Program Partner: Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras
Purchase tickets here
Harp's Off to You, Yolanda Kondonassis!
If you are wondering why everyone in Madison is "harping on" about December's
Concert Series
event, it is because Yolanda Kondonassis' performance marks the first time the Union Theater has brought a harpist to our stage! And, if our
harp debut was not enough reason to see this show, Kondonassis is traveling with the Rossetti String Quartet. Together, they form a seamless
collaboration that performs beautiful compositions of Handel, Mozart, and more.
Kondonassis will also conduct a harp master class with harp students from
Karen Atz's studio,
on Friday, December 7, from 12:00-1:00 pm, at 1341 Humanities Building. The public is welcome to observe.
Emily Semmelman
Dance Wisconsin's Nutcracker Fantasy
Saturday, December 15, 7:30pm and
Sunday, December 16, 2:00pm
Tickets: $30/22/20, discounts for children and seniors
Purchase tickets here
A Winter Delight: Nutcracker Fantasy
As the days grow colder and holiday merriment creeps in to every radio
station and shopping
mall, millions of families adorn their homes with bright cheerful decorations. Meanwhile, we here at the Wisconsin Union Theater make way for another
important winter tradition: the Nutcracker Fantasy. Jo Jean Retrum, artistic director of Dance Wisconsin, filled us in on what this year's production
entails.
What role do you play in the production of Nutcracker Fantasy?
As artistic director, I do everything from choreographing and advertising the ballet to overseeing the audition process. Since Dance Wisconsin is a
non-profit organization all of our staff, including myself, are volunteers.
Why Nutcracker Fantasy?
Everybody loves Nutcracker. It's family friendly and affordable, and it really showcases the extraordinary talent we have right here in Madison. It
also helps to hold our dancers' interest and develop them at the same time.
Who will be performing in Nutcracker Fantasy this year?
About 95 percent of the dancers this year are my students. We're also bringing in two fantastic guest dancers from Russia, Olga Pavlova and Yevgeniy
Anfinogenov who now dance with Metropolitan Classic Ballet in Texas.
You've been performing with us since 1999. Do you enjoy performing at the Wisconsin Union Theater?
We absolutely love it here. We like being downtown in such a beautiful, old theater. I think the setting wonderfully captures the character of the
Nutcracker Fantasy.
Which aspects of the production change on a year to year basis, and which stay the same?
Certain dances, like dance of the sugar plum fairy, remain the same. Others change based on the cast we have each particular year. We try to update
the costumes and the set too, but we have to be cautious about how much we spend in order to stay around for another year.
I understand you will be giving a special performance for school children. What sort of an impact do you hope to make through this
performance?
We hope to introduce dance as well as music to children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to see such a performance. We want to not only
create a future audience but help open the door for these children's lives to be enriched for years to come.
Rose Gear
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Russia's Most Wanted: Sergei, Sergei, and Dmitri
The bitter cold of another Wisconsin winter is starting to set in, setting the stage for the January 29th Keyboard Conversations® featuring some
of
Russia's foremost composers. Starting at 7:30pm in Mills Hall, listeners will meet the composers who ran afoul of the Communist Soviet regime:
Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich.
In his third concert of the series, Siegel will perform Rachmaninoff's Canon and two of his Etudes Tableux. Rachmaninoff, who played in the
7th Annual Concert Series in 1926, is one of Russia's best known composers and most talented pianists. It is said that he had the ability to play the
interval of a
"thirteenth" on the piano, which translates to having a hand span of 12 inches. While he did see some popularity during his life, he was also
criticized by many, only to have his work gain acceptance and popularity in the second half of the 20th century.
Prokofiev is considered one of the 20th century's greatest composers and is perhaps best known as the composer of Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67. Siegel
will focus on some of Prokofiev's darker titled compositions, including Fugitive Visions, Op. 22 and Diabolical Suggestion, Op. 4.
Following intermission, Siegel will present Shostakovich's Polka from "The Golden Age." Though several of Shostakovich's works are boisterous and
bright, the composer's life was far from glamorous; he was twice denounced during the political frenzy that enveloped Russia. The concert will
conclude with several Shostakovich preludes and a fugue.
Tickets are available at the Wisconsin
Union Theater website. Don't wait or you might be left out in the cold!
Sarah Smogoleski
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Fred Ho's Residence and Performance
Canceled
We regret to announce the cancellation, due to serious health issues, of the
arts residency
and concert by Fred Ho and the Afro-Asian Music Ensemble, scheduled for Friday, March 7, 2008.
We hope to be able to present Ho and the ensemble at a future
date.
For more details, please see the following website (click on "in this issue"
and look for Fred Ho's cancer diary in the non-fiction section):
http://www.ishmaelreedpub.com
Pictured above: Paquito D'Rivera and member of his Quintet.
The Wisconsin Union Theater Makes One More Step into the Digital Era... Check
out our
Photo Blog!
Did you miss a Union Theater performance? Or, maybe you just want to relive some memories of this past season. Well, you're in luck! Photos from the
Wisconsin Union Theater 2007 - 2008 Season are now available on-line. It is very easy to access our photo blog, and the pictures are organized
according to show for your convenience. There are photos of artists on-stage, off-stage, and everything in between. Feel free to check them out here!
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From the Archives
Another superb South African musician and anti-apartheid
activist (at the time married to Hugh Masekela) performed here. Indeed, it was Miriam Makeba. This picture is from her Jazz Festival
performance here in 1960. She was a pioneer in blending different styles of
music, long before "world music" became buzz words.
Newsletter staff:
Editor: Esty Dinur
Layout Designer: Claire Weissenfluh
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Union Theater Opens its Doors to Youssou
N'Dour
Senegal's king of mbalax, Youssou N'Dour continues his journey inside the traditions of his country and around the world. Mbalax is the dance music
of Senegal, a fusion of popular Western dance music including jazz, soul, and Latin, blended with sabar, the traditional
drumming and dance music of Senegal. N'Dour is particularly skilled at merging these diverse traditions. Don't miss this world traveler when he stops
in
Madison! Listen to an interview with N'Dour on NPR here. Read Susan Kepec's article in the Isthmus
here.
Tickets: $30/22, UW-Madison students: free
Program Partner: Madison Area Piano Teachers Associated
Purchase tickets here
The Festivities Continue with Jeffrey Siegel
If you haven't been able to make it to any of Jeffrey Siegel's Keyboard
Conversations®
programs, make sure not to miss Festive French Fare on December 11. The program features music and talk about Debussy's Clair de Lune, Poulenc's
Impromptus and the works of Ravel and Saint-Säens. Questions and answers follow the presentation.
Emily Semmelman
¡Que plaisir! Tango Fire is coming to the
theater!
Like so many other cultural phenomena, tango started in the slums, specifically Buenos Aires'"Bario de las Ranas." It is said that gauchos with chaps
hardened from the foam and sweat of horses walked with flexed knees. They'd ask the women in crowded night clubs to dance and the ladies held their
heads back so as not to smell the gauchos' unwashed armpits. They held their right hands low on the gaucho's left hip, close to his pocket, looking
for a payment for dancing with him.
Another version cites poor black people dancing the African-influenced candombe in their clubs. Well-to-do white youth would sneak into these clubs
and learn the dance, eventually adapting it to the more rigid taste of high society.
The dance, passionate, elegant and complex all at once, spread throughout Europe in the 1900's. Originally popularized in New York in the winter of
1910 - 1911, Rudolph Valentino made it a hit in 1921.
It is a hit again today, being danced all over the world. Ganchos, volcadas, secadas and more...whether you've been part of the resurgence of tango
culture or you're hearing about it here for the first time, the 10 amazing dancers of Tango Fire, all of them regular performers in Buenos Aires'
best tango houses, will dazzle with the various dances (tango, milonga and vals) and styles--traditional Argentinian tango and tango nuevo.
And they'll be accompanied by the musicians of Quatrotango and singer Javier de Ciriaco, accomplished tangueros all!
Yes, this is the one show everyone must see this season. Watch a video of the
company here.
Read the reviews here. And buy your tickets
here to get the best seats.
Come to a free evening of tango classes, dance and music on Thursday, January
24 at Great Hall in Memorial Union. Madison Tango Society instructors will teach classes at 6 and 7pm and dancing will start at 8pm. Keep your eyes
open for more details.
Esty Dinur
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Hugh Masekela's Chissa All-Stars
Thursday, January 31, 2008, 8:00pm
Tickets: $34/28/18, UW-Madison students $10
Purchase tickets here
Hugh Masekela: He's an All-Star
Hugh Masekela's incomparable musical background and an impressive
array of friends make him the extraordinary musician and person he is today. Hailing
from South Africa,
Masekela has been inspired by the anti-apartheid movement for his whole life. In
fact, Masekela says that the only force that is more influential in his life is
music. He was given his first trumpet at a very young age, and the instrument
has helped him create exceptional music throughout his career.
Masekela's music has also been an inspiration to others. His
1987 hit "Bring Him Back Home," demanding the release of Nelson
Mandela from prison, was the anthem for Mandela's world tour after his release
in 1992.
He has an incredibly diverse musical career and personal
history. Masekela spent his early days in the South African music scene playing
with such musicians as pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, Jonas Gwangwa, and Kippie
Moeketsi. Later, Masekela went to school with Herbie Hancock, toured in "Graceland" with Paul Simon, recorded with Bob Marely,
lived with Harry Belafonte, and collaborated with many amazing artists on the
Broadway-style musical hit of "King Kong."
Masekela, who currently lives in South Africa, is releasing new
music and touring the world regularly. His most recent albums, "Black to the
Future" and "Sixty" have both gone platinum. He will be in Madison on January 31st, 2008. Buy your
tickets here or
at
608-262-2201.
Emily Semmelman
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Wisconsin Arts Board Season Support
We are proud to report that we successfully competed for one of the hundreds of grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board this year. The Wisconsin Union
Theater was awarded a Performing Arts Network grant of $19,919 to support our Season events.
State grants are awarded through a competitive process. This grant indicates that the Wisconsin Union Theater provides the highest level of quality
in its programs, community outreach and administration.
The Wisconsin Arts Board is the state agency that nurtures creativity, cultivates expression, promotes the arts, supports the arts in education,
stimulates community and economic development and serves as a resource for people of every culture and heritage in Wisconsin's communities. The
Wisconsin Arts Board has a budget of $3.12 million for fiscal year 2008.
About 77% of Theater Season direct expenses are supported by ticket sales. Additional support comes from the Theater Endowment Fund, sponsorships,
grants, and individuals.
For more information about grants, sponsorships, and individual contributions to the Union Theater, contact Heather Good, Assistant
Director for Development and Outreach.
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Meet our Staff: Jeff Collier
Jeff Collier, the theater's Education & Outreach Coordinator, is our latest addition. He is a student in the Bolz Center, studying toward a Master's
in
Arts Administration.
What kinds of things do you do in your role as Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Wisconsin Union Theater?
I am responsible for organizing master classes and presentations given by visiting performers at the Union Theater for members of the Madison and UW
community. I also serve as coordinator for certain aspects of the pre-concert lectures and dinners and a liaison with our community Presenting
Partners.
What led you to a career in the arts?
I was a bassoonist in band in high school, but I eventually joined a youth orchestra, where I found a passion for orchestra music. I majored in
bassoon performance and music education at Louisiana State University but didn't really like auditioning, so my last year in college I decided to
pursue a career in arts administration. This decision allowed me to develop and use different strengths while remaining in the career field that I
love.
If you could send people to just one show at the theater this year, which one would it be and why? What are you most excited to
see?
I'm very excited about the December 8 Yolanda Kondonassis and Rossetti String Quartet concert. Chamber music provides the opportunity to see the
music-making process in its most intimate and collaborative setting. Some of history's greatest and best-known composers knew how to exploit this and
their most outstanding works were frequently written for chamber ensembles. In particular, I can't wait to hear the Ravel String Quartet, which is
one
of my favorite string quartets in the repertory!
What brought you from Louisiana to Wisconsin? What drew you to the Bolz program?
After college, I had an amazing opportunity to intern in the Chamber Music office at The Juilliard School. Being from a small town in Tennessee, it
was an incredible adjustment to move to NYC. But this experience opened so many doors for me - including a full-time job as Chamber Music Manager at
Juilliard and several different jobs at summer music festivals all over the country. After three years in New York, I knew that it was time to go
back to school and pursue grad work in arts administration. The Bolz program is the only MBA in arts administration in the country and that was the
single biggest draw for me. The reputation of the program and its alumni is outstanding, and I consider myself very lucky to be a part of
it.
Do you have any particularly humorous accounts of musicians or performers you've encountered?
I have many! One that sticks out is a particular band rehearsal in college when, in an overly dramatic gesture, the conductor stabbed his own ear
with his baton. What did he do? Well, as any skilled conductor would do, he used his left hand to grab a handkerchief to dab at the bleeding ear
while, with his right hand, he continued conducting the band!
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