The first concert of the Spring Season

The first group to perform in 2018 is the Concord Chamber Orchestra with their annual concert of Chamber Music.  The concert will be at the North Shore Congregational Church on Santa Monica Boulevard at 2 PM on Sunday January 28th.  The concert is entitled People Power and is becoming an audience favorite.  The Orchestra will split into a number of chamber music ensembles.  Here's a great way to hear how small groups of people can make great music.

For more information or to order tickets, see the CCO web site.

A new concert season begins

Here's the list of concerts I have for the Spring Season.  Maybe some of them will work into your schedule.  Best to put them on the calendar now! 

January

• Sun.  28  2:00 Concord Chamber Orchestra at the North Shore Congregational Church performing Chamber Music

February

• Sat.  10   6:30 Menomonee Falls Symphony performing a Valentine’s dinner concert at the Silver Spring Country Club
• Fri.   16   7:00  Greenfield Concert Band at the Greenfield High School Performing Arts Center
• Sun.  25  3:00  Milwaukee Festival Brass at Pius XI High School Performing Arts Center

March

• Sun.   4  2:00 Milwaukee Concert Band at Nicolet High School
• Sun.   4  3:00  Kettle Moraine Symphony at the West Bend High Schools 
• Sun.  11  3:00  Milwaukee Festival Brass at Brass on the Border, Milton High School
• Sat.  24  7:00  Concord Chamber Orchestra at Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church

April

• Sat. 14  7:30 Menomonee Falls Symphony at the Sussex Hamilton Fine Arts Center

May

• Fri.     4  7:30  Waukesha Area Symphonic Band at Carroll University
• Sun.   6  2:00  Menomonee Falls Symphony performing the Messiah Sing-Along at Mount Carmel Lutheran Church
• Sun.   6  3:00  Kettle Moraine Symphony at the Basilica at Holy Hill 
• Sun.   6  2:00  Milwaukee Concert Band at the Oak Creek Community Center
• Sat.  12  7:00  Concord Chamber Orchestra at the Wauwatosa Presbyterian Church
• Fri.  18   7:00  Greenfield Concert band at The Amp at Konkel Park
• Sun. 20  3:00  Milwaukee Festival Brass at Pius XI High School Performing Arts Center 

The Holiday concerts are complete

Many volunteer musicians are about to perform their most important concerts of the season:  the Holiday religious services.  If you attend these, be sure to thank the musicians who make those services special.  most of them are volunteering their time and talents to add to the season.

Whatever Holiday you keep, may it be wonderful.  The Milwaukee Community Music Blog will return in January.  All the best to you and yours!

Trumpet Players needed

The Kettle Moraine Symphony in West Bend is in need of trumpet players.  Interested applicants need to apply by Friday January 12, 2018 for the auditions to be held the following Saturday January 20, 2018.  You can find all of the information here.

Horns A Plenty Christmas in Appleton

Every year the call goes out, to anyone who can play the French Horn at any level, to come to Appleton, Wisconsin for the annual Horns A Plenty Christmas celebration.  This year it will be at the Fox Valley Lutheran High School on Saturday December 16 at 2:30 PM.

The concert will last about an hour.  For those who would like to perform, the rehearsal begins at 12:30.  The music is easy enough that middle school musicians will be able to play it.  But the fun comes in when musicians of all ages play this music.  There is no admission cost to the concert, but a free will offering will be accepted.  All money generated from the concert will be used for scholarships for french horn students.

For more information, see the Horns A Plenty Christmas facebook page.

Two more Holiday Concerts

There are two more concerts coming up but these are not on the same day (that's good).

First, the Menomonee Falls Symphony will present Christmas Delights at the Hamilton Fine Arts Center on the campus of Sussex Hamilton High School on Sunday December 10 beginning at 1 PM.  Joining the MFSO will be children from the Milwaukee Children's Choir, under the direction of Marco Melendez.  You won't want to miss wonderful holiday songs performed by some of the area's most talented children.  For more information or to order tickets, see the MFSO web site.

On Friday December 15, the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band will present their Holiday Concert at the Shattuck Auditorium on the campus of Carroll University.  Besides celebrating the season, the WASB will be collecting non-perishable food for the Food Pantry of Waukesha County.  For more information, please see the WASB web site.

The first Holiday concerts are coming up

Two local groups, the Concord Chamber Orchestra and the Milwaukee Festival Brass will perform their Holiday concerts on Saturday December 2.

The Milwaukee Festival Brass will perform Holidays in Brass at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, beginning at 7 PM.  The program is a celebration of the release of their first CD, and will feature selections from that disc.  Trombonist Will Akers will be featured n Angels on High,” and principal cornettist Krystal Esty will perform a beautiful arrangement of John Rutter’s Candlelight Carol.  For more information or to order tickets, please see the MFB web site.

On the same evening, the Concord Chamber Orchestra will perform Portraits of Divinity at the Basilica of St. Jopsephat on the corner of 6th Street and Lincoln Avenue in Milwaukee beginning at 7 PM.  Joining the CCO will be the Milwaukee High School of the Arts Choir, under the direction of Raymond Roberts. The program includes:

     Giovanna d’Arco (Joan of Arc) Overture - Giuseppe Verdi
     “Entrance of the Queen of Sheba” from Solomon- George Frederick Handel
     “Ballet Suite” from Hérodiade - Jules Massenet
     “Bacchanale” from Samson & Delilah - Camille Saint-Saëns
     Gloria - Antonio Vivaldi
     A Christmas Festival - Leroy Anderson

There is no better venue for a concert like this than the Basilica.  For more information or to order tickets, see the CCO web site.