Fall Open house: November 7, 2009

On Saturday, November 7, 2009, music students, families, and teachers are invited to come and see what WYSO has to offer at the season’s first Open House.

The event will begin at 10:00am with a meet and greet featuring doughnuts and cider in the Strelow Lounge of the UW Humanities building. Guests will be able to talk with WYSO staff and parents of current members, and will get a chance to tour WYSO’s four orchestras in rehearsal. After the tour, guests will have an opportunity to speak with current WYSO members in a Q & A session.

The UW Humanities Building is located at 455 N. Park Street, Madison. Contact Nicole Sparacino, WYSO Communications Manager at 608-263-3320 x 11 for more information or to RSVP.

Steenbock Fall Concerts: November 14 and 15, 2009

The weekend of November 14 and 15, 2009, more than 300 talented young musicians will kick off WYSO's 44th season with three concerts honoring southern Wisconsin's private music instructors and school music teachers.  WYSO's string orchestra, Sinfonietta, will open the concert series at 1:30pm with a selection of dramatic works, including "The Haunted Carousel," and "Medieval Wars." Concert Orchestra will follow with a classical work, Bach's Brandenburg Sinfonia, and the tone poem "Tara," inspired by Gone with the Wind.

WYSO's Percussion Ensemble and Philharmonia Orchestra will follow at 4:00 pm with performances of the Overture to Verdi’s opera Nabucco as well as a selection of English folk songs and a movement from Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major.

On Sunday, November 15, at 2:00pm, WYSO's Harp Ensemble will treat the audience to the sounds of a Swedish dance and "Snowfall Waltz."  Youth Orchestra, conducted by James Smith, will follow with Lutoslawski’s Polish folk song themed Mala suita (Little Suite), as well as works by Franz Schubert, UW-Madison professor John Stevens, and Carlos Chavez. This concert will also feature one of the first performances of a symphony composed by 13-year-old Joel Weng, who plays violin in the orchestra.

The Steenbock Concerts will be held in Mills Concert Hall in the UW Humanities Building, 455 N. Park Street, Madison. [WYSO concerts are generally about an hour to an hour and a half in length, providing a great orchestral concert opportunity for families.]  Tickets are available at the door, $8 for adults and $5 for children under 18 years of age. 

These concerts are supported by the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission with additional funds from the American Girl's Fund for Children, The Evjue Foundation, and the Overture Foundation. This project is also supported by the Alliant Energy Foundation and by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.