchool, #LeonardBernstein, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarkHetzler, #MarkMarkowski, #MasonBates, #MatthewOnstad, #MichaelDaugherty, #MichaelTilsonThomas, #MinnesotaOrchestra, #ModestMussorgsky, #NewYorkCity, #OsmoVanska, #OvertureHall, #ParryKarp, #PatMetheny, #PaulJacobs, #PercyGrainger, #ProArteQuartet, #SallyChisholm, #SamuelAdler, #StephenPaulus, #StevenBryant, #StringQuartet, #SuzanneBeia, #TheNewYorker, #TheNewYorkerMagazine, #TomCurry, #TromboneMusic, #TrumpetMusic, #TubaMusic, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWConcertBand, #VincentPersichetti, #WayneOquin, #WilliamBolcom, #WisconsinBrassQuintet, #YouTubevideo, acclaim, adult, Alan Ferber, Alex Noppe, Alex Ross, American, anniversary, Anthony DiSanza, Arts, Austria, Bach, background, band music, Baroque, Baroque music, Bernd Richard Deutsch, Candide, Cello, Chamber music, children, Christopher Rouse, Christopher Theofanidis, Classical music, Cleveland Orchestra, complete, Concert Band, conductor, Daniel Grabois, David Perry, David Sanford, death, Early music, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, free, Graceful Ghost, Grammy Award, Greg Zelek, History, Horn, Incineratorag, intellect, international, Jacob Stockinger, James Parker, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Harbison, Juilliard School, Leonard Bernstein, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, magazine, marathon, Mark Hetzler, Mark Markowski, Mason Bates, mastery, Matthew Onstad, mentor, Michael Daugherty, Michael Tilson Thomas, Minnesota Orchestra, Modest Mussorgsky, Music, new, New York City, New Yorker, opera, Osmo Vanska, Overture Center, Overture Hall, Parry Karp, Pat Metheny, Paul Jacobs, percussion, percussionist, Percy Grainger, Poltergeist, premiere, Pro Arte Quartet, program, rag, Ragtime, Sally Chisholm, Samuel Adler, Stephen Paulus, Steven Bryant, String quartet, Student, Suzanne Beia, Teacher, technical, technique, Tom Curry, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, tuba music, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Concert Band, Vincent Persichetti, Viola, Violin, Wayne Oquin, WILLIAM BOLCOM, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, young, YouTube
Music education: Madison Youth Choirs perform their Spring Concert series “Seriously Funny” this Sunday
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
“This spring, the Madison Youth Choirs singers (below) are exploring the unexpected ways that elements of humor, from irony and incongruity to improvisation and timing, are reflected in a wide variety of classical and contemporary musical compositions.
“We’re learning that music, like humor, is a kind of language, operating with its own sense of logic, patterns, and conventions that composers can twist to surprise us and take our musical journey to new places.
“As we study the complexity of humor as a mode of creative expression, we are discovering the power of satire, wit, and misdirection to help us reexamine our assumptions, musical and otherwise.
“In our culminating concert series, our singers will present works including “No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel; Timothy Takach’s “I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach; the “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls; and the second movement of Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein.”
The MYC Spring Concerts, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit, and Whimsy” will take place this Sunday afternoon and evening, May 13, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall Stadium.
Performance are: 1:30 p.m. for Girlchoirs; 4 p.m. for Boychoirs; and 7 p.m. for High School Ensembles.
Tickets will be available at the door: $10 for general admission; $5 for students 7-18; and free for children under 7. A separate ticket is required for each performance.
This concert is supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. This project is also supported by 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 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, go to www.madisonyouthchoirs.org or call (608) 238-7464.
Here is the Repertoire List for MYC 2018 Spring Concert Series, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit and Whimsy”
1:30 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC GIRLCHOIRS)
Choraliers
“Bee! I’m expecting you!” by Emma Lou Diemer
“A Menagerie of Songs” by Carolyn Jennings
Con Gioia
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“The Fate of Gilbert Gim” by Margaret Drynan
“The Cabbage-Tree Hat,” traditional Australian folk song
Capriccio (below)
“Papageno-Papagena Duet” (from The Magic Flute) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Ich jauchze, ich lache” (from BWV 15) by Johann Sebastian Bach
“J’entends le Moulin,” French folk song, arr. Donald Patriquin
Combined Choirs
“Funiculi, Funicula” by Luigi Denza
4 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC BOYCHOIRS)
Combined Boychoirs
“Sumer is icumen in,” Anonymous, 13th century Middle English piece
Purcell Boychoir
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“Modern Major-General” from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan
“Weevily Wheat,” arr. Dan Krunnfusz
Britten Boychoir (below)
“Gloria Tibi” by Leonard Bernstein
“The Plough Boy,” Traditional, arr. Benjamin Britten
Holst Boychoir
“Il est bel et bon” by Pierre Passereau
“Hopkinton” by William Billings
Ragazzi Boychoir
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Rustics and Fishermen,” part V of Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Combined Boychoirs
“Chichester Psalms” II. Adonai ro-i by Leonard Bernstein
7 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING HIGH SCHOOL ENSEMBLES)
Cantilena
“A Girl’s Garden” from Frosting by Randall Thompson
“Love Learns by Laughing” by Thomas Morley
“Turn, Turn, Then Thine Eyes” from The Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell
“My Funny Valentine” from Babes in Arms by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
“Etude 1 pour les cinq doigts d’après Monsieur Czerny” by Claude Debussy
Ragazzi
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Cantabile
“sam was a man” by Vincent Persichetti, text by e.e. cummings
“No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel
“Cruel, You Pull Away Too Soon” by Thomas Morley
“This Sky Falls” by Jocelyn Hagen
“Svatba,” Traditional Bulgarian, arr. H.R. Todorov
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
Tags: #AmericanGirl, #AustralianMusic, #BenjaminBritten, #BMOHarrisBank, #BroadwayMusical, #Bulgarianmusic, #CampRandall, #CampRandallStadium, #CarlCzerny, #ChichesterPsalms, #ChoralMusic, #ClaudeDebussy, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #DaneArts, #EndresManufacturing, #FirstCongregationalUnitedChurchofChrist, #FolkMusic, #FrankLoesser, #FrenchMusic, #FugueforTinhorns, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GilbertandSullivan, #GustavHolst, #GuysandDolls, #HenryPurcell, #HighSchool, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeonardBernstein, #LorenzHart, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #MiddleEnglish, #MiddleSchool, #ModernMajor-General, #MusicEducation, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewMusic, #PierrePassereau, #PiratesofPenzance, #PleasantT.Rowland, #RandallThompson, #RichardRodgers, #RodgersandHart, #SpringConcert, #StateOfWisconsin, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEvjueFoundation, #TheMagicFlute, #ThomasMorley, #TimothyTakach, #VincentPersichetti, #W.JeromeFrautschi, #WilliamBillings, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouthChoirs, admission, afternoon, American Girl, Arts, assumptions, Bach, Baroque, BMO Harris Bank, boy, boychoir, Broadway musical, Bulgaria, Carl Czerny, children, Choir, choral music, Classical music, community, composer, conventions, dance, duet, e.e. cummings, Early music, evening, folk song, folksong, foundation, free, fugue, Fugue for Tinhorns, G&S, George Frideric Handel, Gilbert and Sullivan, girl, girlchoir, girls, Gloriana, Gustav Holst, Guys and Dolls, high school, Holst, Humor, improvisation, incongruity, inquiry', irony, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, language, logic, Madison, Madison Youth Choirs, menagerie, Middle school, Modern Major-General, movement, Music, Music education, musical, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New Music, opera, Papagena, Papageno, patterns, performance, personal, Piano, poem, poet, Poetry, power, Purcell, responsibility, sature'wit, self-confidence, singer, singers, Singing, song, stadium, summer, Sunday, text, The Capital Times, The Evjue Foundation, ticket, timing, traditional, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vincent Persichetti, voys, whimsy, William Billings, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, young people, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: Two performances of the annual Winter Choral Concert, to benefit the homeless, are this Sunday afternoon at 2 and 4. Other UW groups also perform during a busy end-of-semester week
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By Jacob Stockinger
As always happens towards the end of a semester, the tempo of the performances at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music picks up and accelerates.
One highlight this week is two performances of a traditional choral concert.
Under conductor and UW choral program director Beverly Taylor (below), six of seven UW-Madison choirs — Chorale, Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, University Chorus, Women’s Chorus, Masters Singers – will perform their annual winter concert twice this Sunday afternoon.
The two performances, at 2 and 4 p.m., will be at Luther Memorial Church, located at 1021 University Avenue.
Consider arriving early since these concerts are often very well attended.
Choirs will perform choral works as individual ensembles and jointly.
Holiday carols are part of the program and concert-goers are invited to sing along.
Sorry, but no composers or titles of works have been provided.
Professor John Chappell Stowe (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) will perform organ music for the season.
A free-will offering is accepted at the end of the program with proceeds after expenses donated to “The Road Home,” an organization that provides housing and food to homeless families.
THURSDAY
At 7:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, guest artists flutist Patricia Surman (below) and pianist Michel Keller will give a FREE recital. There is no word on the program, but if you want to know more background about the two musicians, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/guest-recital-patricia-surman-flute/
FRIDAY
At 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, UW bassoonist Marc Vallon (below top, in a photo by James Gill) will perform a FREE program called “Breaking New Ground” that features the music of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, Anton Webern and Yannis Xenakis among others. UW pianist Christopher Taylor (below bottom) will also play the last piano sonata, No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111, by Ludwig van Beethoven.
For the complete program, go to: http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/breaking-ground-with-marc-vallon-and-friends/
SATURDAY
At 4 p.m. in Mills Hall, the All-University Strings (below in a photo by Jeff Miller of the UW-Madison), which is made up of students from all fields and not just music, will perform a FREE concert under conductor Matt Chan. No word on composers or works on the program.
SUNDAY
At 12:30 p.m. in the Brittingham Gallery No. 3 of the Chazen Museum of Art, the Wingra Wind Quartet will perform on “Sunday Live at the Chazen.” Admission is free.
The program includes: “Piano Piece” by Richard Strauss and arranged by Marc Vall0n; Wind Quintet by Theodor Blumer; “Eight Etudes and a Fantasy for Woodwind Quartet” by Elliott Carter; “Opus Number Zoo” by Luciano Berio.
Members (below, from left, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) are: Marc Vallon, bassoon; Timothy Hagen, flute; Alicia Lee, clarinet; Aaron Hill, oboe; and Joanna Schulz, horn.
You can digitally stream the concert live by going to this website: https://www.chazen.wisc.edu/about/news/in-the-news/sunday-afternoon-live-with-the-wingra-wind-quintet/
For more background about the Wingra Wood Quintet, go to: http://www.music.wisc.edu/wingra-woodwind-quintet/
At 1 p.m in Mills Hall, the UW Concert Band (below top), under conductor Scott Teeple, will perform a FREE concert.The program features UW trombonist Mark Hetzler (below bottom). The program includes “Psalm for Band” by Vincent Persichetti (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom) “Silver Lining” by Anne McAninch, a UW doctoral student in composition; and “Falling” by Mark Hetzler.
At 4 p.m. in Mills Hall, University Bands will perform a FREE concert. No word on the program.
MONDAY
At 8:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, the UW Early Music Ensemble, under director Jeanne Swack will mark the 250th anniversary of the death of Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann (below) by performing music of Telemann, Johann Joachim Quantz, Barbara Strozzi and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. No word on a specific program. For more information, go to: http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/early-music-ensemble-3/
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Classical music: A FREE CD and a dedicated concert are perfect memorial tributes for flutist Robin Fellows — or for any musician
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By Jacob Stockinger
There was so much to like about last Friday night’s concert by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below), including a fantastic performance of the sublimely beautiful Violin Concerto by the American composer Samuel Barber.
The concerto, with its soaring melodies, poignant harmonies and spiky perpetual motion finale, was played superbly by Russian-born, London-based virtuoso Alexander Sitkovetsky (below), who received a masterful accompaniment from longtime music director and conductor Andrew Sewell and the WCO. (As an encore and change of pace, Sitkovetsky played the soulful Sarabande from the Partita No. 2 in D Minor for Solo Violin by Johann Sebastian Bach.)
Here are two very positive reviews, written by John W. Barker for Isthmus and Greg Hettmansbeger for Madison Magazine, with which The Ear agrees:
http://isthmus.com/music/dashing-brilliance-wisconsin-chamber-orchestra/
But The Ear notes this: Perhaps the most touching moment came off-stage.
As you may have heard, last October Robin Fellows died of cancer at 66. For 26 years, he had been the principal flutist of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He also played and taught at many other places.
If you went to the indoor classical Masterworks concerts by the WCO, you heard him.
And if you went to the popular summertime Concerts on the Square, you heard him.
So it was right and fitting, as they say, for the WCO to dedicate the concert to Fellows (below). Indeed, the program seemed perfect in its homage.
We heard a new principal flutist and heard lots of prominent flute playing in works by Irish composer Joan Trumble, Swedish composer Lars-Eric Larsson and especially the Symphony No. 4 by Ludwig van Beethoven.
But the most stirring tribute happened off-stage.
That is because the family gave out a FREE memorial tribute CD of 20th-century flute music – with singers, bassoonists, clarinet, harp and piano — that was played by Fellows, recorded and released in 2002.
It includes music by Aaron Copland, Walter Piston, Albert Roussel, Ernst Toch, Daren Hagen (a UW-Madison alumnus) and Vincent Persichetti.
Out in the lobby of the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center was a table with not only the new season brochures for 2016-17, but also many stacks of FREE CDs. The audience was invited to take one by a current WCO flutist and oboist.
And as you entered and left the theater, there was a large poster with a picture of Fellows and a paragraph about his life and accomplishments.
The Ear is still sampling all the pieces on the CD.
So far, it is both enjoyable and enlightening. The Ear would include a sample, but unfortunately he doesn’t see that any tracks have been uploaded to YouTube.
Still, one cannot imagine Fellows — or any musicians, for that matter — wishing for a better tribute.
The Ear says: Kudos to the Fellows family and to the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra for providing such memorable memorials.
Tags: Aaron Copland, Albert Roussel, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Arts, Bach, Barber, Bassoon, Beethoven, cancer, CD, Cello, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, Compact Disc, concerto, Daren Hagen, encore, Ernst Toch, flute, Greg Hettmansberger, harp, Ireland, Irish, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Joan Trumble, John W. Barker, Lars-Erik Larsson, London, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Magazine, memorial, Music, Music director, Oboe, Orchestra, Overture Center, partita, Piano, Robin Fellows, Russia, Samuel Barber, sarabande, singer, Sweden, Swedish, symphony, tribute, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vincent Persichetti, Viola, Violin, Walter Piston, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, 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
Classical music: Madison Youth Choirs presents its 11th Annual Winter Concert Series this coming Sunday afternoon and night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) will present a winter concert series featuring over 300 talented young singers in three performances during the afternoon and evening of Sunday, December 15, at Madison’s First Congregational Church.
The nine performing choirs will raise their voices in celebration of MYC’s 11th season theme, “Arts and Minds.” Singers have spent a semester studying the connection between visual art and music, using both mediums as a lens to discover the world.
Concert selections will include works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten (below top), Palestrina, Johannes Brahms, Vincent Persichetti and Pablo Casals (below bottom), as well as a few holiday favorites and folk songs.
Cantabile, MYC’s choir for advanced high school women, will also sing a hauntingly beautiful version of U2’s “With or Without You,” which earned the choir a standing ovation during a preview concert at Hilldale Mall this month.
All concerts will take place at First Congregational Church, 1609 University Ave., Madison
Tickets are available at the door. General admission is $12 general admission at the door, and free for children under 7.
HERE IS A MASTER SCHEDULE
1:30 P.M. – CANTILENA, CANTABILE, AND RAGAZZI (below, in a photo by Dan Sinclair) (HIGH SCHOOL ENSEMBLES)
Selections from the 1:30 p.m. concert include:
“Turn Then Thine Eyes” (from “The Fairy-Queen”) by Henry Purcell
“Nigra Sum” by Pablo Casals
“Sicut Rosa” by Orlando di Lasso
“The Roadside Fire” (from “Songs of Travel”) by Ralph Vaughan Williams
“The Young Man’s Song” (premiere) by Eric William Barnum
“Ich weiss nicht” by Johannes Brahms
“Les Berceaux” (The Cradles) by Gabriel Faure
“Sam Was a Man” by Vincent Persichetti
4:30 P.M. – PURCELL, BRITTEN, HOLST, AND RAGAZZI (BOYCHOIRS)
Selections from 4:30 p.m. concert include:
“Bright is the Ring of Words” (from “Songs of Travel”) by Ralph Vaughan Williams
“Ich will den Herrn” by Georg Philipp Telemann
“Magno Gaudens: by Anonymous (12th century)
“All Things Bright and Beautiful” by John Rutter
“Sicut Rosa” by Orlando di Lasso
“The Roadside Fire” (from “Songs of Travel”) by Ralph Vaughan Williams
“The Young Man’s Song” (premiere) by Eric William Barnum
“Fancie” by Benjamin Britten
“Exultate Justi in Domino” by Lodovico Viadana
“All Ye Who Music Love” by Baldassare Donato (text from the 18th century, Thomas Oliphant)
7 P.M. – CHORALIERS (below, in a photo by Cynthia Hawkinson), CON GIOIA, AND CAPRICCIO (GIRLCHOIRS)
Selections from the 7 p.m. concert include:
“Non Nobis Domine” by William Byrd
“Yet Gentle Will the Griffin Be” by Franciso Nuñez
“Fire” by Mary Goetze
“Dona Nobis Pacem,” attributed to Clemens non Papa
“Ich jauze, ich lache” (from BWV 15) by Johann Sebastian Bach
“Pavane” by Gabriel Fauré (at bottom in a popular YouTube video that features painting by Claude Monet and that has almost two million hits)
This project is supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, by Dane Arts with additional funds from the Evjue Foundation, the charitable arm of The Capital Times, and by BMO Harris Bank.
ABOUT THE MADISON YOUTH CHOIRS (MYC)
Here is some additional impressive information from the Madison Youth Choirs:
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral education, Madison Youth Choirs 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, the Madison Ballet and the 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 prestigious “by invitation-only” Aberdeen International Youth Festival.
For more information – and to hear samples under the MEDIA section or find out about joining the group — visit: http://www.madisonyouthchoirs.org
Tags: Aberdeen International Youth Festival, Benjamin Britten, BMO Harris Bank, boychoir, Georg Philipp Telemann, Henry Purcell, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Rutter, Madison, Madison Ballet, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Youth Choirs, Orlando di Lasso, Pablo Casals, Palestrina, Ralph Vaughan Williams, U2, Vincent Persichetti, William Byrd, Wisconsin, YouTube
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