Horns A Plenty Christmas

This event is a special Holiday treat for performers and listeners alike.  The Horns A Plenty Christmas event is part rehearsal, part concert, part master class, and all fun.

The event is open to all French Horn players regardless of ability.  You can show up and register, get a Horns A Plenty T-Shirt to wear during the concert, and the book of music to play.  All of the proceeds go to horn scholarships.  This year, Horns A Plenty Christmas events have happened in South Milwaukee and Kansas City, and will happen in Appleton on Saturday December 20.  This year the event returns to the Fox Valley Lutheran High School on Appleton's north side.

This year's special guest is Sarah Schmalenberger.  She teaches Horn at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.  She will lead the master class at 11:30.  All performers are invited to attend the master class.  The concert rehearsal for performers is set for 1 PM.

For non-players, the concert is free and enjoyable, will take about an hour (no intermission), and will begin at 2PM.  If you enjoy the music and want to contribute to the scholarship fund, there will be an opportunity to do so.  And all contributions go directly to the fund.

For more information, you can see the Horns A Plenty web site or the Facebook page.

Take some time out of your schedule to enjoy this performance.  It is well worth the effort.  And I love the Cherry Tree Carol!

Milwaukee Festival Brass and Waukesha Area Symphonic Band concerts

The Milwaukee Festival Brass will present Holiday In Brass on Saturday evening December 13th at their new home:  the Performing Arts Center at Pius XI High School on North 76th Street in Milwaukee.  Music Director Mark A. Taylor was kind enough to summarize the program for us.

“Holidays rituals are richly interwoven with music,” said Music Director Mark A. Taylor.  “Everyone has treasured songs and traditions that unleash a flood of memories.  But the season also provides us with an opportunity to hear new melodies – or sometimes even familiar ones in a new way – that teach us to appreciate our loved ones and our communities with a fresh perspective.”  The concert will feature no fewer than thirty unique Christmas and Hanukkah songs in a program compiled from master composers and arrangers for the brass band. 

The band is honored to devote the second half of its program to the brass band works of local musician, Andrew Wainwright.  Currently based in Milwaukee, Mr. Wainwright is a noted arranger and composer with a lengthy list of accolades gained from performances with some of the finest brass bands in the United States and United Kingdom.  The Milwaukee Festival Brass is especially pleased to be presenting many of Mr. Wainwright’s works in their regional premieres.  These works are sure to surprise and delight brass band enthusiasts and merrymakers.

More information, including group rates, are available from the MFB web site.  The MFB Holiday concerts are always wonderful.  I hope to see you there.

On the evening before you can join the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band on Friday December 12 at 7:30 PM in Shattuck Auditorium on the campus of Carroll University for some festive music of the season.  Not only will the full band perform, but many chamber ensembles from within the band will share their music.  It is definitely worth taking some time out of the busy schedule to enjoy this music. 

And the best part is that the admission is free!  The folks at WASB ask that you bring non-perishable food items to help stock the local food pantry. 

For more information, or to see their concert poster, just check their web site.

Holiday Concerts and the Concord Chamber Orchestra

Here's the list of Holiday concerts I have.  The first weekend of December is a busy one!

December

• Sat. 6 8:00 Concord Chamber Orchestra at Basilica of St. Josaphat, performing Christmas Dinner
• Sun. 7 3:00 Menomonee Falls Symphony at Hamilton Fine Arts Center performing Caroling for Christmas
• Fri. 12 7:30 Waukesha Area Symphonic Band at Carroll University performing Holiday Music
• Sat. 13 7:00 Milwaukee Festival Brass at Pius XI High School performing Holiday in Brass IV
• Sat. 13 TBA Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Concert Band at Mitchell Park Domes
• Sun. 14 6:00 Lakeshore Symphonic Band at the Basilica at Holy Hill
• Sat. 20 TBA Horns A Plenty Christmas performance in Appleton, WI (more to follow)

Christmas Dinner provided by the Concord Chamber Orchestra

The Concord Chamber Orchestra presents their Holiday concert Christmas Dinner on Saturday December 6th at the Basilica of St. Josephat on 6th and Lincoln in Milwaukee.  The Orchestra will feature the Winter Bonfire Suite for Chorus and Orchestra by Prokofiev.  I have to admit I am not familiar with the piece and am looking forward to hearing it.  I always enjoy the Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla, and that is a great piece to open the concert.

The CCO is also performing a Sing-Along of Handel's Messiah.  This used to be performed annually in Milwaukee, but has fallen to the side over the last couple of years.  It's great to see that the CCO is bringing it back for 2014.

You can get more information and purchase tickets at the CCO web site.

Happy Thanksgiving to all

No post this week...just the best of wishes for you and yours as we all celebrate living in this wonderful country and give thanks for all the blessings we have received.

An appreciation of Community Music

The fall concert season has pretty much completed.  All of the groups are preparing for their mid-winter of Holiday concerts. 

I have a request of you.  As you celebrate the Holidays, from Thanksgiving through New Years, if there is musical entertainment at your church service, tree lighting ceremony, or other events, take some time to thank the musicians (assuming that you enjoyed their performance).  In a lot of cases, these musicians are volunteering their time and talents for the good of the community.  This is true community music.

I especially enjoy thanking the middle school musicians that play at the tree lighting ceremonies, or perform short concerts at the shopping malls.  They do well for where they are in their development and need to be encouraged.  So, even if you hear a few wrong notes in Winter Wonderland, give them some encouragement.  You'll brighten their day and yours!

Oshkosh Horn Choir Performs

The Oshkosh Horn Choir under the direction of Dr. Bruce Atwell, will perform on November 11 at 7 PM in the Music Hall in the Arts and Communications Center on the UW Oshkosh Campus.  If you have never heard a choir of French horns, it is very special.  The sound and textures are wonderful.

Dr. Atwell has chosen a wide variety of music for the Horn Choir, from music by Bach to the music of Freddie Mercury.  One piece on the program that I am looking forward to is an arrangement of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody for 15 French Horns.  FIFTEEN!  That will truly be an event!

If you are anywhere near the Fox Valley on Tuesday the 11th, you must attend this concert. 

One final note:  the concert is free.  Just show up and enjoy the music!

Some upcoming concerts

There are three concerts coming up on the calendar.  Unfortunately, I do not have information on the music being presented.

On Saturday November 8th, the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band performs at Carroll University at 7:30 PM.

On Sunday November 9th, the Milwaukee Concert Band performs at Brown Deer High School at 2PM.

And on Thursday November 13th, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Concert Band performs a joint concert with St. John's Lutheran School in Lannon.

Enjoy!