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LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
As we gather in this space for these concerts, the Madison Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the Ho-Chunk Nation’s ancestral lands and celebrates the rich traditions, heritage, and culture that thrived long before our arrival. We respectfully recognize this Ho-Chunk land and affirm that we are better when we stand together.
sponsors program
thank you
to our generous sponsors for supporting this performance
William Steffenhagen
Shirley Spade, in memory of Gerald Spade
Audrey Dybdahl, in memory of Philip Dybdahl
Kay Schwichtenberg and Herman Baumann
The Overture Concert Organ is the gift of Pleasant T. Rowland.
Support for all Overture Concert Organ Programs is provided by the Diane Endres Ballweg Fund.
We wish to thank our other organ contributors, the Malmquist Family, Margaret C. Winston, and Friends of the Overture Concert Organ.
Greg Zelek is the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Organist and the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ.
WELCOME TO THE MSO!
Overture Concert Organ Series | SubscriptionProgram No. 4
Thursday, April 3, 2025 | 7:30 pm
Greg Zelek, Organ
Marc Reese, Trumpet
Derek Lockhart, Trumpet
Gregory Miller, Horn
Mark Hetzler, Trombone
Kenneth Amis, Tuba
Matt Endres, Percussion
TIELMAN SUSATO
Basse danse bergerette, arr. Rolf Smedvig
EMPIRE BRASS, MR. ZELEK, AND DR. ENDRES
GIOVANNI GABRIELI
Canzona duodecimi toni, arr. Robert King
EMPIRE BRASS AND MR. ZELEK
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
My Spirit Be Joyful from Cantata No. 146, arr. Empire Brass
EMPIRE BRASS AND MR. ZELEK
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Pedal-Excercitium in G minor, BWV 598
MR. ZELEK
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Wedding and Troika from Lieutenant Kijé, arr. Rolf Smedvig
EMPIRE BRASS
GUSTAV HOLST
Jupiter from The Planets, arr. Rolf Smedvig
EMPIRE BRASS, MR. ZELEK, AND DR. ENDRES
Please silence your electronic devices and cell phones for the duration of the concert. Photography and video are not permitted during the performance. You may take and share photos during applause. Thank you!
Continued On Next Page
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR
Toccata from Symphony No. 5 in F minor, Op. 42, No. 1
- ORLOUIS VIERNE
Finale from Symphony No. 1, Op. 14
MR. ZELEK
KENNETH AMIS
Bell-Tone’s Ring
EMPIRE BRASS AND MR. ZELEK
MARK HETZLER
Balaenoptera musculus Blues (Blue Whale Blues) [World Premiere; in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Overture Concert Organ and Series.]
EMPIRE BRASS, MR. ZELEK, AND DR. ENDRES
GEORGE GERSHWIN
I Got Rhythm, arr. Greg Zelek
MR. ZELEK
FATS WALLER
Ain’t Misbehavin’, arr. Samuel Pilafian
EMPIRE BRASS
GEORGE GERSHWIN
Summertime, arr. Frank Denson
EMPIRE BRASS, MR. ZELEK, AND DR. ENDRES
LEONARD BERNSTEIN
West Side Story Suite, arr. Jack Gale andMark Hetzler
Something’s Comin’ Maria America
EMPIRE BRASS, MR. ZELEK, AND DR. ENDRES
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TUESDAY, 7:00 PM
OVERTURE CENTER FOR THE
HALL
Marc Reese trumpet
Internationally acclaimed trumpeter Marc Reese is best known for his near twodecade tenure in the Empire Brass Quintet. As a member of the quintet, he toured the globe entertaining audiences and inspiring brass players with the quintet’s signature sound and virtuosity.
Reese is highly regarded as an orchestral musician having performed on multiple occasions with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra and the Boston Symphony. He has performed at many of the world’s great summer festivals including Tanglewood, Ravinia, Blossom, Marlboro and the Pacific Music Festival where he also served as a member of the faculty. Reese has recorded for Telarc with the Empire Brass, on Sony with the Boston Pops and has been featured on the Naxos label with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
Reese is dedicated to the promotion of new music having commissioned many new works for the trumpet in various settings as well as participating in multiple premiere performances. He has created dozens of arrangements for both the trumpet and brass quintet and previously served on the board of the Florida State Music Teachers Association as its Composition Commissioning Chair. Reese is a current board member of the International Trumpet Guild.
Reese focuses a great deal of his time on education serving as Assistant Dean and Brass Department Head for Lynn University’s Conservatory of Music. He is in great demand as a master clinician and frequently performs and adjudicates at international brass conferences and competitions. He has contributed articles to multiple brass publications and is the contributing editor of the International Trumpet Guild Journal’s Chamber Connection. Reese is the creator and Artistic Director of Lynn University’s Roger Voisin Memorial Trumpet Competition. He spent this past summer on the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp. Reese has also written an iBook that utilizes Clarke’s Technical Studies to improve double tonguing entitled Repurposing Clarke
As a young artist Reese spent his summers at Tanglewood and attended Juilliard’s preparatory division where he studied with Mel Broiles and Mark Gould. He received his BM from Boston University as a student of Roger Voisin and his MM from the New England Conservatory studying with Tim Morrison. Reese currently resides in south Florida with his wife, pianist Lisa Leonard, and their two boys Carter and Luke.
Derek Lockhart trumpet
Derek Lockhart enjoys a diverse musical career as a chamber musician, orchestral performer, commercial artist and educator. is performances have been heard on five continents including his appointment as Assistant Principal Trumpet with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also performed as Principal Trumpet with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Acting Principal Trumpet with the Sarasota Orchestra.
As a member of the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, Mr. Lockhart worked as an instructor and chamber music coach for the Empire Brass Quintet Seminar at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. This collaboration fostered a relationship leading to becoming a member of the Empire Brass in 2013.
An active freelance musician, Mr. Lockhart performs regularly with the Detroit Opera Orchestra, the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. Derek is a founding member of the Motor City Brass Quintet, whose award winning debut CD “Christmas Vespers” features the music of the Pulitzer Prize winning American composer John Harbison. Mr. Lockhart is a house musician for theaters throughout the state of Michigan, performing for
touring Broadway shows. During the summer months, he performs with the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Sun ower Music Festival, and the Colorado Music Festival, where he collaborates with world class musicians and soloists, while enjoying hiking in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
Gregory Miller horn
Gregory Miller, Director of the School of Music and Professor of Horn at the University of Maryland, has been a member of the faculty since 2000 and previously served as Associate Director for Academic Affairs and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Over the course of his career, Miller has established himself as an accomplished chamber musician, orchestral player, soloist and teacher. He was appointed hornist of the mpire Brass in 1 7 and over the next fifteen years presented hundreds of concerts, masterclasses and clinics throughout the world. In addition to concertizing throughout the United States, Miller has performed in twenty-five countries spanning five continents at venues which have included Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall, the Barbican Center, the Mozarteum and the Musikverien to name but a few. Recorded on the Telarc label, Miller can be heard on EBQ’s Class Brass: Firedance and the Glory of Gabrieli.
His orchestral career began in 1991 as a fellow with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas. He appeared on three NWS recordings on the Argo Decca label, one of which, Tangazo: Music
of Latin America, received a Grammy nomination. In 1994, Miller was appointed Associate Principal Horn and Assistant Personnel Manager of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He has regularly performed in the horn sections with the Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and National symphony orchestras as well as with the Miami City Ballet, Washington Ballet, Kennedy Center Opera, and Palm Beach Opera orchestras. In 2015, Miller performed as guest principal horn with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica. The following year he served as guest principal horn for the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico on their European tour.
Gregory Miller has served on the faculties of the University of Hawaii, Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. He is a Distinguished Artist in Residence at the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University, a position he has held since 1996. He has appeared as an international clinician with the Pacific Music Festival (Japan), the International Brass Festival (Australia), the Festival Internacional De Inverno De Campos Do Jordão (Brazil), the Festival de Musique de Saint-Barthélemy (French West Indies) and the Music Festival of Santiago de Queretaro (Mexico). Miller has also performed with the Colorado Music Festival, the Monadnock Music Festival and the Sun ower Music Festival. He currently serves on the faculties of the Miami Music Festival and the National Orchestral Institute. Mr. Miller is a Conn Selmer Artist and performs on the Conn French horn exclusively.
Mark Hetzler trombone
Born in Sarasota, Florida in 1968, Mark Hetzler began playing his father’s trombone at the age of twelve. He went on to receive a B.M. from Boston University and an M.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music. Mark was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and completed a three-year fellowship with the New World Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.
As a member of the Empire Brass Quintet from 19962012, Mark performed in recital and as a soloist with symphony orchestras in Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Venezuela, Brazil, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, Austria, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, Bermuda, St. Bartholomew and across the United States. He appeared with the group on live television and radio broadcasts in Asia and the United States, as well as Empire Brass recordings on the Telarc label.
Mark has released twelve solo recordings on the Summit Records label with programming that features music in a wide variety of genres. In addition to recording and performing, Mark is active as a composer, orchestrator and arranger, fusing classical styles with many nonclassical in uences. e has composed a trombone
concerto ( hree e s t ), as well as numerous works in solo, chamber and large ensemble settings, including wind ensemble, orchestra, big band, brass quintet and jazz/rock combos.
In addition to his solo recordings, he has recently released three ensemble recordings. Don’t Look Down (2020), which he co-produced with UW–Madison colleagues Tom Curry and Anthony Di Sanza, features their collaborative concert-length original composition Don’tLookDown, exploring the impact of social media and technology on society. Mark can also be heard performing his own music on an electric trombone in the recordings of the adventurous new music group Mr. Chair. This versatile quartet released their debut recording Nebulebula in 2019, and followed it up with their second album Better Days in 2022.
Former Principal Trombone of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Mark has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops and the Florida Orchestra. He joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004, and is currently the Professor of Trombone at UW–Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music. Among his many duties as a faculty member in the School of Music, he teaches the Trombone Studio, coaches Chamber Music, co-directs the Low Brass Ensemble and performs as a member of the Wisconsin Brass Quintet (faculty ensemble-inresidence). Mark is a Getzen Performing Artist who plays the 4147-IB Custom Reserve tenor trombone. Learn more about Mark at his website: www.markhetzler.com.
Kenneth Amis tuba
Kenneth Amis was born and raised in Bermuda. He began playing the piano at a young age and upon entering high school took up the tuba and developed an interest in performing and writing music. A SuiteforBassTuba, composed when he was only fourteen, marked his first published work. A year later, at age sixteen, he enrolled in Boston University where he majored in composition. After graduating from Boston University he attended the New England Conservatory of Music where he received his Masters Degree in composition.
An active composer, Mr. Amis has been commissioned to write for the annual Cohen Wing opening at Symphony Hall in Boston, the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, the University of Scranton, the College Band Directors National Association and a consortium of twenty universities and music organizations. He has also undertaken commissions and residencies with Carlisle Middle School (MA), Belmont High School (MA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the New England Conservatory of Music and the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association.
Audiences around the world have enjoyed Mr. Amis’s music through performances by such groups as the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Academy of Music Symphonic Winds, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Center Orchestra of Ottawa.
As a tuba player, Mr. Amis has performed as a soloist with the English Chamber Orchestra and has been a member of the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra and the New World Symphony Orchestra. His performance skills are showcased on many commercial records distributed internationally. In 2003 Mr. Amis became the youngest recipient of New England Conservatory of Music’s “Outstanding Alumni Award.”
Mr. Amis has served on the faculties of Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan and in 2007 was Composerin-residence at the South Shore Conservatory in Massachusetts. In 2017 Mr. Amis started producing a series of popular playing cards called Rep Decks™ to help classical instrumentalists, vocalist and music lovers become more familiar with classical music.
Mr. Amis is presently the principal tuba player of the the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra, a performing artist for Besson instruments, the assistant conductor for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Wind Ensemble, wind ensemble director at Boston University, tuba professor at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Longy School of Music, New England Conservatory Preparatory Division and tuba professor and wind ensemble director at the Conservatory at Lynn University.
Matt Endres percussion
Born in Sauk City, Wisconsin, Dr. Matthew Endres is the teaching professor of drum set and jazz history at the University of Wisconsin, and is the UW Marching Band Percussion Coordinator. In addition, he adjudicates music festivals and competitions extensively throughout the United States. He received his bachelor of music degree in drum set at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, his master’s degree in jazz studies from the University of Illinois, and his doctoral degree in jazz studies and ethnomusicology at the University of Illinois.
Endres has performed extensively as a bandleader and a sideman in national and international venues. He is the drummer for the international award-winning group Old Style Sextet, which in 2014 placed second in the world-renowned Cotai Jazz and Blues Competition in Macau, China. He has appeared on multiple albums, including It’s About Time (2013) with the Adrian Barnett Septet; the Old Style Sextet self-titled album issued by Blujazz (2014); Chris Beyt’s 120 (2015); The Clark Gibson Studio Orchestra’s record, Bird with Strings: The Lost Arrangements, issued by Blujazz (2015); The Chris Beyt Trio’s, A Trio For Three, issued by Ears&Eyes Records
(2020); The University of Illinois Concert Jazz Band’s record, The Music of Pepper Adams (2020); and Places with the group, Gate Check. Endres also currently holds an endorsement with Bopworks Drumsticks, based in Austin, Texas.
Endres has worked with talented artists, including, Grammy-award winner, Doc Severinson, Brad Leali, Chris Brubeck, Charles McPherson, Jim Masters, Sharel Cassity, Marquis Hill, Robert Irving III, Frank Gambale, Tom Garling, Víctor García, Michael Blum, Shawn Purcell, Darden Purcell, Oliver Nelson Jr, Jim Pugh, Dave Pietro, Grammy-award winner, Charles “Chip” McNeill, Ron Bridgewater, Dave D’Angelo, Carlos Vega, Larry Gray, Jeff Halsey, Glenn Wilson, Richard Drexler, Mark Colby, Alex Graham, Clark Gibson, Tito Carrillo, John “Chip” Stephens, Joan Hickey, and Adrian Barnett.
Greg Zelek
organ
Organist Greg Zelek, praised as “extraordinary in the classical music world” (Jon Hornbacher, PBS Wisconsin Life) and a “musical star” (Bill Wineke, Channel3000), is the Principal Organist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Curator of the Overture Concert Organ. In this role, Greg performs and oversees all of the MSO’s organ programming. The MSO Organ Series regularly attracts over one thousand ticketed audience members for each of Zelek’s creatively curated and performed concerts. Since September 2017, Greg has proudly held the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curatorship.
In addition to his unique position in Madison, Zelek is the Curator of the JF Bryan Concert Organ Series for the Jacksonville Symphony and the new Northrop Organist in Minneapolis.
Zelek also performs frequently as a soloist throughout the United States. Always playing his solo programs from memory, Zelek has played and premiered many of the large works of the organ canon, as well as new works that showcase the versatility of the instrument. Select performances for the 2024-25 season include
concerts at Spreckels Organ Pavilion in San Diego, CA and Jacoby Symphony Hall in Jacksonville, FL, and performances and masterclasses at the Oregon Bach Festival. A recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship, he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, as well as an Artist Diploma, from the Juilliard School as a student of Paul Jacobs. For information on upcoming performances, please visit www.gregzelek.com or on Instagram @gregzelekorganist.
The Ov t e C c t Organ Gift of Pleasant
T. Rowland
Commissioned by the Madison Symphony Orchestra in July 2001, the Overture Concert Organ was designed and built by the German firm of Orgelbau Klais. It consists of 3 stops, 72 ranks and ,0 0 pipes, the tallest of which is 32 feet and the heaviest weighing in at more than 1,200 pounds. The organ took nearly three years to design and build. Including its unique movable chamber, the organ weighs in at 174 tons and is believed to be the heaviest movable object in any theater in the world.
History, Design and Installation
After a worldwide search that ended in July 2001, a team of MSO staff, board members and acousticians selected Orgelbau Klais in Bonn, Germany, to build the Overture Concert Organ.
The MSO’s Overture Concert Organ traveled from Germany and arrived in pieces on five semi-trucks in early March 2004. Installation of the 30-ton instrument’s 4,040 pipes was completed by the Klais artisans in August 2004.
Organ Planning Meeting. Front Row: Rick Mackie, Philipp Klais, Pleasant Rowland. Back Row: Anne Gatling Haynes, Samuel Hutchison, Marian Bolz, Terry Haller, Margaret Chen, Bill Butler, Ralph Hutchison, Lynne Eich and Cesar Pelli.
The movable organ chamber on boxcar wheels and train tracks. The movable organ chamber on boxcar wheels and train tracks.
Meeting. Front Row: Rick Mackie, Klais, Pleasant Rowland. Back Anne Samuel Bolz, Haller, Margaret Chen,
The organ “speaks” Madison in its design. According to Overture Center architect Cesar Pelli, the organ fa ade re ects the soft curves of the Overture Hall ceiling and alludes to the natural re ections of the rolling hills surrounding Madison. Materials used include fir, oak, beech, plum, and cedar, in addition to tin, lead, brass, steel, bone, and ebony.
The organ creates a landscape of shimmering and matte tin pipes within the frame of the warm glow of the wooden orchestra shell.
The organ and shell were designed to create a striking backdrop for the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
In use or in storage, both elements are fully integrated into the acoustical environment in Overture Hall. The organ has architecturally integrated lighting to provide the opportunity for dramatic presentation of the instrument, depending on the piece being played.
The console has three manuals (keyboards), each one with 61 keys, and the pedal board has 32 pedals. The movable organ chamber is designed with innovative engineering technology by Theatre Projects Consultants in partnership with the acoustical firm of Kirkegaard Associates. The instrument moves forward on 16 boxcar wheels on four train tracks in the stage oor, powered by a rigid push chain drive. No other organ in the world moves in this fashion. It takes about 30 minutes to roll the organ into place for Madison Symphony Orchestra concerts into either a “regular” or “choral” configuration. When not in use, the organ stores in a “garage” at the rear of the stage, with doors that hinge out from the main structure.
Donors
The Overture Concert Organ was made possible through an unprecedented $2.95 million in private contributions
to the MSO: $1.1 million from Pleasant T. Rowland for the instrument; a $1 million endowment gift from Diane Endres Ballweg for organ programming and education; $500,000 from Elaine and Nicholas Mischler to endow the Organ Curatorship (held originally by Samuel Hutchison and, since 2017, by Greg Zelek); and gifts from The Malmquist Family and Margaret C. Winston.
A Klais artisan inspects a pipe inside the organ chamber during installation.
A Klais artisan inspects a inside the organ chamber installation.
Sam Hutchison, Pleasant Rowland, Jerry Frautschi
Sam Hutchison, Pleasant Rowland, Jerry Frautschi
The organ project soon generated interest among lovers of organ music and led to the formation of the Friends of the Overture Concert Organ (FOCO) in 2007. In the years since FOCO’s formation, annual membership and sponsorship gifts from over 300 households have supported organ programming and care of the instrument itself. FOCO has also provided significant support for the Organ Endowment Fund through the biennial Voices of Spring gala and the Adopt-a-Stop naming program.
Programming
Following the opening of Overture Hall in September 2004, the Overture Concert Organ was formally dedicated in November 2004 in a Madison Symphony Orchestra concert conducted by John DeMain with organist Thomas Trotter, and days later in a solo recital by Mr. Trotter. Since 2004, the Overture Concert Organ has been featured in hundreds of public performances.
The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Overture Concert Organ program has become a phenomenally successful part of the MSO’s annual offerings. Ticketed performances regularly attract over 1,000 attendees. The instrument is showcased by Greg Zelek and other organists at free farmer’s market concerts, lectures/demonstrations, and the annual free community Christmas carol sing. Organists have been featured as concerto soloists with the MSO, and Zelek performs as a member of the orchestra in repertoire whose instrumentation includes organ. The beautiful Overture Concert Organ façade serves as the striking backdrop to all Madison Symphony Orchestra concerts. oused in the magnificent Overture Center for the Arts, the Overture Concert Organ will continue to inspire generations to come.
Greg Zelek, Maya Elfman Zelek, Pleasant Rowland, Jerry Frautschi
Sam Hutchison, Greg Zelek
We
would like to thank our 20 th
Birthday Party Sponsors and Planning Committee
OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN 20 TH BIRTHDAY PARTY SPONSORS
Champion Sponsors:
Barbara and Norm Berven
Jane Hamblen and Rob Lemanske
Myrna Larson
Norma and Doug Madsen
Elaine and Nicholas Mischler
Reynold V. Peterson
Jennifer Younger and Tom Smith
Supporter Sponsors:
Herman Baumann and Kay Schwichtenberg
Terry Haller
Condon and Mary Vander Ark
Contributor Sponsors:
Ellsworth and Dorothy Brown
Janet and Scott Cabot
Joan and Doug Maynard
Charles McLimans and Richard Merrion
Marv and Vicki Nonn
Lise Skofronick
In-Kind:
OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN 20 TH BIRTHDAY PARTY PLANNING COMMITTEE
Barbara Berven
Janet Cabot
Rachel Cherian
Quinn Christensen, Co-Chair
Rob Lemanske
Elaine Mischler
Casey Oelkers
Robert Reed
Peter Rodgers
Heather Rose
Jennifer Younger, Co-Chair
Greg Zelek
Dave Parminter, Photographer
program notes
April 3, 2025
program
notes by
J. Michael Allsen
This program features alumni from one of the world’s foremost brass chamber ensembles, the Empire Brass. (The ensemble appeared previously on this series in May 2015.) They open with a set of Renaissance and Baroque pieces, in combination with Greg Zelek, works by Susato, Gabrieli, and Bach, including a ashy pedal piece by Bach. Next is a pair of orchestral works by Prokoviev and Holst, arranged by Empire Brass founding member Rolf Smedvig. Then comes a moment of audience choice— you get to choose which work Greg will play as a solo feature: Widor or Vierne? There is a high-spirited work by Empire Brass alumnus Kenneth Amis. Mark Hetzler, who has been a familiar face at these programs, presents a new work in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Overture Concert Organ and Series. To end, we have an all-American set, with songs by Gershwin and Fats Waller, and a brisk suite from Bernstein’s West Side Story. Percussionist Dr. Matthew Endres will appear with the ensemble in several numbers.
We open with a set dedicated to Renaissance and Baroque music. Tielman Susato (ca. 1510 – after 1570) was a composer, multiinstrumentalist, and music publisher who worked in 16th century Antwerp. In 15 3, he found the first music printing firm in the low countries. The vast majority of Susato’s publication were vocal—sacred works and French chansons—but in 1551 he published a collection of instrumental pieces titled Danserye (Dances). [Personal note: In 1982, when my wife and I moved to Madison, I had just completed an undergraduate thesis on 16th century dance music. That year we acquired
our first cat, a big, sweet-tempered ginger tomcat, who I named Danserye. Susato’s exuberant Basse danse bergerette is one of a few pieces in the collection titled bergerette (shepherd’s song), after a lighthearted French poetic and musical genre with roots in the 15th century. Basse danse (low dance) indicates that this lively piece was to be danced with feet and legs only. The arrangement heard here is by one of the Empire Brass’s founding members, Rolf Smedvig (d. 2015). Expanded to include organ and percussion, this adaptation features brilliant ornamentation by all players, particularly the two trumpets.
The “most serene republic” of Venice was among the political and economic superpowers of the Renaissance. Music and ceremony were very much a part of Venice’s civic pride, particularly the stellar musical establishment at the city’s principal church, the basilica of San Marco. After witnessing a festival at the basilica in 1611, the English tourist Thomas Coryat wrote that the music at San Marco was “...so good, so delectable, so rare, so admirable, so superexcellent, that it did ravish and stupefy all those strangers who had never heard the like. But how the others were affected by it I know not; for mine own part I can say this, that I was for the time even rapt up with Saint Paul into the third heaven.” Among the music that ravished Coryat was the work of Giovanni Gabrieli (15571612), perhaps the finest of the many composers who occupied the organ bench at San Marco in this period. Gabrieli wrote masses and motets for use in the lavish liturgy at San Marco but also composed instrumental music for the basilica’s large group of instrumentalists, playing violins, viols, cornetts, and sackbuts. His Canzona duodecimi toni (Canzona in the twelfth mode) was published in 1597, as part of a large collection of instrumental pieces by Gabrieli. Like many of his
works written for San Marco, it is laid out in multiple choirs, in this case two choirs of five instruments each, ere, one choir is played by the organ.) This a rather solemn, but magnificent piece which exploits the contrast between the two choirs, and brilliant echo effects.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) did not invent the Lutheran church cantata, a multi-movement setting of sacred texts, but his cantatas are the finest examples of the form. Though he composed cantatas throughout his career, the great bulk of them were written during his first few years in Leipzig, where he arrived in 1723 to take the position of Kantor at the Thomaskirche—the head church musician in the city. Among many other duties, Bach was expected to produce a cantata every week. The cantata was viewed as an important addition to both the selected Bible verse and the hymn of the day, and Bach’s texts are often drawn from these sources, as well as sacred librettos assembled by Lutheran pastors and Bach himself. In his first years at the Thomaskirche, Bach composed no less than e annual cycles of cantatas, mostly newly composed: each cycle including some 60 works, one appropriate to each Sunday of the Church Year, and special cantatas for Christmas, and the main feasts of Advent and Lent. Of these 300 works, nearly 200 survive. This vast body of music is represented here by Empire Brass’s arrangement of My Spirit Be Joyful, for brass quintet and organ. This is an adaptation of the climactic tenor/bass duet Wie will ich mich freuen from the cantata Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal (We must pass through great sadness), BWV 146. Bach composed this work in either 1726 or 1728, for the third Sunday after Easter. In this brass quintet version, the joyous vocal lines and lively orchestral accompaniment are distributed among all six players.
It is not known exactly when or why Bach composed his Pedal-Excercitium (Pedal Exercise), BWV 598. Like much of his music, it survives in a copy by someone else, in this case, by his son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (17141788). Indeed, some authorities, credit this brilliant little piece to C.P.E. Bach, rather than his father, though most seem to agree that Bach intended this work, which was probably initially an improvisation, as a practice piece for his son. What is clear is that Bach had some serious pedal chops. In 1732, for example, he visited Kassel, to test out and inaugurate a new organ at Saint Martin’s Church. (As Germany’s leading organist, he was frequently called on as an expert to check out newlyinstalled or refurbished organs.) A local musician, Contstantin Bellermann, wrote that Bach “ran over the pedals so quickly that his feet appeared winged, with a thundering fullness of sound, and penetrated the ears of the listeners like a bolt of lightning.” A “bolt of lightning” in fact describes this brief piece perfectly: it starts with a repeated figure and expands through multiple modulations to different keys in the course of about a minute and a half. Interestingly, the piece is in G minor, but ends on the “wrong” note, D— possibly as an invitation to the organist to improvise more!
The next set includes a pair of arrangements by the late Rolf Smedvig, a founding member of Empire Brass in 1971. Though Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) would later have great success as a film composer, with his monumental scores for Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible 1 , his first film score, written in 1 33, for Alexander Fein immer’s film Lieutenant Kijé was much less epic. This is a deeply satirical story set during the reign of Czar Paul I at the turn of the 19th century. For a complicated set of reasons—tied to not embarrassing the C ar several Russian officers invent a
fictitious “Lieutenant Kij ” and create an entire life story for him. The Czar takes an interest in this “Kij ,” and his officers find it safer to play along than to correct the C ar. In the end, the officers safely kill off Kijé before the Czar suspects that he has been hoodwinked. Though Prokofiev was not entirely satisfied with his first effort at film scoring, he extracted a popular concert suite from Lieutenant Kijé. The Wedding scene opens with a kind of drunken weddingtoast fanfare that keeps interrupting the proceedings, followed a sardonic polka-style wedding dance from the trumpet, and a mock-serious theme from the horn. After a forceful drinkingsong, the Troika depicts a rather frenzied ride in a traditional Russian three-horse sleigh.
Next is Smedvig’s arrangement of Jupiter from The Planets, by Gustav Holst (1874-1934), here adapted for brass, organ, and percussion. Gustav Holst had been an eclectic sampler of philosophies and mysticism since he was a young man, and his largest orchestral work, The Planets, written between 1914 and 1917, came out of a brief irtation with astrology. It is doubtful, however, that Holst was actually a believer. In 1913, he wrote to a friend that “…I only study things that suggest music to me. Recently the character of each planet has suggested lots to me, and I have been studying astrology fairly closely.” As Holst suggested, the movements of The Planets are based upon the personalities attributed to the seven astrological planets: Mars being “headstrong and forceful,” Neptune “subtle and mysterious,” and so forth. [Note: Earth plays no direct role in astrological calculations. Pluto—now reclassified as a “dwarf planet” is part of astrology, but it was not discovered until 1930.] The Planets was a tremendous success and remains Holst’s most popular work. He described Jupiter as “…one of
those jolly fat people who enjoy life.” Smedvig’s arrangement concentrates on one of Jupiter’s themes, a broad hymnlike melody marked Andante maestoso. (A few years later, Holst did, in fact, use this melody to set a patriotic British hymn, I Vow to Thee, My Country.)
Greg Zelek will explain, but he plans to let you choose which of a pair of bravura organ showpieces you would like to hear! The choices are familiar to organists and organ fans—a pair of blazing, showy French works: the brilliant Toccata from Symphony No.5 (1879) by Charles-Marie Widor (18441937) or the equally brilliant Finale from Symphony No. 1 (1898) by Louis Vierne (1870-1937).
Next, we hear a pair of works composed by current alumni of the Empire Brass. Tubist Kenneth Amis (b. 1970) wrote his Bell-Tone’s Ring as a work for brass quintet and organ in 1999, for a wedding celebration. This is a festive work, opening with a tintinnabular opening fanfare (marked “like bells”). The body of the piece is a series of variations on a broad and joyful hymn-style melody. The opening texture returns brie y at the end.
Trombonist Mark Hetzler (b. 1968) is of course, not only an alumnus of the Empire Brass, but is also a professor of music at the University of Wisconsin— Madison. Mark is also a familiar face at these concerts, having performed on three past Organ Series concerts. Most recently, in February 2023, he and Greg Zelek collaborated on a memorable program that they assembled on about a week’s notice, when a planned guest artist was unable to come; a program that included several original works by Hetzler. In the wake of that concert, Zelek asked Hetzler if he would write a piece to mark the 20th anniversary of the Overture Concert Organ and
Series. Hetzler provides the following note on the work:
I titled the piece Balaenoptera musculus Blues, which is a playful way of saying Blue Whale Blues. The work is scored for brass, organ and drum set. A few years ago, Greg asked if I’d be interested in composing a piece that we could play on a possible Empire Brass alumni concert, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Madison Symphony Orchestra Concert Organ and Series. I started searching for a theme that would give me direction in the writing process, and I kept thinking about the fact that the pipe organ is considered the “King of Instruments,” due to its size, complexity and power. One day I remembered that the Blue Whale is the largest animal in the Animal Kingdom, and then the similarities between the pipe organ and Blue Whale started to build in my imagination. I knew Greg was looking for a piece that would showcase his footwork on the pedals, and as I thought more about how whales dive to great depths and rise out of the water with astonishing strength and beauty, the piece started to take shape. You will hear many descending and ascending arpeggios and melodic figures throughout the piece, emulating the athletic and graceful movement of the Blue Whale. A number of these passages are played on the organ’s pedals, so the audience will get a real treat watching Greg’s nimble footwork! When I started composing the piece, I leaned into what I felt was the “blueness” of the Blue Whale. I thought about man’s violent relationship with whales, and feelings of melancholy and re ection started to in uence my harmonic choices. The composition is not a blues, in form or harmonic design, but the work has many meditative moments. I wanted these quieter sections of the piece to re ect the stately and noble ualities of the Blue Whale’s movement and
behavior, and the awe and inspiration the animal brings to so many people, similar to what the incredible Overture pipe organ does. And since the piece is celebrating a joyous event, I knew I had to include glorious “fanfare” moments, rhythmic energy and virtuosic excitement. I’m so pleased Greg invited me to write the piece, and thrilled that we get to premiere the work during the celebration of the Overture Organ Concert Series’ 20th Anniversary. I dedicated the piece to Greg and can’t wait to perform it with him and our colleagues!
We end with an all-American set.
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
originally wrote the song I Got Rhythm in 1928 for a now-forgotten musical, Treasure Girl. The lyrics are by his brother Ira. As they frequently did with songs that they considered to be good, the Gershwins reused it in another show; in this case, it was the 1930 hit musical Girl Crazy I Got Rhythm became a hit, popularized by Broadway belter Ethel Merman. It is heard here in an adaptation by Greg Zelek.
Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller (19041943) was a joyous presence on the jazz scene of the 1920s and 1930s. He was a powerful pianist, one of the masters of “stride” style (so named for the powerful left-hand figures that strode across the keyboard). Waller ruled the “cutting contests” often held between jazz pianists, reportedly yielding only to the phenomenal Art Tatum. As a songwriter, Waller copyrighted over 400 songs, though— when he was strapped for cash—he frequently gave songs away for a onetime fee to others who published them under their own name. Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’ was a collaboration with his favorite lyricist, Andy Razaf. It was written in 1929, for Hot Chocolates, a musical revue that originally played at Connie’s Inn, one of Harlem’s successful “black and tan” clubs, featuring all black
performers, and an exclusively white audience. The show quickly travelled “downtown,” however: it was picked up as a Broadway production, which ran for some 219 performances. Hot Chocolates, in its Broadway incarnation, provided for the Broadway debuts of both Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway. The swinging version of Ain’t Misbehavin’ heard here is by another founding member of the Empire Brass, tubist S e Pi fi . It’s no surprise, then, that the tuba takes the lead through much of this!
The beginnings of Porgy and Bess date to 1926, when Gershwin read DuBose Heyward’s Porgy—a novel inspired by characters and situations Heyward observed in the African American community of his hometown, Charleston, SC. Gershwin collaborated with both Heyward and Ira and completed it in 1935. This represents the more “classical” Gershwin—though he himself was a little uncomfortable in labeling this an “opera,” Porgy and Bess is one of those great American works (like Bernstein’s West Side Story some two decades later) that effectively combines the conventions of opera and Broadway. Produced with an allblack cast, it was also remarkable in the sensitivity and depth of its portrayal of its characters. With a few exceptions (like Jerome Kern’s 1927 musical Show Boat, or in the rare all-black shows like Hot Chocolates), African American characters of the 1920s and 1930s— when they appeared on stage at all— appeared in broadly stereotyped roles or blackface caricatures. Porgy and Bess has fully-drawn characters who are treated sympathetically—and who get to sing some of Gershwin’s greatest music! Though Gershwin relied on Ira for many of the of the show’s lyrics, Heyward was responsible for the lyrics of Porgy and Bess’s most famous song, Summertime. In the show, this bluesy lullaby is sung a young mother named Clara to her baby boy. It is played here
in an arrangement for brass quintet, organ, and drum set by Frank Denson that begins with the melody played soulfully by the horn. Subsequent verses by trumpet and trombone swing a little harder.
We close with the fast-paced West Side Story Suite, arranged by Jack Gale Leonard Bernstein (19181990), like many of his predecessors, was attracted to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as subject-matter for a stage work—the tragic story of lovers from two warring clans has universal appeal and relevance. Bernstein was particularly intrigued when playwright Arthur Laurents suggested that he write the music for an “updated” version of the tragedy, set not in 16th-century Verona, but in modern New York City. West Side Story, completed in 1957, was an amazingly successful synthesis of classical and Broadway elements. It was also a thoroughly successful
collaboration between Bernstein, Laurents, lyricist Stephen Sondheim, and choreographer Jerome Robbins. The show opened on Broadway on September 26, 1957, and ran for 973 performances. The doomed lovers in West Side Story are a Puerto Rican girl, Maria, and a Polish American boy, Tony. In place of feuding Montagues and Capulets, we have two rival gangs fighting for territory. The Sharks are Puerto Ricans, and the Jets are Tony’s Polish American buddies. Introducing Puerto Rican culture in the characters of Maria, Anita, and the Sharks allowed Bernstein to incorporate Caribbean instruments into the score. He also makes subtle use of Caribbean rhythms in many numbers. Gale’s Suite for brass quintet (to which Mark Hetzler has added parts for organ and drum set) brings together three songs from West Side Story. Just about every musical has some version of the “I want” song—in which the main
The Hunt Quartet is the resident string quartet of the MSO’s nationally-recognized Up Close & Musical® program, designed to bring the power and beauty of classical music into elementary school classrooms throughout Dane County. Individual quartet members visit separate classrooms to conduct exciting and interactive lessons that send students on a hunt for the concepts of melody, rhythm, expression, and form. The quartet, consisting of violinists Paran Amirinazari and Hillary Hempel, violist Jennifer Paulson, and cellist Trace Johnson, also performs recitals that are free and open to the public. Discover more: madisonsymphony.org/hunt
character expresses their desires—and in West Side Story, it is Something’s Comin’ This is an optimistic moment at the beginning of this tragic story, in which Tony, who plans to leave the gang, thinks optimistically about a brighter future. Maria, sung by a lovestruck Tony after he meets Maria at a dance, is based upon the relaxed and seductive Caribbean beguine rhythm. The hilariously sarcastic America is based upon the lively huapongo, alternating duple and triple meter. The song is a duet between dreamy, sentimental Rosalia, who has just arrived from Puerto Rico, and the much more cynical Anita, backed up by their girlfriends (with much tossing of skirts…). My favorite line—perhaps as appropriate in 2025 as it was in 1957—is “Nobody knows in A-me-ri-ca, Puerto Rico’s in A-me-ri-ca!”
ENSURING A BRIGHT FUTURE for the OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN
Make a lasting gift to the Organ Endowment Fund in celebration of the Organ’s 20th Anniversary!
The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Organ Endowment Fund provides a permanent source of long-term support for organ programming and care of the instrument. In honor of the Overture Concert Organ’s 20th Anniversary, the MSO and FOCO invite you to support the Organ Endowment Fund through our Adopt-a-Stop naming program.
With an endowment gift of $1,000 or more, you can “adopt” part of the organ. Your gift will help to ensure a bright future for the Overture Concert Organ!
GIFT LEVELADOPTION
$25,000Division
$10,000Stop
$5,000Façade pipe
$2,500 Single pipe - Major
$1,000 Single pipe - Minor
Up to $999General donation
madisonsymphony.org/adoptastop
Contact: Casey Oelkers, Director of Development, (608) 257-3734
Adopt-a-Stop gifts do not quality for Friends of the Overture Concert Or a O O a a e ersh p e e ts.
ADOPT-A-STOP
Thank you to these generous donors for their gifts of $1,000 or more to the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Overture Concert Organ Endowment Fund as part of the Adopt-a-Stop program. Donors who have chosen to adopt individual parts of the organ are listed with their individual adoptions.
ORGAN CONSOLE
Catherine Burgess, in memory of Jim Burgess
TUTTI
Nicholas and Elaine Mischler
DIVISION
Friends of the Overture Concert Organ in honor of Samuel C. Hutchison
Great Division
Gamber F. Tegtmeyer, Jr., in memory of Audrey Tegtmeyer
Swell Division
Friends of the Overture Concert Organ in honor of Gregory C. Zelek in celebration of his Golden Birthday
Solo Division
STOP
In memory of Ruth and Frederick Dobbratz
Great Principal 8’
John and Christine Gauder
Pedal Contra Bombarde 32’
Reynold V. Peterson
Swell Basson 16’
Lise Skofronick
Solo Harmonic Flute 8’
John and Carol Toussaint
Pedal Posaune 16’
Ann Wallace
Solo French Horn 8’
Susan and Rolf Wulfsberg
Great Gedeckt 8’
An Anonymous Friend
FAÇADE PIPE
Dr. Frederick W. Blancke
Great Principal 16’ – F²
Daniel and Stacey Bormann
in memory of Larry Shrode
Great Principal 16’ – D²
LEARN MORE
Lau and Bea Christensen
Great Principal 16’ – C²
John and Michele Erikson
Great Principal 16’ - E1
Thomas A. Farrell in honor of Ann Farrell
Great Principal 16’ – A³
Jane Hamblen and Robert F. Lemanske
Great Principal 16’ – B¹
Sandra L. Osborn
Great Principal 16’ – C³
Peter and Leslie Overton
Great Principal 16’ - E2
Rhonda and Bill Rushing
Great Principal 16’ - C#2
In Memory of Jennie Biel Sheskey and Biel Orchestra, The John and Twila
Sheskey Charitable Fund
Great Principal 16’ – B2
MAJOR PIPE
Anne Bolz in honor of Greg Upward
Solo Harmonic Flute 8’ – G³
In Memory of Lila Smith Lightfoot
Solo Tuba 16’ – C¹
Vicki and Marv Nonn
Pedal Double Open 32’ – C¹
Reynold V. Peterson
Choir Unda Maris 8’ – A3
Barbara and Richard Schnell
Solo French Horn 8’ – D1
Barbara and Richard Schnell
Solo French Horn 8’ – E1
Dave Willow in honor of Mary Ann Willow
Swell Basson-Hautbois 8’ - A2
MINOR PIPE
Fernando and Carla Alvarado
Solo Principal 8’ – C³
Fernando and Carla Alvarado
in honor of Nicholas and Elaine Mischler
Swell uint te 2 2 3’ F
Brian and Rozan Anderson
Swell Basson 16’ – A2
Chuck Bauer and Chuck Beckwith
Choir Clarinet 8’ – B²
Nancy Becknell
Solo French Horn 8’ – C¹
Ed and Lisa Binkley
Pedal – Vox Balinae 64’ – C¹
Patricia Brady and Robert Smith
Solo French Horn 8’ – B2
Mary Kay Burton
Choir Wald ote 2’ - B1
Capitol Lakes
Swell Fugara 4’ – D3
Crystal Enslin in memory of Jon S. Enslin
Swell Basson-Hautbois 8’ - D2
Friends of the Overture Concert Organ in honor of Reynold Peterson
Great Trompete 8’ – G3
Friends of the Overture Concert Organ
2015-2016 Board of Directors in honor of Elaine Mischler
Choir Clarinet 8’ – B-Flat¹
Friends of the Overture Concert
Organ 2019-2020 Board of Directors in honor of Ellsworth Brown
Solo Harmonic Flute 8’ – E³
Paul Fritsch and Jim Hartman
Solo French Horn 8’ – A3
Paul Fritsch and Jim Hartman in honor of Karissa Fritsch
Solo French Horn 8’ – F4
Paul Fritsch and Jim Hartman in honor of Bethany Hart
Solo Harmonic Flute 8’ – B3
Paul Fritsch and Jim Hartman in honor of Paige Kramer
Solo French Horn 8’ – G2
Dr. Robert and Linda Graebner
Great Principal 8’ – C¹
Betsy and Bezalel Haimson
Swell Basson-Hautbois 8’ - B1
Kris S. Jarantoski
Swell Bordun 8’ – C³
Darko and Judy Kalan in honor of Samuel C. Hutchison
Swell Basson–Hautbois 8’ – C¹
Carolyn Kau and Chris Hinrichs
Choir Suavial 8’ – C³
Gary Lewis
Swell Basson–Hautbois 8’ – C³
Connie Maxwell
Swell Basson–Hautbois 8’ – A³
Gale Meyer
Solo French Horn 8’ – G1
Susanne M. Michler
Swell Trompette Harmonique 8’ – C³
Stephen D. Morton
Swell Bourdon 16’ – C¹
Casey, Eric, Dylan, and Kendall Oelkers in honor of Walter & Barbara
Herrod's
50th Anniversary
Solo Harmonic Flute 8' - G2
Larry and Jan Phelps
Pedal – Subbass 16’ – C¹
Hans and Mary Lang Sollinger
Swell Travers te ’ A
Harriet Thiele Statz
Choir Gemshorn 8’ – A3
Two Friends in memory of Jack Hicks
Great Principal 8’ – C3
Anders Yocom and Ann Yocom
Engelman
Solo Principal 8’ – A²
GREAT
4-1/2” wind
Principal
Principal
Offenflote
Salicional
Gedeckt
Principal
Rohrflote
Quinte
Octave
Cornett V
Mixtura mayor V
Trompete
Trompete
SWELL (enclosed)
4-1/2” wind
Bordun
Tibia
Bordun
Viola da Gamba
Voix Celeste
Fugara
Transversflote
Quintflote
Octavflote
Terzflote
Plein jeu IV
Basson
ORGAN SPECIFICATION
Johannes Klais Orgelbau — Bonn, Germany
2004 • 72 Ranks
SOLO (enclosed)
11” wind
Principal
Harmonic Flute
Stentor Gamba
Gamba Celeste
Tuba
Tuba
French Horn
PEDAL
5” wind
Vox Balinae (Resultant)
Double Open
Untersatz
Open Wood
Violon (Gt)
Bourdon (Sw)
Subbass
Octavbass
Harmonic Flute (Solo)
Stentor Gamba (Solo)
Gedackt
Octave
Contra Bombarde
Posaune
Tuba (Solo)
Trompete
Trompette harmonique
Basson-Hautbois
Clairon harmonique
Tremulant
CHOIR (enclosed)
4” wind
Geigen Principal
Suavial
Rohrflote
Gemshorn
Unda maris
Octave
Viola
Waldflote
Quinte
Terz
Mixtura minor IV
Clarinet
Tremulant
Gt to Ped
to Ped Sw to Ped Sw to Ped Ch to Ped Ch to Ped
Solo to Ped
Solo to Ped Sw to Sw
Sw Unison Off
Sw to Sw
Sw to Gt
Sw to Gt
Sw to Gt
Ch to Gt
Ch to Gt
Ch to Gt
Solo to Gt
Solo to Gt
Solo to Gt
Gt to Gt
Gt Unison Off
Gt to Gt
to Ch
to Ch
to Ch
to Sw
General Pistons
General Toe Studs
Divisional Pistons
Pedal Divisional
Toe Studs
Divisional
Cancel Pistons
Sequencer
Programmable
Crescendo and Tutti
FRIENDS OF THE OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN
We gratefully acknowledge the Friends of the Overture Concert Organ for their support of Overture Concert Organ programming and production for the 2024-2025 Season. This list includes current members as of March 11, 2025.
HONORARY
LIFETIME MEMBERS
W. Jerome Frautschi
& Pleasant T. Rowland
Diane Endres Ballweg
Bruce & Suzanne Case
Samuel C. Hutchison
CURATOR CIRCLE
$1000 & above
Carla & Fernando Alvarado
Dr. Odette Anderson M.D.
Chuck Bauer & Chuck Beckwith
Jeff & Beth Bauer
James & Diane Baxter
Barbara & Norman Berven
Dr. Annette Beyer-Mears
Patricia Brady & Robert Smith
Janet & Scott Cabot
Stephen Caldwell & Judith Werner
Martha & Charles Casey
Dennis & Lynn Christensen
Lau & Bea Christensen
Mike & Quinn Christensen
Audrey Dybdahl
John & Christine Gauder
George Gay
Jane Hamblen
& Robert F. Lemanske
Susan S. Harris
Darko & Judy Kalan
Myrna Larson
Doug & Norma Madsen
Charles McLimans
& Dr. Richard Merrion
Bonnie McMullin-Lawton & Jack Lawton
Elaine & Nicholas Mischler
Genevieve Murtaugh
Vicki & Marv Nonn
Peter & Leslie Overton
Reynold V. Peterson
Walter & Karen Pridham
Charitable Fund
Bill & Rhonda Rushing
Kay Schwichtenberg
& Herman Baumann
Lise R. Skofronick
Gerald & Shirley Spade
William Steffenhagen
Dr. Condon & Mary Vander Ark
Jennifer Younger & Tom Smith
Two Anonymous Friends
J. S. BACH SOCIETY
$650–$999
Dr. Robert Beech & Jean-Margret Merrell-Beech
David & Karen Benton
Richard Cashwell
Jerome Ebert & Joye Ebert Kuehn
Timothy & Renée Farley
Terry Haller
Walter & Barbara Herrod
Kris S. Jarantoski
Ann & David Martin
Joan & Doug Maynard
Joseph Meara & Karen Rebholz
David Myers
Faith & Russ Portier
James J. Uppena
Leonard & Paula Werner
Faye Pauli Whitaker
Dave Willow
One Anonymous Friend
GREAT
$300–$649
Lyle J. Anderson
Ellis & Susan Bauman
Julia Bolz
Daniel & Stacey Bormann
Dorothy & Ellsworth Brown
Thomas Bruckner
Mary & Ken Buroker
Dr. Larry & Mary Kay Burton
Karen & Preston Childs Baker
Bonnie & Marc Conway
Louis Cornelius & Pris Boroniec
Paula K. Doyle
John & Deidre Dunn
Crystal Enslin
Janet Etnier
Bobbi Foutch-Reynolds & Jim Reynolds
Donna B. Fox
Brian Fritsch
Paul Fritsch & Jim Hartman
Joel & Jacquie Greiner
Vicki Hamstra
Betty & Edward Hasselkus
Allan G. Hins
Jack Holzhueter & Michael Bridgeman
James & Cindy Hoyt
Mark Huth, MD
Maryanne & Bob Julian
Chris & Marge Kleinhenz
Larry M. Kneeland
Richard & Claire Kotenbeutel
Peggy Lescrenier
Bruce & Ruth Marion
Douglas & Linda McNeel
Margaret Murphy
David Parminter
Patricia Paska
William E. Petig
Sue Poullette
Lori & Jack Poulson
Ron Rosner & Ronnie Hess
Dean & Orange Schroeder
Andrew & Erika Stevens
Karen M. Stoebig
Karla Stoebig
David Stone
Martha Taylor & Gary Antoniewicz
Harry Tschopik
Ellen M. Twing
Jan Vidruk
Ann Wallace
John & Janine Wardale
Sally Wellman
Willis & Heijia Wheeler
Derrith Wieman & Todd Clark
Jeffrey Williamson
Susan & Rolf Wulfsberg
SWELL
$150–$299
Carolyn Aradine
Leigh Barker Cheesebro
James Conway & Katherine Trace
John Daane
Paula & Bob Dinndorf
Donalea Dinsmore
Marilyn Ebben
Elizabeth Fadell
Douglas & Carol Fast
Jill Gaskell
Michael George & Susan Gardels
Pauline Gilbertson & Peter Medley
Lynn & Peter Gilbertson-Burke
William & Sharon Goehring
Roger & Glenda Hott
Margaret & Paul Irwin
Greg & Doreen Jensen
Dan & Janet Johnson
Jerome & Dee Dee Jones
Fr. C. Lee & Edith M. Gilbertson
Judy Lyons & Doug Knudson
Tom Kurtz
Steve Limbach
Margaret & Paul Miller
Casey & Eric Oelkers
Ron & Jan Opelt
Gerald & Christine Popenhagen
Don & Roz Rahn
John & Rachel Rothschild
Steven & Lennie Saffian
Gary & Barbara Schultz
Bassam Shakhashiri
Sandy Shepherd
Thomas & Myrt Sieger
Curt & Jane Smith
Eileen M. Smith
Lynne & Kenneth Spielman
Tom & Dianne Totten
Colleen & Tim Tucker
John & Shelly Van Note
Jim Werlein & Jody Pringle
Carolyn White
Rebecca Wiegand
Two Anonymous Friends
CHOIR
$85-$100
Ginger Anderle & Pat Behling
Emy Andrew
Allan Beatty
Betty Braden
Joyce Bringe
Catherine Buege
Charles & Joanne Bunge
Gina Degiovanni
Alan & Ramona Ehrhardt
Timothy & Mary Ellestad
Ann Ellingboe
Marthea Fox
Joan Gilbertson
Barbara Grajewski
& Michael Slupski
Fred & Carol Groves
Bob & Beverly Haimerl
Bob & Dianna Haugh
Paul L. Hauri
Karen Jeatran
Conrad & Susan Jostad
Valerie & Andreas Kazamias
Miki & Ivan Knezevic
Laurie & Gus Knitt
Joanna Kramer Fanney
Ann Kruger
Jim Larkee
Charles Leadholm & Jeanne Parus
Gary Lewis & Ken Sosinski
Dick & Cindy Lovell
Jeanne Marshall
Bruce Matthews & Eileen Murphy
Denim Ohmit
Bonnie Orvick
Ernest J. Peterson
Tom Pierce
Ellen & Kenneth Prest
Randall & Deb Raasch
Kathleen Rasmussen
Sherry Reames
Richard & Donna Reinardy
Sarah Rose
Barbara & Donald Sanford
Sinikka Santala & Gregory Schmidt
Dennis & Janice Schattschneider
Thomas & Lynn Schmidt
Reeves Smith & Glenna Carter
Chris & Ronald Sorkness
Gareth L. Steen
Rob & Mary Stroud
Cheri J. Teal
Linda Thompson & Allen May
Stephen Thompson
Judy & Nick Topitzes
Karl & Ellen Westlund
Dorothy Whiting
Wade W. & Shelley D. Whitmus
Heidi Wilde & Kennedy Gilchrist
Anders Yocom & Ann Yocom Engelman
Six Anonymous Friends FRIEND
$25-$84
David & Ruth Arnold
Louis & Sandra Arrington
Bruce Bengtson
Bob & Bonnie Block
Dorothy Blotz
Jonathan Boott
Kathleen Borner
Mary Brewer
Waltraud Brinkmann
Barbara Constans & Deb Rohde
Nancy & Russell Dean
Lucy Dechene, Ph.D.
Joel Diemer
Paul DiMusto & Molly Oberdoerster
Connie Donkle
Elizabeth Enright
Sandra L. Erickson
Jim Esmoil
John & Joann Esser
Emily & Milton Ford
Francis & Glynis Friend
Kenneth & Molly Gage
Sam Gratz
Marjorie K. Gray
Dr. & Mrs. Frank Greer
Sean P. Griffin
Andrew Halbach
Kathy Hoch
Les & Susan Hoffman
Dale Hughes
Christina Hull
Joe Johnson
Marilyn Kay
Barbara Kell
Melissa Keyes & Ingrid Rothe
Noël Marie & Steven Klapper
Michael Krejci
Linda Krueger
Mary & Steve Langlie
Ellen Larson Latimer
& Dakota Latimer
Ed & Julie Lehr
Judith A. Louer
Gloria Lundquist
David MacMillan
Kathlyn Maldegen
Chuck & Linda Malone
Jan L. McCormick
David & Joan Milke
Kathleen & Richard Miller
Wendy Miller
Caleb Mitchell
Terry Morrison
Ann & David Moyer
Susan Mueller
Mary Murray
Don & Krista Nelson
Darlene M. Olson
Phillip & Karen Paulson
Tom Popp
Mark E. Puda & Carol S. Johnston
Robert A. Reed
Mark & Zoe Rickenbach
Cora Rund
Iva Hillegas Schatz
John & Susan Schauf
Jaret & Emily Schroeder
David & Gail Schultz
Roger & Kathleen Schultz
Terrell & Mary Smith
Steve Somerson & Helena Tsotsis
Nakkiah & Korvid Stamp i
Robert & Barbara Stanley
Ulrika Swanson
Sandy Tabachnick
Mitanshu Thakore
Mary Lou Tyne
Elliott Valentine & Katelyn French
Teresa Venker
Mark Vitale & Darcy Kind
Ron & Kathryn Voss
Greg Wagner & Fred Muci
Suzy Wilkoff
Bill & Jackie Wineke
Celeste Woodruff & Bruce Fritz
Kathryn Woodson
Carolyn Young
Ledell Zellers & Simon Anderson
Twelve Anonymous Friends
We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this list. If you have any questions about the list, please contact the MSO’s development department at (608) 257-3734.
Board of Directors and Administrative Staff
FRIENDS OF THE OVERTURE
CONCERT ORGAN BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 2024–2025
OFFICERS
William Steffenhagen President
Dave Willow
Secretary-Treasurer
Robert Lemanske
Past President
DIRECTORS
Beth Bauer
Herman Baumann
Janet Cabot
Quinn Christensen
Paula Doyle
Audrey Dybdahl
Mark Huth
Charles McLimans
Doug McNeel
Caleb Mitchell
David Parminter
Rhonda Rushing
Jennifer Younger
ADVISORS
Fernando Alvarado
Diane Ballweg
James Baxter
Ellsworth Brown
John Gauder
Terry Haller
Ellen Larson Latimer
Gary Lewis
Elaine Mischler
Vicki Nonn
Reynold Peterson
Teri Venker
Anders Yocom
EX OFFICIO
Greg Zelek, Principal Organist and Elaine & Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA INC.
ADMINISTRATION
Robert Reed, Executive Director
David Gordon, Executive Assistant & Board Liaison
Ann Bowen, General Manager
Alexis Carreon, O ce & Personnel Manager
Jennifer Goldberg, Orchestra Librarian, John & Carolyn Petersen Chair
Lisa Kjentvet, Director of Education & Community Engagement
Katelyn Hanvey, Education & Community Engagement Manager
Casey Oelkers, Director of Development
Meranda Dooley, Manager of Individual Giving
Rachel Cherian, Manager of Grants & Sponsorships
Peter Rodgers, Director of Marketing
Heather Rose, Marketing Communications Manager
Isabella Clinton, Audience Experience Manager
ChrisFiol, Digital Marketing and Engagement Specialist
Sarah Bergmann, Bolz Marketing Associate
Greg Zelek, Principal Organist and Elaine & Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ
become a friend
Each season, many new individuals become Friends of the Overture Concert Organ by making gifts of support. Friends’ generosity helps us cover the costs of ticketed and free concerts that so many people in our community enjoy, as well as tuning and maintenance of the instrument.
For the Organ’s 20th Anniversary, new members can join FOCO as a First Time Friend at a special anniversary rate of just $20!
Renewing memberships start at $35. Friends, at all levels, have access to exclusive benefits and opportunities throughout the season.
Ticket sales cover less than half of the costs of producing a season.
Discover more about Friends of the Overture Concert Organ. Visit: madisonsymphony.org/foco
Member benefits are subject to change.
2024–2025 FRIENDS OF THE OVERTURE CONCERT ORGAN MEMBERSHIP LEVELS & BENEFITS
Benefits are available during the concert season your gift supports.
Recognition in organ concert program books
Special member communications
Invitation to Showcasing the Organ events
Invitation to FOCO Annual Meeting
Recognition in MSO program books
Two complimentary beverage vouchers
Invitation to one organ post-concert reception
Open invitation to all organ post-concert receptions
Private, reserved parking for organ concerts and events*
Invitation to a special member appreciation event
^Note: The First Time Friend membership level is a special introductory o er for the 2024-2025 Organ Season. New members can join FOCO for just $20 in celebration of the 20th season of the Overture Concert Organ.
*Note: The parking benefit has a fair market value of $35, and may reduce the tax-deductibility of your gift.
MEMBERSHIP DONATION FORM
Yearnings
Joseph Young, GuestConductor
Time For Three:
Nicolas Kendall, Violin
Charles Yang, Violin
Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass
Samuel Barber, Second Essay for Orchestra, Op. 17
Kevin Puts, Contact*
Sergei Prokofiev, Selections from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64
*MSO Premiere
MAJOR SPONSORS
WMTV 15 News
Madison Symphony Orchestra League
Nancy Mohs
University Research Park
ADDITIONAL SPONSORS
Robert Benjamin and John Fields
DeWitt LLP
Wisconsin Arts Board
Guest conductor Joseph Young gives us an idea of what to anticipate in this exciting concert. “This program is an aural invitation into the ideals of peace, love, and connection that carries forward long after the final notes.” We begin with Samuel Barber’s concise and dramatic Second Essay for Orchestra
Next, the eclectic and genre-bending string trio Time for Three joins our Symphony performing Kevin Puts’ Contact, a Grammywinning piece written specifically for the group. Intended to premiere in the summer of 2020, Contact took on new meaning as an expression of yearning for human contact during the peak of the pandemic. Maestro Young’s selection of movements from one of the greatest ballet scores of the 20th century, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, will leave us longing for more.
JOSEPH YOUNG
Gershwin!
John DeMain, Conductor
Philippe Bianconi, Piano
Michelle Johnson, Soprano
Eric Greene, Baritone
Madison Symphony Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Director
George Gershwin, Cuban Overture
George Gershwin, Piano Concerto in F Major
George Gershwin/ Robert Russell Bennett, Porgy and Bess: A Concert of Songs
MAJOR SPONSORS
Madison Magazine
Diane Ballweg Boardman Clark Law Firm
Fred A. Wileman
ADDITIONAL SPONSORS
Carla and Fernando Alvarado
Dr. Thomas and Leslie France
Ann Lindsey, in memory of Chuck Snowdon
Mary Lang Sollinger
Wisconsin Arts Board
Our 99th season finale opens with Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, pulsing with Caribbean rhythms from dance music he fell in love with on a vacation to Havana.
Beloved pianist Philippe Bianconi returns for his seventh appearance performing Gershwin’s masterpiece Concerto in F. Our maestro John DeMain has conducted more than 400 performances of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess throughout the world. He led a history-making production with the Houston Grand Opera, winning a Grammy Award, Tony Award, and France’s Grand Prix de Disque for the RCA recording. He brings Michelle Johnson, Eric Greene, and our Madison Symphony Chorus together to share his passion for this iconic work to close the season!
Join us for the MSO Friday April 11 “Yearnings” concert at 7:30 PM with guest conductor Joseph Young featuring guest artists Time For Three. Connect with other classical music lovers ages 21-40 and enjoy an exclusive post-concert event in the Overture Center’s Wisconsin Studio. Meet musicians of the MSO, eat, drink, and participate in a 3-round LEGO Building Contest for the chance to win some prizes! Tickets are $55 and include a Circle-level concert ticket and post-concert event access with food and drink tickets provided. Or, if you’ve already purchased concert tickets, event-only tickets are $35. You are welcome to participate in the contest as an individual builder or as a group! Learn more and RSVP by Friday, April 4th at madisonsymphony.org/dark . Discover more about the concert: madisonsymphony.org/yearnings .
WITH SUPPORT FROM:
Includes a Circle-level ticket to the MSO’s “Gershwin!” concert!
OATS RSVP by Sunday, April 28,2025
We’re excited to end the season with our first Out at the Symphony Drag Brunch! This will take place in the Overture Lobby before the doors open to the concert on Sunday, May 11. You will get access to a discounted concert ticket, brunch food, drinks, drag performances, and chance to meet musicians and soloists! We’re excited to feature Kendra Banxs and three other Wisconsin drag queens for this event. (21+)
More at madisonsymphony.org/out . WITH SUPPORT FROM:
Your Madison Symphony Orchestra’s 100th Anniversary season is on the horizon…
Beginning this fall, your Madison Symphony Orchestra will celebrate a century of joy bringing live music to life. You’ll experience breathtaking moments and memories throughout our 100th season. We’re composing a new future connecting community and expanding musical horizons. Share our love of music. Join us — everyone can be a part of it! The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s 25/26 concert season will take place between October 2025 and May 2026, and will include eight triple-performance subscription concerts featuring orchestral masterpieces performed by our own MSO musicians and world-renowned guest soloists, plus two MSO at the Movies live-to-film concerts and a world premiere commission.
SAVE THE DATES: SUBSCRIPTION CONCERTS
OCT 17-19 BATES | FRANCK | MAHLER
John DeMain, Conductor
Christopher Taylor, Piano
Jeni Houser, Soprano
Emily Fons, Mezzo-Soprano
Madison Symphony Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Director
NOV 21-23 THEOFANIDIS | HADYN | MUSSORGSKY
Guest Conductor
Alban Gerhardt, Cello
DEC 5-7 A MADISON SYMPHONY CHRISTMAS
John DeMain, Conductor
Alexandra LoBianco, Soprano
Kyle Ketelsen, Baritone
Madison Symphony Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Director
Mt. Zion Gospel Choir, Tamera and Leotha Stanley, Directors
Madison Youth Choirs, Michael Ross, Artistic Director
Subscriptions Open in April
Watch for our 25/26 season brochure and email announcement for complete details! Visit madisonsymphony.org/100 for more.
JAN 23-25 FRANK | STRAUSS | BRAHMS
Guest Conductor
Yefim Bronfman, Piano
FEB 20-22 MENDELSSOHN | KORNGOLD
DEBUSSY | STRAVINSKY
Guest Conductor
Rachel Barton Pine, Violin
MAR 20-22 STRAUSS | MOZART | ORTIZ | RESPIGHI
John DeMain, Conductor
Emanuel Ax, Piano
APR 10-12 LÓPEZ | RODRIGO | SIBELIUS
Guest Conductor
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Guest Artists
MAY 1-3 BEETHOVEN | HEGGIE/SCHEER World Premiere Commission
John DeMain, Conductor
Ailyn Pérez, Soprano
Madison Symphony Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Director
Mt. Zion Gospel Choir, Tamera and Leotha Stanley, Directors
Madison Youth Choirs, Michael Ross, Artistic Director
NOTE: Dates, artists, programs, and prices subject to change. MSO at the Movies are separate from the subscription season. Subscribers can add Movies concerts to their subsciption before single tickets open to the public August 23, 2025
OCT 5 DISNEY AND PIXAR’S TOY STORY IN CONCERT LIVE TO FILM MAR 28-29 INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK™ LIVE IN CONCERT
