Sunday, December 23, 2012

The Holidays are here!

There is one last way to enjoy music from community musicians.  Many musicians will volunteer their time and talents at their respective religious celebrations over the next couple of weeks.  You can enjoy wonderful music as a part of the celebration of the season.  So, whatever particular celebration you keep, may it be wonderful.  The phrase I like to use is Merry Christmas!

The next post will be on January 6.  Enjoy the season!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Horns A Plenty Christmas in Appleton

The last big concert of the season is on the Saturday before Christmas in the Fox Valley.  Horns A Plenty Christmas will be held at the UW Fox Valley Communications Arts Center in Menasha.  If you are a french horn player, you don't want to miss a minute of this.

The guest artist is the nationally known french hornist Martin Hackleman.  He is the Principle Horn in the National Symphony Orchestra.  Formerly, he played French Horn in the Canadian Brass and the Empire Brass.  Mr. Hackleman will hold a clinic for all horn players beginning at noon.  A rehearsal for the Horns A Plenty Christmas performance will begin at 1:30, and the Horns A Plenty Christmas Concert begins at 3 PM.  If you need more information, see the web site.  And keep in mind that the concert is free!

Even if you drive from the Milwaukee area, you cannot find a better event to participate in than Horns A Plenty Christmas.  And the event raises money for scholarships for French Horn players!  Be sure to attend and throw some paper money into the pot for scholarships!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Milwaukee Festival Brass Christmas Concert

The Music Director of the Milwaukee Festival Brass, Maestro Mark Taylor, was kind enough to send me a summary of their concert, coming up on Sunday December 16 at 3 PM.  In fact, it was so good, I am posting it with no alterations, but with one addition:  I'll see you there!


The Milwaukee Festival Brass returns to Wisconsin Lutheran College for “Holiday for Brass II,” an exciting program of holiday traditions old and new. The concert features familiar carols, including “We Three Kings,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “I Saw Three Ships.” The band will also celebrate the season of Hanukkah, whose final day coincides with the performance, with the playing of “Festival of Lights.” And to help prepare for Kwanzaa, the band will perform Jean Francois Michel’s “Mama Africa,” a spectacle of tribal drumming, chants and song mingled with blazing brass riffs.


The performance will feature a solo performance by Stephanie Lippert, bass trombonist for the Milwaukee Festival Brass, in a jazzy rendition of “Winter Wonderland.” Audience members will also be invited to join the band for a special carol sing-along.

The focal point for this musical holiday gathering will be the Milwaukee Festival Brass presenting the North American premiere of Richard Huw Cole’s “Three Ancient Customs.” Originally scored as the test piece for the Third Section of the 2012 British National Finals brass band championship, this work explores three different Welsh traditions, all occurring in wintertime. Cole’s harmonic language is sparse, even austere, which works all the more effectively to serve as a platform for the exciting technical demands and haunting melodies in the work’s three contrasting movements.

The Milwaukee Festival Brass will present “Holiday for Brass II” on Sunday, December 16, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. at Schwan Concert Hall, Wisconsin Lutheran College, 8815 West Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee, WI. Tickets are $12, or $9 for seniors and students. Group rates are available. For more information, please visit the band’s website at www.mfbrass.org.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Waukesha Area Symphonic Band Concert

Join the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band on Friday December 14th at 7:30 PM for an evening of Holiday music.  The concert will be in the Shattuck Auditorium on the campus of Carroll University, and will feature the entire band as well as chamber groups from inside the band.

The tickets are $5 each, and can be purchased at the door.  And, in celebration of the Holiday Season, if you bring 5 food items to donate to the Waukesha Area Food Pantry, you get to enjoy the concert for free!

So, take some time out of the bustle of the season, and head to Carroll University for the WASB Christmas Concert.  Relax, enjoy the music, and know that your food donation will help someone have a happier holiday!