Special—And Artistic!—Events

Last week was a busy one for local arts supporters, with fundraising events for two venerable Madison groups taking place on opposite ends of the city.

Monday brought the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s fifteenth annual Concert on the Green. Hosted by the Madison Symphony Orchestra League, the event raises money for the MSO’s in-school music programs, youth concerts, concerto competitions and outreach programs in the community.

And it’s a beautiful event! Concert on the Green begins with a cocktail party on the lawn in front of Bishops Bay Country Club clubhouse in Middleton. After about an hour of mingling, guests move toward the lake and into an enormous white tent with gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

Inside the tent, we ate dinner and took in a concert featuring works by Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Neilsen and Strauss performed by members of the MSO and conducted by James Smith, director of orchestras at the UW School of Music. Throughout the program, Smith stressed how fortunate the city of Madison is to have such a talented symphony orchestra.

A highlight of the concert was a guest performance by Benjamin Seeger, a Madison Memorial senior who was one of the winners of the 2009 Bolz Young Artist Competition. It was a pleasure to watch this young musician and wonder where his talent and passion might lead him.

Later in the week, Thursday marked Tandem Press’ sixteenth annual Wine Auction & Dinner, an event that funds graduate student fellowships at Tandem.

Director Paula Panczenko says the event has been held at various locations throughout Madison over the years, but decided to make a repeat visit to the Promega campus in Fitchburg.

The event had a decidedly fun, creative feel—which started from the moment guests stepped onto the campus and were greeted by brightly costumed, stilt-wearing members of Cycropia, the local aerial dance troupe.

Inside, auction-goers perused wine and items up for bid, checked out recent artwork made at Tandem, and enjoyed a gourmet buffet from Lombardino’s and excellent wine, particularly a Ramey chardonnay.

Then the auction action started. It was entertaining to watch auctioneer Daniel Donahoe of Teira Wines in California lead the crowd through items ranging from magnums of wine to concert tickets to a trip to California’s wine country. And it was exciting when someone near my table participated in a bidding war.

I would happily attend Tandem’s Wine Auction and the MSO’s Concert on the Green next year. And you should consider doing the same next June! For more information on these events, visit the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Tandem Press.

Photos of Concert on the Green are by Amy Lynn Schereck and photos of the Wine Auction & Dinner are by Anette Hansen.

Maid in Madison

While the action of Mozart’s comedic Cosi fan Tutte centers on two couples determined to prove their love and faithfulness, the real force of the opera is found in Despina, the scheming maid.

Taking on this complex role in Madison Opera’s production of Cosi fan Tutte—running March 13 and 15 at Overture Center—is Mary Elizabeth Mackenzie. The Madison native who’s now living and working in New York City, recently took some time out to discuss her upcoming role and trip home.

I understand you’re living in New York. What have you been up to there?

I’ve lived in New York for four years now. I came to the city to do my master of music degree at the Manhattan School of Music. Now I’m a freelance musician and I perform quite frequently in New York, but also in Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago. I’m very active in contemporary music, and typically have several concerts on my plate at any given time. Composers seem to know how to keep me busy!

How did growing up in Madison prepare you for a career in music?

Growing up in Madison was such a blessing! My mother, Nancy Mackenzie, plays clarinet in both the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, plus her chamber group, the Oakwood Chamber Players. So I grew up going to all of the concerts, operas, ballets …

I was actually a violinist long before I was a singer, and I have many fond memories of Saturday mornings with WYSO [Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra]. I also used to do children’s operas with Madison Opera, so they were my introduction to the whole opera process. I’m very proud of Madison’s musical community; the city is so lucky to have so many high quality musical groups, not to mention a gorgeous performing arts center!

How did you come to be a part of Madison Opera’s production of Cosi fan Tutte?

Like most things in the musical world, I was in the right place at the right time. Allan Naplan, the general director of Madison Opera, contacted me in December to find out what I was up to, and explained that they were looking for a Despina for their production of Cosi. I was going to be back in Madison for the holidays, so we set up an audition so that he and John DeMain could hear me. I came and did the audition … and the rest is history.

What attracted you to the role of Despina? What are the opportunities and challenges inherent in the role?

Despina is a character that I have really come to love in the past couple of years. I studied her a little bit in college, but at the time, I didn’t have a lot of “life experience” that I could draw from to really understand her. Despina has definitely been with her share of men but doesn’t take relationships too seriously because she knows from experience that both men and women can be fickle. Being a single lady in New York City, I have experienced this firsthand! Playing Despina gives me the opportunity to focus on certain aspects of my own personality and morph them into something else entirely. My biggest challenge with Despina will probably be her extreme comedic moments, which I won’t reveal for your readers. You’ll just have to come see the show!

In the battle of the sexes in Cosi fan Tutte, Despina seems to be the only one who transcends sides. How are you approaching this character?

I think Despina is the only character in the opera who doesn’t have anything to prove. The two couples are trying to prove their love, or rather their faithfulness, to each other. Don Alfonso is trying to prove that women are unfaithful and Despina is along for the ride. She knows that both Fiordiligi and Dorabella and Ferrando and Guglielmo could easily fall for another person if given the right opportunity. She believes they are all too young to be thinking about settling down, and knows that if they were to open their eyes to other people, they might find that the grass is greener on the other side.

What are your goals for this production?

As with all my performances, my goal is to have fun and take the audience on a journey. It’s also another opportunity for me to grow as a performer and work with new people and meet new friends and colleagues.

Besides performing with Madison Opera, what else are you looking forward to doing while you’re in Madison?

My parents, sister and grandparents still live in Madison, so it’s going to be a real treat to get to be with them for three weeks! I’m sure I’ll be pretty booked with rehearsals, but I hope to be able to visit some of my favorite restaurants or go see a movie with my sister.

What’s next for you?

Back to New York! I’m doing a concert with the Juilliard Percussion Ensemble at the end of March, singing a very interesting piece by Jean Barraqué (a serialist composer, contemporary of Boulez and Stockhausen) for soprano, piano and six percussionists. I’m also working on a late song cycle by Fauré, Chanson d'Ève, with a wonderful pianist from Juilliard. And in April I’ll be appearing in a concert of selections from American opera with Harbor Opera, a small company in New York.


Madison Opera’s production of Cosi fan Tutte runs March 13 and 15 at Overture Center. For tickets or more information, visit madisonopera.org.

November Artist: Living in the Moment

Paula Swaydan Grebel has considered herself an artist for only a decade. But, really, she’s been one her entire life.

She grew up in California drawing, making art, taking classes in school. “I always did something with the arts,” she says. “It was my way of playing. I would doodle—and I still tend to do that—when I was bored.” Later, she earned a BFA from California State University, Long Beach, where she studied under well-known L.A. artist John Lincoln.

Yet Grebel didn’t work as an artist right out of college. Instead, she took a variety of other jobs, even working as a nurse for eleven years. But still, art was always there. “I never stopped drawing,” she says. “And I had great nursing notes.”

When she noticed herself wanting to draw all her patients, she knew art was calling. And she decided to follow it.

Over the past ten years, Grebel, who lives in Plymouth, Wisconsin, has come to specialize in oil paintings, particularly plein air studies and still-life works. She showcases nearly thirty pieces at an exhibition, In the Moment, running through the end of November at Bungalow 1227.

Her focus on plein air painting was an easy choice. “I love to be outside,” she says. “I love the light and sounds and smells. I love to travel.”

She works outside as long as possible throughout the year—and can even paint al fresco in the winter, as long as the sun is shining, it’s not too windy and the temperature is at least thirty-two degrees, she says.

When conditions aren’t favorable, Grebel moves indoors and switches to still-life work. But she tries to keep the spontaneity of her outdoor art, sometimes throwing random objects on a table to paint or asking one of her kids to choose a subject for her. “I like that chaos,” she says.

Grebel has been complimented on her ability to capture a moment in time in her work. “Part of what helps me is not to pre-plan,” she says. “If you pre-plan on your canvas and grid it out, the moment’s gone.”

She also holds back from using too much detail because she doesn’t like making photo-realistic paintings in which every element is crisply delineated. “That’s telling me too much,” she says. “I want mystery.”

By revealing her impressions of a single moment to viewers, Grebel strives to show the beauty of the world and new ways of looking at it.

“I hope that I create an emotional response of joy or something that’s positive—that it’s a good soulful experience,” she says. “The true job of an artist is to learn to see.”

IN THE MAGAZINE: The November issue of Madison Magazine comes out tomorrow. Here’s some of the arts content you’ll find within the pages:
• A tidbit on the Chicago-based Giving Tree Band, which recorded a green album at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center this summer. (Read more in this July 2 post.)
• Associate and style editor Shayna Miller’s Window Shopping column on paper goods and artsy gifts at Anthology.
• A profile on Valerie Kazamias, the force behind MMoCA and the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s annual Arts Ball.
• A poem by Andrea Potos (listen her poetry podcast).
• Our monthly Overtones section with picks on the can’t-miss performances, concerts, exhibitions and festivals taking place in November.

Cold Comfort

Today feels like fall has officially arrived, and it appears the chiller weather is here to stay.

While I could bemoan the temperature drop, this weekend I’m going to regard it as an invitation to step into Overture Center and be whisked away by the Madison Symphony Orchestra for a few hours. While escapism via the arts is fun any time of year, I think it’s enhanced when the word beyond the theater is cold and dark.

MSO has a rich program in store this weekend, a concert of Copland, Elgar and Holst featuring guest conductor Chosei Komatsu and cellist Alban Gerhardt. Performances are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Music director and conductor John DeMain met Komatsu in 2007 at the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, where he is artistic director; he’s also music director of Japan’s Central Aichi Symphony Orchestra. This weekend serves as Komatsu’s Madison debut, and he will open with Aaron Copland’s An Outdoor Overture, a work DeMain describes as an embodiment of the American spirit.

The second work, Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, will showcase the talent of guest performer Gerhardt, a young German cellist quickly making a name for himself in Europe and beyond. On the MSO website, DeMain describes how the cellist and concerto are a natural fit. “I’m excited to bring back Alban Gerhardt, one of the most sought-after European cellists, for the Elgar Concerto. It’s not just one of the most important cello concertos; it’s also a great audience favorite because of its delicacy and melancholic beauty.”

And a highlight is sure to be Gustav Holst’s The Planets, one of the most popular classical music works—and considered to be inspiration for John Williams’ Star Wars music. Dramatic and powerful, it showcases a range of emotions. Says DeMain, “It will be thrilling to hear this work performed live in Overture Hall, where all of its moods will blossom.”

As much as I enjoy an evening or afternoon musical getaway, I particularly love that in Madison anyone who wants to can have this experience. It’s not just for music lovers of a certain age or income level. In fact, MSO is making it easy and fun for young adults to attend concerts with its Club 201. Under this program, a joint effort between the Symphony and Madison MAGNET targeting Madisonians ages 21 to 39, classical music lovers can get discounted tickets and an invitation to a post-concert party at a local hotspot. After this Friday’s concert, Club 201-ers will head to Fromagination for wine and a Wisconsin cheese tasting.

But what if you don’t fall into the young music aficionado category? Or you’re already booked up this weekend? Well, there’s another related program open to public tomorrow. An Open Dress Rehearsal takes place 7–9:30 p.m. at Overture Hall. It’s free but only 250 spots are available and advance reservations are required (call 257.3734).

Here’s a look at the rest of MSO’s 2008–2009 Season:

November 7–9: Barber, Brahms, Tormis and Shostakovich featuring conductor Anu Tali and violinist Sarah Chang.

December 5–7: Christmas Spectacular featuring conductor John DeMain, soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine, tenor Gregory Turay, the Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Youth Choirs, Mount Zion Gospel Choir and Madison Area Concert Handbells.
• Club 201: Holiday Party. December 5 at Barriques.

January 16–18: Mozart, Sibelius and Prokofiev featuring conductor Daniel Hege, violinist Hanning Kraggerud and narrator James DeVita.
• Open Dress Rehearsal. January 15, 7–9:30 p.m.

February 6–8: A Feast of Beethoven featuring conductor John DeMain and pianist Olga Kern.
• Club 201: Beethoven & Beer. February 6 at Café Montmartre.

March 6–8: Borodin, Stravinsky and Dvořák featuring conductor Yoav Talmi and violinist Julian Rachlin.

April 3–5: Wagner, Saint-Saëns and Brahms featuring conductor John DeMain and pianist André Watts.
• Open Dress Rehearsal. April 2, 7–9:30 p.m.
• Club 201: Spring Romance. April 3 at Fresco.

May 1–3: Verdi Requiem featuring conductor John DeMain, soprano Karen Slack, mezzo-soprano Kristine Jepson, tenor Arnold Rawls, bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen and the Madison Symphony Chorus.

Photos of Gerhardt and Komatsu are courtesy of the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

Summer Traditions—with a Few New Twists

When you think of summer around Madison, a few favorite events likely come to mind. Concerts on the Square. Art Fair on the Square. American Players Theatre.

All three get their start this month and the next, with a combination of what’s made the events perpetually popular and some new twists on the traditions.

American Players Theatre

American Players Theatre offers five shows this summer, one of which started last week.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is APT’s signature production, says communications director Sara Young. The company used to do it annually, starting in its debut year of 1980, but hasn’t taken it on since 2000.

“It’s the quintessential APT experience,” Young says. “Part of it takes place in the woods and we’re in the woods. The magic people expect out of APT is heightened in it.”

And while many theater-goers know the Shakespearean comedy well, Young assures that this production is worth a watch. “You haven’t seen this Midsummer,” she says. “It’s gorgeous and fun.”

Ah, Wilderness! kicks off this week and Young promises the play by Eugene O'Neill will push the envelope further than an

y other play APT has performed has yet. Next week sees the start of Shakespeare’s Henry IV: The Making of a King, which Young describes as a coming-of-age story. In fact, she says, the entire season could be similarly characterized.

APT’s fourth and fifth shows—Widowers’ Houses by George Bernard Shaw and The Belle’s Strategem by Hannah Cowley—start in August and represent a mix of old and new. “We do a lot of Shaw out here,” Young says. And she adds that The Belle’s Strategem is the first play written by a woman that the company will perform.

Concerts on the Square

Concerts on the Square celebrates its twenty-fifth season this year, with the first of six Wednesday-evening performances taking place June 25.

Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra music director and maestro Andrew Sewell says he planned the season to be memorable and special, and one that longtime Concerts lovers would enjoy. “We really wanted something that would bring everyone together,” he says.

In the Concerts on the Square tradition, a Fourth of July concert (held July 2) will be a patriotic salute to America and feature Hong-En Chen, the pianist who won the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s 2008 Young Artist Concerto Competition.

Guest artists are highlights of the season, and several are newcomers to Concerts on the Square, says Sewell. Trumpeter Ryan Anthony will be featured in July 9’s Sound the Trumpet concert, while Philadelphia violin and bass trio Time for Three performs at the String Fusion concert on July 23.

Sewell says the final concert of the season, July 30’s Our Town, will serve as the ultimate anniversary celebration. The concert will feature mezzo soprano Kitt Foss, soprano Alli Foss, Tracy Silverman on electric violin and the Isthmus Vocal Ensemble.

Art Fair on the Square

Art Fair on the Square also celebrates an anniversary this summer: Fifty years of being the ultimate downtown outdoor arts festival, attracting roughly 500 artists and countless art lovers to the Capitol Square.

Art Fair coordinator Katie Hunter says her goal in putting on the event is to make it seem fresh each year. There are surely some changes in store this season.

The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art made the Art Fair application process almost entirely digital this year. That attracted not only more applicants—more than 1,500 as compared to 1,300 in 2007—but also new ones. Hunter estimates that one-third of artists who will participate in Art Fair on the Square July 12 and 13 are newcomers.

The digital process also contributed to the Art Fair’s effort to go green. Hunter says the event is ramping up its recycling and focusing on biodegradable products. She also posed a Go Green Challenge to participating artists, asking them to create at least one work of art using recycled of biodegradable materials. A jury will view all the eco artwork and choose a winner, who will earn free entry into next year’s fair.

“We’re trying to connect the environment and the arts,” Hunte says. “Art can be used to facilitate a lot of environmental practices.”

Art Fair also has partnered with EnAct, asking artists to decorate rain barrels that will be showcased around the Square and later auctioned off. And they’re working with the Chicago-based Working Bikes Cooperative, which takes donated bicycles and refurbishes them to be used as a power source in developing countries. The group will have a sixteen-foot bicycle-powered fountain on display.

While Art Fair could have used its anniversary season to reflect on past festivals, Hunter says the desire was to look toward the future. She hopes to make the event as environmentally friendly as possible in the years to come.

“We’re not a green event but we’re a greener event,” she says. “It will take a few years.”

Hunter encourages festival-goers to bike, bus or walk to Art Fair. Those who come in on two wheels may park their bicycles at a new bike corral on King Street.

Other changes to this year’s fair include a revamped kids area, which will include art projects led by MFA students. And a strong lineup of food vendors and live entertainment should assure Hunter’s other goal for Art Fair: that anyone, art lover or not, can attend the event and have a great time.

Photos top to bottom are courtesy of American Players Theatre, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

COMING UP: A few events and performances to check out this week.

Tomorrow, Stage Q begins its annual two-week playfest, Queer Shorts 3, which celebrates LGBT theater and its actors, directors and playwrights at the Bartell Theatre. The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society starts its summer program, Same Carriage, Fresh Horses, on Friday. Performances change weekly and take place at venues throughout the Madison area.

Saturday marks the annual Juneteenth Day Celebration honoring the African American emancipation. The event is held in Penn Park.

And on Monday is Concert on the Green, the Madison Symphony Orchestra outdoor summer concert and picnic at Bishops Bay Country Club in Middleton.

An Artistic Addition

Madison has a newcomer to its visual arts scene: Bungalow 1227, a laid-back enclave for artists and art lovers at 1227 E. Wilson St.

Set in a cozy brick bungalow, the gallery is the latest undertaking of Pat Dillon, a Madison artist and writer (she’s written about travel for Madison Magazine).

“This is one thing I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” she says.

Dillon transformed the former home into a rustic gallery, exposing stone walls and keeping the original wood floors intact. Paintings and drawings fill the walls—as well as windows covered with sheets of corrugated metal—and pottery is displayed on shelves and tables.

That the gallery was a concept brewing in Dillon’s mind for years allowed her to keep tabs on artists she’d one day like to represent. She created Bungalow 1227 to be a relaxed space where local and regional artists can display their work. But she’s thrown some international artists into the mix, too.

Dillon also intends for the gallery to be welcoming the public. Art lovers of all stripes can pop in straight from the adjacent bike path or from a stroll along East Wilson Street to look, shop and talk art.

The gallery’s opening is May 2, in conjunction with the city’s spring Gallery Night. Her first show is Women Inspired Art, which runs through June 30.

Proceeds from all her shows will benefit a charity, this time the YWCA’s Third Street Program.

COMING UP: A few events and performances to check out this week.

Design MMoCA takes over the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Friday through Sunday for a showcase of interior design based on works from the museum’s permanent collection.

Thursday through Saturday, the UW Dance Program offers its Spring Program Concert at Lathrop Hall.

The Madison Symphony Orchestra brings the sounds of Russia to Overture Center with concerts Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Also at Overture is a free Community Hymn Sing Saturday morning in which the public can sing along with the concert organ.

The city will be filled with runners taking part in the 27th Annual Crazylegs Classic on Saturday. The 8K run starts and the Capitol Square and makes its way throughout the downtown.

And hundreds of alpacas and fans of the fuzzy animals will meet up at the Alliant Energy Center Saturday and Sunday for the Great Midwest Alpaca Festival.