Sunday, October 28, 2012

An opportunity to play and some Upcoming concerts

The first bit of information this week is from the Milwaukee Festival Brass.  They will have an open rehearsal on Tuesday November 6 from 7 to 9 PM at the United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay on East Silver Spring.  If you are interested or would like more information, send then an email at manager@mfbrass.org.  Also, if you know of a high school student that would like to apply for the MFB apprentice program, and email to the same address will get the ball rolling.

And one point to add:  I attended the MFB concert last Sunday and their performance was very nice.  A varied program, some serious music, some fun music.  And all performed very well.  I just love the sound of a British style Brass Band - the sound is so rich!  If you missed the concert, be sure to mark their next concert on your calendar:  December 16 at 3 PM at Schwan Hall on the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Finally, here a short reminder note about concerts that are coming up in November.

The Waukesha Area Symphonic Band performs on Sunday November 11th at Carroll University at 7:30 PM.  Here is more information.

The Milwaukee American Legion Band also performs on Sunday the 11th at Milwaukee Lutheran High School at 3 PM. 

The Knightwind Ensemble performs on Sunday November 18th at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center at 3 PM.

I am collecting a list of Holiday concerts and will post them soon.  Enjoy the performances!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Concert Preview: Menomonee Falls Symphony

The Menomonee Falls Symphony will perform on Sunday October 28th at 2 PM at the Sussex Hamilton Fine Arts Center.  The concert will feature Violinist Stephanie Liu, one of the winners of last year's Concerto Competition.  She will perform the Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 by Jean Sibelius.  This concerto is generally symphonic in scope, departing completely from the often lighter, "rhythmic" accompaniments of many other concertos. The solo violin and all sections of the orchestra have equal voice in the piece.

The second half of the concert will be the Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, based on the tales of The Arabian Nights.  Rimsky wrote a brief introduction that he intended for use with the score, as well as the program for the premiere:  The Sultan Schariar, convinced that all women are false and faithless, vowed to put to death each of his wives after the first nuptial night. But the Sultana Sheherazade saved her life by entertaining her lord with fascinating tales, for a thousand and one nights. The Sultan, consumed with curiosity, postponed from day to day the execution of his wife, and finally repudiated his bloody vow entirely.

Tickets are $15, $12 for Seniors, $6 for Students.  You can find more information about the concert, and you can purchase tickets, from the MFSO web site.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Upcoming concerts and Attention Oshkosh Area French Horn Players

First, don't forget the upcoming concert by the Milwaukee Festival Brass on October 21st at St. Matthews Lutheran Church.  That's going to be a good one!  Don't miss it!

Also, here is an alert for those in the Racine area.  The Racine Concert Band performs on Thursday the 18th at Horlick High School at 7:30 PM.  They will perform one half of the concert while the High School Band performs the other half.  And, of course, there will be a massed band at the end.  I also learned that one of the pieces the Racine Band will perform is Norman Dello Joio's Scenes From The Lourve.  It is one of my all time favorites.  If you have a chance, be sure to attend because it will be a good concert!

Now, on to the topic of Horns.  One of the lesser known community music groups in Southeast Wisconsin is the UW Oshkosh Horn Choir under the direction of Dr. Bruce Atwell.  They have been performing for a few years now, and the quality has always been very good.  If you have not heard a choir of French Horns, be sure to attend their concert coming up the end of November.  But for right now, as they begin their rehearsals, they find themselves a bit smaller in number than they would like to be. 

If you play the French Horn and are interested in playing in this wonderful group, please contact Dr. Bruce Atwell at UW-Oshkosh at this link.  He can provide the best information.  And mark your calendars for Tuesday November 27 at 7 PM in the Music Hall for the performance of the UW Oshkosh Horn Choir.  Admission is free and the music will be wonderful.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Update: Wauwatosa Community Band

The concert calendar is finalized for the Wauwatosa Community Band.  The band rehearses and performs at Longfellow Middle School in Wauwatosa, at the corner of 76th and North Avenue.  The next concert is the annual Halloween Kids Concert on Tuesday October 30th at 7 PM.  This concert will be in the school cafeteria, as the school theater will be unavailable.

Kids in costume will get free admission to the concert, and that includes all of us older kids!  Also, there will be activities and goodies after the concert.  These concerts are always fun and full of a variety of music.  This year the Halloween concert will include music from the movies and a performance of Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev.  And for us music geeks, the band will perform Von Suppe's Poet and Peasant Overture.  It sounds like a great way to spend an evening and get some extra use out of that costume.

Tosa Band (as the members like to refer to it) will also perform a Christmas Concert on December 11, a mid-winter concert on March 19th, and a Spring concert on May 14.  More information will be available on this blog as it develops.  And you can always check their web site!