W I S C O N S I N U N I O N T H E AT E R
IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL
SPHINX VIRTUOSI THURS, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 | 7:30PM SHANNON HALL, MEMORIAL UNION
WISCONSIN UNION THEATER
2021-2022 SEASON Terence Blanchard
Join us to gather in community and feel the power of live performing arts.
Renée Fleming
FALL 2021 ABSENCE: featuring terence blanchard, the e-collective and the turtle isalnd quartet
Friday, November 5, 2021 | 7:30 pm Shannon Hall at Memorial Union phony ppl
Thursday, November 18, 2021 | 7:30 pm Shannon Hall at Memorial Union
the vijay iyer trio
Friday, December 3, 2021 | 7:30 pm Play Circle at Memorial Union gil shaham, VIOLIN
Saturday, December 11, 2021 | 7:30 pm Shannon Hall at Memorial Union
SPRING 2022 Vijay Iyer
Gil Shaham
third coast percussion movement art is
+
Thursday, January 27, 2022 | 7:30 pm Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall at Hamel Music Center brentano string quartet
Thursday, February 10, 2022 | 7:30 pm Shannon Hall at Memorial Union pacho flores, trumpet with UWSO
Saturday, March 5, 2022 | 7:30 pm Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall at Hamel Music Center
black arts matter festival
March 23-26, 2022 Memorial Union george HINCHLIFFE’S ukulele orchestra of great britain
Thursday, March 31, 2022 | 7:30 pm Shannon Hall at Memorial Union renée fleming
Saturday, April 30, 2022 | 7:00 pm Shannon Hall at Memorial Union
FUNDING FOR THE SPHINX ORGANIZATION IS PROVIDED IN PART BY: The Bill and Char Johnson Classical Music Series Fund The Fan Taylor Fund
The Performing Arts Committee (PAC) brings world-class artists to the campus community and beyond by programming the Wisconsin Union Theater’s season of music, dance, theater, comedy, and spoken word. PAC focuses on pushing the range and diversity in programming while connecting to students and the broader Madison community. In addition to planning the Wisconsin Union Theater’s Season, the Performing Arts Committee programs and produces student-centered programming such as the New Performance Showcase and poetry workshops. PAC makes it a priority to connect students to the performing artists through educational engagement activities, backstage support and introductions from the stage. WUD PAC is part of the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Leadership and Engagement Program and central to the Wisconsin Union’s purpose of creating community and a place where all belong and developing the leaders of tomorrow.
SUPPORT FOR THE 2021-2022 CONCERT SERIES PROVIDED IN PART BY: George Elder Fund for the Union Theater Dr. Linda I. Garrity Living Legends Endowment Fund Robert and Linda Graebner Jean C. Hodgin Fund Bill and Char Johnson Classical Music Series Fund Barbara and Frank Manley Cultural Arts Fund Mead Witter School of Music Stephen Morton David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Fund Marie B. Pulvermacher Wisconsin Union Theater Fund Fan Taylor Fund Douglas and Elisabeth B Weaver Fund for Performing Arts Wisconsin Union Theater Endowment
SPHINX VIRTUOSI SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
Ev’ry Voice
Xavier Foley (b. 1994) This work is an homage and pays tribute to the Black National Anthem. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was first written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson. Johnson was an American writer and civil rights activist who also led the NAACP. Its first performance was
Xavier Foley (b. 1994)
Ev’ry Voice
in celebration of President Lincoln’s birthday, on February 12, 1900, in Jacksonville, FL, performed by a group of schoolchildren. The poem was set to music by Johnson’s brother,
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor
Florence Price (1887 - 1953)
II. Andante Cantabile
John Rosamond Johnson, and as a complete work, adopted by the NAACP as its official anthem. We often say that music is the soundtrack of our history and our lives. Today, we know “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the soundtrack of the African American Civil Rights Movement. Xavier Foley, a brilliant bassist and composer, the Avery Fisher Career Grant
Four Novelletten
I. Allegro moderato
III. Andante con moto
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912)
winner, and a Sphinx Competition Laureate created two separate versions of a work, “Lift Ev’ry Voice,” commissioned by the Sphinx Organization. One of the versions is set for the Sphinx Virtuosi, while the second incorporates the use of Sphinx’s professional vocal ensemble, Exigence. This piece was created in 2020 as a special feature under Sphinx’s program umbrella of “Land of the Free,” which illuminates the wealth of musical talent
Banner for Quartet and String Orchestra
Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981)
among American composers. Appearing now as part of our “This Is America” digital program, this work has become a beloved standalone. Inspiration for the commission came at a time when the ideals of unity were invoked amidst uncertainty, tragedy, and hope. In his music, Foley brings out the sonority and virtuosity of the string instruments to feature
INTERMISSION
the familiar melodic material while uncovering new timbres and sounds. Thus, almost symbolically encouraging all of us to look and listen anew, beyond the isolation of the global
Seven (for solo cello)
Inocente
Andrea Casarrubios (b. 1988)
Ricardo Herz (b. 1978)
IV. Finale furioso
times ahead is ushered in by Foley’s new tribute to a treasured piece of the American.
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor II. Andante Cantabile Florence Price (1887 - 1953)
Mourinho
Concerto per Corde, Op. 33
pandemic and our country’s racial and cultural divide. Today’s soundtrack for the hopeful
Alberto Ginastera (1916 - 1983)
The A-minor string quartet is Florence Price’s second work of its kind, which was preceded by her G-major quartet in 1929. In terms of the style and language, this work embraces a more mature, later harmonic, and melodic profile of the 20th century. Importantly, this work offers insight into the soulful musical materials paying homage to the composer’s heritage. The second movement’s gentle, lyrical, and song-like quality is both refreshing and comforting in character. The whole work also invokes the style of the African lively dance called Juba. The last movement offers an almost improvisatory breadth of the composer’s fluent writing, rounding out the work as a fine example of the string quartet medium.
Four Novelletten I. Allegro Moderato III. Andante con moto
where there are several strains or contrasting sections, preceded by an introduction, and I
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Novelletten for strings is a set of short movements written in
A variety of other cultural Anthems and American folk songs and popular idioms interact to
an elegant style of the Romantic era. Also, a gifted violinist, the composer imagined and
form various textures in the finale section, contributing to a multi-layered fanfare. The Star-
executed the piece perfectly for the instruments. As a result, the set offers an opportunity
Spangled Banner is an ideal subject for exploration in contradictions. For most Americans,
to showcase the solo violin in a virtuosic light, in addition to using the entire ensemble
the song represents a paradigm of liberty and solidarity against fierce odds. For others,
to its fullest scale. The work was first dedicated to Miss Ethel Barns, a composer and
it implies a contradiction between the ideals of freedom and the realities of injustice and
virtuoso violinist who performed and premiered several of Coleridge-Taylor’s works. Samuel
oppression. As a culture, it is my opinion that Americans are perpetually in search of ways
Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) was the son of a white, English mother and a Sierra Leonean
to express and celebrate our ideals of freedom—a way to proclaim, “we’ve made it!” as if
medical student who met in London. Raised in his grandfather’s household by his single
the very act of saying it aloud makes it so. And for many of our nation’s people, that was the
mother, he showed his evident musical talent at a young age. A scholarship student at the
case. - Jesse Montgomery
Samuel Coleridge Taylor (1875 - 1912)
Royal Conservatory, Coleridge-Taylor became increasingly interested in his own heritage and the concept of Pan-Africanism, which led him to study the history of Africans in America. He led the London Handel Society in the early 1900s and served as composition professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Trinity College of Music. This remarkably talented composer met his untimely death at age 37, but his legacy continues to inform and inspire the classical canon today.
Banner for Quartet and String Orchestra Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981)
Banner is a tribute to the 200th Anniversary of the Star-Spangled Banner, officially declared the American National Anthem in 1814 under the penmanship of Francis Scott Key. Scored for solo string quartet and string orchestra, Banner is a rhapsody on the theme of the StarSpangled Banner. Drawing on musical and historical sources from various world anthems and patriotic songs, I’ve attempted to answer the question: “What does an anthem for the 21st century sound like in today’s multicultural environment?”
have drawn on the drumline chorus as a source for the rhythmic underpinning in the finale. Within the same tradition, I have attempted to evoke the breathing of a large brass choir as it approaches the climax of the “trio” section.
Seven (for solo cello)
Andrea Casarrubios (b. 1988) Seven for solo cello (2020) is a tribute to the essential workers during the global COVID-19 pandemic and to those who lost lives and suffered from the crisis. The piece ends with seven bell-like sounds, alluding to New York’s daily 7 pm tribute during the lockdown - the moment when New Yorkers clapped from their windows, connecting with each other and expressing appreciation for those on the front lines.
Mourinho Inocente
Ricardo Herz (b. 1978) These two pieces have the northeast Brazilian as their atmosphere and were written initially for accompanied violin. Recorded in different versions on several albums, by the Brazilian violinist and composer Ricardo Herz as the soloist, their most recent version is at “Nova
I was commissioned by the Providence String Quartet and Community Music Works to
Música Brasileira Para Cordas” with Camerata Romeu and Ricardo Herz. Herz himself
write Anthem in 2009: a tribute to the historic election of Barack Obama. In that piece, I
adapted this orchestral version especially for this Sphinx Virtuosi tour.
wove together the theme from the Star-Spangled Banner with the commonly named Black National Anthem: Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson (which coincidentally share the exact same phrase structure).
Mourinho is a forró, written in 2001. Ricardo uses several rhythms and comping techniques for the orchestra, based on the percussion instruments and claves of the forró style, using the string instruments as they were the zabumbas, triangles, and accordions, typical of northeast
Banner picks up where Anthem left off by using a similar backbone source in its middle
Brazil. Inocente is a Baião-Coco, characterized by its first lyric melodie (baião) and a second
section but expands further both in the number of references and in the role-play of the
rhythmic one (côco). In this rendition, the orchestra is fulfilling the role of the singer and the
string quartet as the individual voice working both with and against the larger community of
band at once.
the orchestra behind them. The structure is loosely based on traditional marching band form
Concerto per Corde, Op. 33 IV. Finale furioso Alberto Ginastera (1916 - 1983)
Alberto Ginastera composed his String Quartet No. 2 in 1958. His Concerto per Corde, Op. 33 (Concerto for Strings) came seven years later as an adaptation of the quartet for full-string orchestra. The new first movement, Variazioni Per I Solisti, is a raw-sounding and challenging theme and variations, where soloists lead prominently in a complex dialogue with the orchestra. This is followed by Scherzo Fantastico: Presto, which leaves a listener with a sense of chaos, disorientation, a frantic chase, perhaps. The Adagio Angoscioso explores the concept of sound from a contemplative perspective, paying tribute to the past and incorporating traditional melodic elements. The piece concludes with the Finale Furioso: colorful, rhythmic, almost breathless. This movement showcases folk idioms, changing meters, hidden melodic ideas from preceding movements, all expressed through excellent writing for the string medium (much like Bartók, an inspiration behind much of Ginastera’s work). Get immersed in the ferocious energy of the unyielding rhythm and virtuosic brilliance of the sound.
VIOLIN I
CELLO
VIOLIN II
BASS
Patricia Quintero (Concertmaster) Alex Gonzalez Clayton Penrose-Whitmore Sandro Leal-Santiesteban
Meredith Riley (Principal) Emilia Mettenbrink Lady Jess Maïthéna Girault
Thomas Mesa (Principal) Erica Snowden-Rodriguez Quenton Blache Ismael Guerrero
Benjamin Harris (Principal) Jonathan Colbert
VIOLA
Celia Hatton (Principal) Robert Switala Bill Neri Bradley Parrimore
SPHINX VIRTUOSI The self-conducted, professional chamber orchestra of Black and Latinx musicians aspires to advocate for diversity in the arts, transforming lives through the power of inclusion and a commitment to social impact through classical music. The 18-member string orchestra has a mission to empower their communities and provide a platform for change. The national Sphinx Virtuosi Tour is made possible with the generous support of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Robert F. Smith, with additional support from Aetna and National Endowment for the Arts.
SPHINX VIRTUOSI ARE REPRESENTED BY MKI ARTISTS ONE LAWSON LANE, SUITE 320, BURLINGTON, VT 05401
WWW.SPHINXMUSIC.ORG/SPHINX-VIRTUOSI
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS DONORS Tomoji Akagi & Betty M. Akagi
Susan E. Eichhorn
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Melissa Le
Ralph F. Russo & Lauren G. Cnare
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Madison Central Business Improvement District
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Anna M. Biermeier & Roger L. Hanson
Cassandra L. Book Calvin S. Bruce & Catherine CaroBruce Sarah T. Cantley & Steve Cantley Timothy A. Cartwright & Amy J. Cartwright
Linda M. Graebner & Robert W. Graebner
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Peter Napoleone & Donna Napoleone
Lindsay M. Hanson John P. Hawley Susanna D. Herro & Stuart C. Herro
Nancy A. Ciezki & Diane M. Kostecke
Michael J. Hoon & Diana M. Rodum
Samuel B. Coe
Wei Huang
Charles L. Cohen & Christine A. Schindler
Stanley L. Inhorn & Shirley S. Inhorn
Dane County
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George Cutlip
Robert L. Julian & Maryanne Julian
Sonja Darlington & John Oshsner
Karen D. Julian
R Lawrence De Roo & Patricia K. Kokotailo
Arkadiy Katz
Elizabeth G. Douma Doris B. Dubielzig & Richard R. Dubielzig
Stephen D. Morton
Jan B. Hall & Jane E. Hall
Peter C. Christianson
Pat D’Ercole
Janet P. Montgomery & Robert R. Montgomery
Barbara H. Klotz
Thomas M. Neujahr & Julie K. Underwood Ronald Nief & Joanna M. Kutter John H. Oakley & Gretchen H. Oakley Kato L. Perlman Robert S. Perlstein & Marianita Perlstein Jeffrey W. Potter & Katharine A. Kenny-Potter M Thomas Record Jr. & Voula K. Kodoyianni Taryn Resnick
Melissa U. Smith & Wrede H. Smith Jr. Reeves E. Smith & Glenna M. Carter Elizabeth Snodgrass & Jonathan Stenger Mark W. Stanley & Krista Stanley Marjorie F. Stewart Ann M. Sticha Elaine B. Strassburg Millard Susman & Barbara B. Susman Catherine T. Tesar & George Tesar Sarah J. Voichick Anne T. Wadsack & Peter R. Wadsack Ronald M. Wanek & Janet E. Wanek Glenn H. Watts & Jane K. Watts
Naomi S. Rhodes
Mariamne H. Whatley
Carolyn J. Kruse & Ellen M. Pryor
John K. Rinehart & Barbara M. Conley
Wisconsin Arts Board
Renee R. Lajcak
Sharon S. Rouse
Daniel J. Koehn & Mark R. Koehn
WISCONSIN UNION THEATER
The Wisconsin Union Theater is committed to social justice and is on a path towards creating an equitable, diverse, and inclusive place for the staff, crew, and students who work in the WUT and for the performers, artists, and audience members who engage with the WUT through our programming, events, and activities. Goals that guide our work: • Be more than allies; be activists. • Use the arts to create social justice. • Remember, our students are our future leaders and must be part of the change. • Use our voices to influence leadership and be firm in our resolve. • Make space, step back, and learn how to give up undeserved or unnecessary power and privilege
Do you know a student looking to work at a dynamic, professional performing arts theater housed in the heart of campus? We have exciting opportunities available in the Box Office, Front-of-House, and Stage Crew starting at $1113/hour. Learn more about our various job postings: union. wisc.edu/jobs. • Box Office Clerks assist customers with purchasing tickets, processing transactions, and handling patron questions and concerns with care.
Starting at
$11-13 per hour
• House Managers manage the front-of-house experience and the usher team for individual events. • Ushers support the set-up of events in Shannon Hall & the Play Circle, control access to events, and help patrons navigate the theater and the greater Memorial Union building. • Stagehands work as part of the technical team to provide lighting, audio, video, backstage, live streaming, and stage management services for events in Shannon Hall & the Play Circle. We seek a diverse staff and programming committee who are enthusiastic about social justice and prioritize creating a welcoming performing arts center for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and disabled artists and audiences.
COMING SOON! THE WISCONSIN UNION THEATER CONCERT SERIES GIL SHAHAM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021 7:30 PM SHANNON HALL AT MEMORIAL UNION Power, vitality, and rhapsody are the hallmarks of legendary violinist Gil Shaham. His technically daunting performances achieve a seemingly impossible level of clarity, speed, and intricacy that leave audiences exhilarated. Gil Shaham is a masterful musician who has played on the world’s greatest stages. He is the recipient of multiple Grammy awards and the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. His “flawless precision and gleeful command” (The New York Times) will undoubtedly enrapture every audience member.
TICKETS: 608.265.2787 artsticketing.wisc.edu
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