WELCOME TO THE MILWAUKEE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Welcome, and thank you for joining us this afternoon as the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra continues its 34th season. You will hear performances by professional musicians, artists who are challenged by these works and are delighted by the opportunity to perform for you in an intimate venue. Richard Hynson, our artistic director, worked with these players to create a thoughtful program that will provide an uplifting and provocative experience. They’ve rehearsed for this afternoon, not just this past week, but in many cases for decades. Please give thoughtful consideration to making a bid (or bids!) on the items in our Annual Silent Auction at today’s concert. Find a board member (we’re wearing name tags) and let us know what we can do to make our concert events even better. Take a minute, too, and acknowledge the efforts by our executive director, Jim LaBelle, who finesses every detail of these concerts. Thank the fine people at our host, Calvary Presbyterian Church, and consider buying a bottle of wine from our friends at Vino 100 to benefit the MCO. And remember: your ticket purchase provides only a fraction of the revenue that is needed to stage an MCO concert. We’re fortunate to have many generous contributors to our group, and always seek more. You might be sitting next to someone who helped make this afternoon possible. Perhaps you helped with your own contribution. Regardless, we are thankful for you and happy that you have joined us. We hope you enjoy the performance this afternoon. We’ve worked hard to continue the MCO’s legacy in our community and invite you to help with our efforts. Talk up the MCO; bring a friend to our next concert; consider a sponsorship. Thank you all and we look forward to seeing you at our future performances. James B. Nelson President, Board of Directors
GREETING FROM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR Dear Friends, On behalf of the musicians and the board of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, let me welcome you to our Winter Concert: Transfigured Night. We will begin with Verklärte Nacht or Transfigured Night by Arnold Schönberg. This early work, written over a century ago, proclaims what neuroscientists in increasing numbers are confirming in the laboratory: music changes us. Their research shows that music activates so many parts of the brain that it is impossible to pinpoint where it affects us; but they do know that it stimulates and alters our emotional states, it penetrates to connect with and touch those with damaged or diseased brains, and it lingers longer than almost any other memory in patients with dementia. It moves us, and in being moved we are connected at a profoundly emotional, spiritual level. A young Swedish composer was so moved by Schönberg’s work that he composed a work one hundred years later in homage to it. A. S. in Memoriam, Rolf Martinsson’s emotional response to Verklärte Nacht, even quotes one of Schönberg’s musical themes. Finally, Ottorino Respighi, moved by the beauty of music from the 16th and 17th centuries, selected and arranged many of his favorites into suites. Using modern compositional techniques, he transformed them into something new and accessible for his audiences —and today, for us. If you are joining us for the first time, welcome! If you are a regular to these concerts, it’s good to see you again, and to welcome you to another splendid evening of music making. Get ready to be transformed! Richard Hynson www.MilwaukeeChamberOrchestra.org 1