Jeffrey Siegel: Venerable Pianist, Fantastic Storyteller

Erin Bannen
Marketing Intern

Jeffrey Siegel is an acclaimed pianist, but he is also an incredible storyteller. His concert series, aptly named Keyboard Conversations, combines his technically brilliant performance of classical pieces with a verbal performance of the stories behind them. I don't know what stories he will choose to tell in his November 16th concert, A Beethoven Bonanza. But since I'm more a storyteller and less a pianist (okay, me and piano match like peanut butter and figs), I'm going to give predicting Siegel's stories a shot.

If I were telling the story of Sonata Opus 31, No. 3, I would begin with its date. It was performed in 1802, right after Beethoven started to lose his hearing. Yet, is it said, "a playful jocularity is maintained throughout [...] earning it the occasional nickname of The Hunt." Really? Why? I've got a few guesses.

The first is that this Sonata is an attempt to indicate to the world and to himself that his hearing, and his future as a pianist, is just fine, thank you very much. But I have a sneaking suspicion that he knew something was wrong. How could he not, when hearing was the most important thing to him besides his hands? The Sonata takes on a new life, one characterized by a desperate, frenzied attempt to convince himself and his audience that nothing is, in fact, wrong. That raises the stakes a bit, doesn't it?

It's worth noting that Siegel's second piece, Sonata Pathetique Opus 13, was written at around the same time as Sonata Opus 31, No. 3. Instead of being "jocular," this work is described as "tragic and fiery." It reminds me of the Dylan Thomas Poem, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night. Here's a verse:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Except it isn't old age against which this Sonata rages; it's the reality that a brilliant pianist's hearing is being ruthlessly taken away.

Sonata Opus 109 is described as transcendent with good reason; it was written after deafness had engulfed the composer. What I think is important about this one is "its divergence from the norms of sonata form and for its harmonic, formal and other innovations, or even revolutions." It is as though Beethoven is saying, "Never heard of a deaf pianist? Well I've never heard of this kind of a Sonata. And I'm gonna play it to prove that it, and I, are great in our acts of revolution."

Jeffrey Siegel performs these pieces at the Wisconsin Union Theater on November 16 at 7:30 pm. Don't miss this opportunity to hear the stories behind the music.

Caroline Goulding and the General Kyd Stradivarius

By Lindsay Hanson
Concert Series Coordinator, WUD Performing Arts Committee

Since 2010, Caroline Goulding plays the c.1720 General Kyd Stradivarius. While many people know the name Stradivarius, and know that that's a good violin, I thought I'd find out what makes it so great. Why on earth would someone want to play an instrument that's almost 300 years old? If I played a horn from 300 years ago, I'd be playing an instrument like the "Trompe de Chasse," and I would probably be playing it on horseback to accompany a fox hunt. I would only be able to play in one key, unless I was carrying a whole bunch of different instruments. Thankfully, in the 1800s, the valve was invented, allowing the horn player to press buttons which opened up different sections of tubing on the instrument and made it possible to play in different keys on the same instrument. (Check out Tom Bacon's website for more information on the horn - I'm going to talk about the violin now.)

Unlike the evolution of today's modern horn, the overall design of the violin hasn't changed much in the last 300 years. Compare the Stradivarius to an instrument of today: I'd say that they look pretty much the same. The Stradivarius family is credited with having come up with a fantastic formula for stringed instruments that luthiers have attempted to copy for years. Some scientists think it's the varnish and the wood used for the instruments. (Check out this neat article from Time!) Other string players I talked to say that the wood settles over time, bettering the instrument's quality. And still others say that the proportions the Stradivarius family used are what makes the instruments' acoustics so great, allowing the notes to really ring. It certainly is a mystery to me.

You can decide for yourself when Caroline Goulding plays at the Union Theater next week! She gives a recital with Dina Vainshtein, piano, on Thursday November 3 at 7:30pm, and appears a second time with the UW Chamber Orchestra, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto on Saturday November 5 at 7:30pm. In the meantime, check out a video of her playing some Tartini!

Check Out These Astounding Videos!

From the venue that first brought Kodo to Madison, Meet YAMATO! This Thursday, 8 pm. Tickets still available.

Pakistan and Afghanistan: Behind the News Headlines

Marlin Darrah, the award-winning executive director of the renowned Portland, Oregon-based production company, International Film & Video, visited the theater last season with his CUBA: A Road Trip from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. Darrah’s 30 years of production experience have taken him to more than 130 countries worldwide, yielding more than 70 documentary and travel-adventure programs to date.
PBS, History Channel, Discovery Channel, CNN, FOX, CBS, ABC, TBN and MTV all have aired his programs.

Recently Darrah also wrote, directed and produced an acclaimed dramatic feature film, “Monsoon Wife,” in Cambodia,“ the first American movie shot entirely in that country since “Lord Jim.” Darrah’s productions have screened and won awards at more than 15 national and international film festivals in Rome, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, British Columbia, Florida, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.

On Monday and Tuesday, October 31 and November 1, Darrah will show his "Pakistan and Afghanistan -- A Photographer's Journey from Kabul to the Khyber Pass and the Tribal Zone." Images of Afghanistan and Pakistan have been common on the news in the last 10 years. The two countries have been suddenly thrown onto the world stage with the war on terrorism. But how much do we really know about these distant and intriguing frontier countries? This is your opportunity to learn how people live in these lands, as well as see their exotic landscapes. Journey with Marlin Darrah as he explores what it is really like for a non-military traveler to take a trip through these two fascinating countries.

Savion Glover's SoLe Sanctuary a Hoofed Meditation on Dance

Esty Dinur
Marketing & Communications Director

"For some people, tap dancing is religion. One of them is the worshipful hoofer Savion Glover, who has erected a shrine inside the Joyce Theater in New York for “SoLe Sanctuary,” a miracle-filled program."

So starts a review in NJ.com of the show tap master Glover is bringing to the Wisconsin Union Theater. This is not the show originally announced--"A Classical Encounter" was canceled after a collaborator accepted a full-time job with an orchestra. But anyone who loves Savion Glover, tap dancing, spiritual experiences, art, and reverence for the old masters is assured to have a magnificent experience.

On stage is a shrine of votive candles. Photos of departed tap masters are hanging from the ceiling. There are four wooden platforms: "one for Glover, one for Davis, one for a pair of tap shoes, and one for an Asian guy who meditates throughout the 80 minutes." (Village Voice). And then there's Glover and his dancing partner, Marshall Davis Jr. The dancing, we're told, is as impeccable, beautiful and exciting as ever.

While the direction and choreography of SoLe Sanctuary are credited to “Spirits Known,” much else is known too--Glover's incredible talent and ability, for one. "The resonance of his simplest toe-drops, a sound like bongos or timbales, is as expressive as the thrill of his speediest passages, rich with shifting patterns and differentiations of pitch," says the Village Voice. 
"His long lower legs temper the forceful patter of his feet with rubber-band dexterity, adds the New York Times.  

SoLe Sanctuary. Savion Glover. The spirituality of dance. All on display here on November 10.

I ♥ the Archives and our whale!

If you've ever been back in the Theater offices, you may have noticed some silk screened posters that adorn our walls. If you haven't, come on by! I'd love to show them to you!

Of all the striking ones we have, I wanted to share this plainer one with you and draw your attention to this whale looking motif in the background of the text.

What the heck is that?, you might ask. Well, you're not the only one. The other day, I was handing out some season brochures with this same design on the cover to some friends. To my surprise, no one knew what it represented! I felt compelled to tell the whole world (i.e. you readers) that it's the silhouette of the Union Theater! Yes, folks, it's been there since 1939.

Dobet Gnahore: Lingual Mixing and Profound Performance Found in the Ivory Coast’s new star

Some say music was in Dobet Gnahore’s blood. Her father is, after all, Boni Gnahoré, a master percussionist who plays with the Abidjan-based Ki-Yi Mbock Company, and she begged her father to take her out of school at the age of twelve so she could focus on her music. She learned of the world from those around her in Le Village Ki-Yi, an artistic commune co-founded by WeréWeré LiKing and dan Boni, located in the thriving metropolis of Abidjan. This locale proved to be especially fortuitous, for when she came across Colin Laroche de Feline, the French guitarist, she formed a musical partnership still flourishing today. She now tours the world performing original music with Laroche in an astounding seven languages.

Listening to Dobet Gnahore’s music on YouTube, I must admit, my years of French have failed me. I have no idea what she’s saying. But what’s more striking is that I don’t particularly care. Her music is so intense and varied, so rhythmic, and her rich, flexible voice moves so easily from a high, pure girlish timbre to a stern, throaty cry, that I am perfectly content to just sit there listening. Bitch magazine reported a similar impression upon hearing her perform in 2007: “Gnahore has an extraordinary voice, and she wields it in so many unique and distinct ways that not only do we not get tired of hearing her, but it doesn’t even occur to us that we can’t understand the lyrics.”

Yet these Youtube videos, so I’ve heard, do not even come close to doing Dobet’s live performance justice. The Boston Globe describes how this “riveting artist… creates an entire concept for each piece complete with choreography and lighting,” Gnahore herself becoming a “whirl of motion on stage, her dreadlocks flying as she dances around the bandstand, then sits to tap out intricate rhythms on hand percussion.” Dobet’s extraordinary personality comes alive in her vivid on-stage displays, and it seems you cannot really understand this artist, or fully enjoy her music, until you have seen her perform these songs in the flesh.

But as for now, these reports are merely hearsay. I’ll have to see her on November 11 to find out for myself.

Alexis Brown

Marketing Intern

Savion Glover the Teacher

Erin Bannen
Marketing Intern

So maybe you heard Savion Glover was a famous tap dancer. Maybe you heard he gives a heart-wrenching performance as the main character in Spike Lee's film, Bamboozled. Maybe you even heard he was the genius behind Happy Feet's Mumble, the penguin who can't sing, but who's got a mean sense of tap. But here's a question: Did you know he has a school?

Savion, with 5-year-old student Jackson Swinton

Meet the Savion Glover Productions HooFeRzCLuB School for Tap, a school dedicated to "spreading the joy through Tap Dance, entering a realm beyond the combination." That last sentence comes from a dancer who has become world renowned for his innovation to the discipline. What is tap? "It's the bass line," says Savion. "Funk is anything that gets one's head on beat. It is riding with the rhythm. It is a pulse that keeps one rolling with the beat."

Is this a school where your kid will learn the history of tap from a master? Actually, yeah. But students also learn "to identify with the creative process that can revise and refine their own approach to Tap Dancing." Anyone can teach a history class. Glover teaches innovation.

So don't miss Glover's performance on Nov. 10th at the Wisconsin Union Theater. I wouldn't be surprised if her grabbed an audience member and taught them how to hoof.

 

Calling All Playwrights!

by Hope Evans
Marcia Legere Play Festival Coordinator 2012

From the 2011 Marcia Legere Play Festival

It is time to get ready for the 21st annual Marcia Legere Play Festival, which is set to take place March 10-11, 2012. The festival is named for an alumna of the University of Wisconsin who won the first Wisconsin Playwrights Contest in the mid-1940s. From there, her career took her to New York City and San Francisco, writing for TV and documentaries and in a number of other mediums as well. In an effort to give back to the university, Marcia Legere-Binns gave a generous contribution each year for the competition. Marcia passed away recently, but left an endowment fund so that the festival can continue.

Right now we are taking submissions by playwrights for the competition. All of the plays will be judged by members of the faculty from the Creative Writing/English and Theater fields and two to three winning scripts will be chosen. The winning playwrights will receive a cash prize and will have their names engraved on a plaque, which will be hung in the new theater after the remodeling project. And, of course, the winning plays will be performed during the festival.

This year we are looking for one act plays that can be performed in 40 minutes or less, written by current students of the university (undergraduate or graduate, enrolled through the 2011-2012 academic year). The plays can be written about any subject. Please DO NOT submit scripts that are meant to be screenplays, as the winning scripts must be ready for performance on a stage. Submissions are due to the by Monday, November 14 at 5:00pm. Please e-mail them to ml.play.festival@gmail.com or drop them at the Wisconsin Union Theater's office in Memorial Union.

Good luck to all!

Summer Camp and Folk Laments: Jay Ungar and Molly Mason

by Alexis Brown
Marketing Intern

The transition back from summer camp is always a strange one. As a many-seasoned veteran of Girl Scout camp, I should know. Suddenly, the place where you’ve lived for the past three months isn’t your home anymore, your friends are no longer in the next room. There are no more campfire songs, no communal mealtimes, no morning hikes, no breakfast rituals.

Jay Ungar knows the feeling too. He describes it well, having felt it acutely upon returning from Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp in 1982, a camp he has run with his wife and fellow composer Molly Mason since 1980. “I was feeling a great sense of loss and longing for the music, the dancing and the community of people that had developed at Ashokan that summer,” Jay wrote. “The transition from living at a secluded woodland camp with a small group of people who needed little excuse to celebrate the joy of living, back to life as usual, with traffic, newscasts, telephones and impersonal relationships, had been difficult.”

Of course, the similarities between us end here. Whereas all I could produce when I got home each summer were some campsick-sounding emails, Jay wrote what may be his most famous composition when he returned home in 1982: “Ashokan’s Farewell.”

I'm no expert on folk music, but “Ashokan Farewell” is some of the most hauntingly beautiful music I’ve ever heard in any genre—and it’s a strange emotion, to feel suddenly chilled by something so ethereal, yet stunningly heartfelt and warm.  There’s something piercing in the way this band performs a lament, as if it were composed to shock you out of your day-to-day routine and into a deep reflection.

The go-to byline for this folk band tries to sell them as a relic of a simpler age, happier without modern tedium or technology. That claim may have a bit of merit—their music does have a certain stripped-down quality to it, sometimes consisting of little more than a single violin. It's also been used in Ken Burns’ "The Civil War" documentaries, as well as “Brother’s Keeper,” a documentary set in a rural farming community near Syracuse, New York. 

I think there's something more interesting going on here though. Even if this music is meant to gesture back to the days of the Civil War, or the time before industrialization, the period it references was certainly not a simpler one—if anything, it was equally complex to ours, even more bloody, maybe, certainly more raw. So what’s at stake here, then? What’s the lament for—what’s been lost?

I don’t have an easy answer to these questions; I can’t say my twelve-year-old self ever reached this level of profundity sitting around the fire at Girl Scout camp. But their music reminds me of the kind of community I felt there, and of how lacking this feeling can sometimes be in our day-to-day life, as it slips by before us. But it slips by like that because we let it. And it makes me wonder if  their laments are for a forgotten age at all—or if they are, instead, an elegy for our own.

Yamato, "Spirit of Japan" and the Beat of Courage

by Catherine Harris
World Stage Coordinator

Although while they travel the world they carry the motto, "Go anywhere if invited and make the world a little more happy," this show entitled Gamushara, "The Beat of Courage," will certainly in some measure take on a more somber note, as it is dedicated to the remembrance of the Tsunami and Earthquake that struck Japan in the spring of 2011.

Yamato's interactive show includes a mix of choreography, singing, comedy, and of course drumming on traditional Japanese drums in a style called Taiko. Taiko can literally be translated to 'drum,' and it refers to a wide variety of traditional drums. For the show at the Union Theater, be prepared to experience the whole arsenal; Yamato's almost two dozen performers will be playing all kinds of drums from small hand drums, to the largest drum weighing in at over 1,000 lbs!

Come see them on Thursday, Oct 27,  at 8:00 pm in the Wisconsin Union Theater. Buy your tickets here! 

'Color by Numbers' Plays the Odds

by Ted Harks
Campus Arts Ticketing System Manager

Recent statistics reveal that 'dark days' are rare in our theaters.

Did you know that 'dark days' are what we in theater call the days when there are no events happening on stage? If there is no event, the theater house lights (save the ghost light, which is another theater term for another time) are switched off and the house is, quite literally, dark.

Did you have any idea just how few days each year our theaters actually are dark? As I hope this 'Color by Numbers' edition illustrates, the answer is almost zero.  Between our two theaters we average more than one audience event a day every day of the year. This morning, for example, while I was typing this article, we had a touring company performing in the Wisconsin Union Theater and tomorrow night we will host an entirely different event. And some days we host multiple events in both venues!

Did you know that most of our so-called dark days are not dark at all? Between events, our technical staff is working hard, striking past events and setting up for new events. Stated differently, in the spirit of Halloween, we allow our theater ghosts very little quiet time to themselves.

Be sure to frequent our website, follow our blog and Twitter feed and Like us on Facebook to keep tabs on our never-ending stream of great upcoming events.

Students: Participate in the Theater's Future!

By Ralph Russo
Theater Director

Spring Awakening cast with members of the Performing Arts committee

Greetings,

I am writing to share with you my excitement about the Wisconsin Union Theater and its future. As you may know, starting in June 2012 the West Wing of Memorial Union will undergo major historic preservation and renovation which include the Wisconsin Union Theater and the Play Circle Theater.   Needless to say, we are thrilled about this. And we need your help.
 
Students have the opportunity to vote on an important piece of this future from Monday, 10/17 – Wednesday, 10/19 and I urge you to vote informed. The Student/Theater Lounge will enhance your theater-going experience, offer tremendous sunset views from the Sunset Deck, and allow for a lake view all year round, even in the “splendor” of winter!

The Wisconsin Union Theater turns 72 years this October.  For all 72 years it has served UW-Madison students in many ways: provided steeply discounted ticket prices, served as a place where student performers can produce and present events with the backing of a professional technical & production support team, and served as a learning laboratory for generations of set designers, lighting professionals, stage hands, sound technicians and arts administrators.  Through these experiences many students have entered careers in performance, directing, technical stage and film work, and arts administration.  Students have always been at the core of presenting and choosing the performers for the theater’s season and you, too, can join the Performing Arts Committee and decide what performers should be included in future seasons.

Please read the fact sheet about the project and vote informed! All of these improvements enhance our ability to create community through connections and opportunities in the performing arts.   We strive to engage every student on campus–whether attending a performance by a world class artist, a lecture by a renowned scholar or by serving as a user-friendly and affordable space for students and student organizations who are learning to produce and present the arts.   As the University of Wisconsin’s premiere performing arts venue I promise we are here for you!      

Don't Miss Your Chance to Win Gaelic Storm Tickets Through UW Credit Union!

By Nina Reynolds

Offering two easily-accessibly campus locations, dozens of fee-free ATMs all over Madison, free online banking, and the option to use student ID or WisCard, as a PIN-based debit card, UW Credit Union is a great resource to students. You might think theater and banking have nothing in common, but I know that the Wisconsin Union Theater and UW Credit Union share one very important goal: to serve UW-Madison students and the Madison community-at-large.

And that’s why we partnered with UW Credit Union this year! If you’re a UW-Madison student and you haven’t already stopped in to open an account at one of the conveniently-located UW Credit Union branches on campus - there’s one on State Street and one at the new Union South on West Dayton Street – do it! And soon! I’ll tell you why…

This December, UW Credit Union will hold a raffle to win TWO free tickets to Gaelic Storm, who will be performing at the Union Theater on February 17, 2012. UW Credit Union members will receive information about the drawing in the Limelight newsletter issued in December, and fans of UW Credit Union on Facebook will also be notified once the drawing is announced.

Imagine all of that saving potential! With UW Credit Union you can save all those hard-earned paychecks in one safe place and get tickets from the Union Theater that you’ll be able to enjoy your honey when spring rolls around. Going to see Gaelic Storm would make a grrrreat date!

Psst! If you need a little refresher, Gaelic Storm is that Celtic band that rocked the Union Theater for a sold-out crowd last spring (the same one that played in the movie Titanic). Check out event details here.

Aaaand the deals don’t stop there. When you’re at any Union Theater event, make sure to stop by the Performing Arts Committee table to pick up goodies supplied by UW Credit Union.

Aren't collaborations great?!

Caroline Goulding - Then and Now

by Lindsay Hanson
Concert Series Coordinator, WUD Performing Arts Committee

I'm looking forward to meeting Caroline Goulding next month - because the last time I saw her, which was in June of 2003, she was 10 years old. This is what she looked like. I was 15, and had just finished my freshman year at the Interlochen Arts Academy in my hometown of Interlochen, Michigan. My dad came home one evening and said that Jennifer Granholm, then governor of Michigan, was coming to Interlochen to visit as a part of her "Travel Michigan" Tourism Initiative. Since the governor was coming in June - when the school year is over and the summer camp season has not yet started - the school was scrambling to find Interlochen students to play for the governor's visit.

My father said that this little kid who had been in camp the previous summer was going to play violin for her. Well, why couldn't I play horn for her? I was already in town! I was talented, too! Girls who play brass instruments are unique and interesting! Well, at age 15, I was no longer cute. I was a teenager. I wouldn't have made the governor look like this:

The horn, played by a tomboy-ish 15 year-old girl, just doesn't have that heartwarming effect on people. Though I may have been good, I just didn't make the cut for the governor's visit.

But things are different now. Caroline Goulding and I both grew up, and while we have shared some common experiences, we embarked on different career paths. While I aim to become an amazing and creative arts administrator, Goulding has entered the performing world. Only 19, she has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra and the Houston Symphony, and has performed alongside Béla Fleck (who is coming to the Union Theater in March!), Elaine Douvas of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and pianist Christopher O'Riley. I worked Béla Fleck's show one summer at Interlochen, Elaine Douvas was a judge at the 2004 Interlochen Arts Academy Concerto Competition where I was a finalist, and I appeared with Christopher O'Riley on NPR's From The Top in 2005. Here's a photo (I'm on the left.):

Who knew that in the Fall of 2011 in Madison, our lives would cross again - Goulding an emerging soloist, and myself a graduate student. And this time, I'll actually meet her. I'm excited for that--and to hear her playing!

Goulding's recital performance, which includes works of Mozart, Enescu, Schumann, Fauré and Saint-Saëns, is held in the Union Theater on Thursday, November 3 at 7:30pm. She also appears with the UW Chamber Orchestra on Saturday, November 5 at 7:30pm, performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. I'm looking forward to both concerts, and I hope to see you there!

Terence Blanchard and Spike Lee: A Revolutionary Partnership

Erin Bannen
Marketing Intern

Remember the funeral dirge of Spike Lee's Katrina Documentary, When the Levees Broke? Here's a refresher: an all African American jazz band playing through the rubble like they're at a pep rally circle a crudely made coffin with a cardboard sign that reads "KATRINA."

Matching the joyous with the grotesque has a chilling effect which is characteristic of Spike Lee's films; take the end of Bamboozled, where Mantan (played by Savion Glover) is gunned down by terrorists while tap dancing--and his friends watch it all on TV. These juxtapositions seem nuts, but they make a crazy kind of sense. I mean, when tragedy strikes, the real kind, words can't capture the chaos. That's where music comes in.


Terence Blanchard wrote the score for When the Levees Broke, the main theme for Bamboozled, and those are just two of the incredible collaborations between these powerhouse artists. Blanchard's music becomes the soul of those Spike Lee moments, those moments where nothing makes enough sense for words. So don't miss Blanchard when he comes to the Union Theater on Oct. 22nd. Not convinced? Check out a few more Lee-Blanchard collaborations below. :-)

Track from the 25th Hour
Terence Blanchard Quintet and Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Track from Malcolm X
Opening Credits – Terence Blanchard Quintet and Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Track from Inside Man
"Hostage Breakdown" – Terence Blanchard Quintet and Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra