Click on the news release title below.
Showing their support - Symphony Orchestra backers plan
'Gala in Black and White' - April 27, 2008
Murtaughs named winners of Battle for the Baton - April 21, 2008
Symphony Orchestra spotlights The Naturals - April 17, 2008
A Salute to Feathers, Furs and Fins - April 1, 2008
MSO to present 'Messiah' on Saturday -February 24, 2008
A 'Passion' for Music - February 12, 2008
Local 'Celebs' vie to Conduct Symphony - February 6, 2008
Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra Announces New Board Members - October 22, 2007
Showing their support - Symphony Orchestra backers plan
'Gala in Black and White' - April 27, 2008
By Suzanne Weiss Herald Times Reporter
You might say this group's feelings about the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra are black and white: there's no question its members are loyal enthusiasts. To show its unflagging support, the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra League will hold the eighth annual "Gala in Black and White" fundraiser on May 9, at Branch River County Club, 3212 N. Union Road, Cato. Cocktails begin at 6 p.m., and dinner starts at 7 p.m. The black-tie optional evening of dining and music is open to the public.
"It's a gala evening to bring people out and especially people who are really interested in the symphony and interested in keeping the symphony alive and well in Manitowoc," said Bernie Zimmer, vice president of the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra League. "It's a fun evening. It's full of fine food, fun entertainment and good conversation with lots of fun people. We have an auction with some wonderful things and it all goes to support the symphony." Manitowoc is one of the few small towns in the state to have its own symphony. "It does add to the wonderful quality of life that we have here," said Joanne Thomson, president of the symphony league. The gala is not designed just for couples, but is the kind of event where everyone is made to feel comfortable, she said.
The evening will take on a bit of a Caribbean flavor in the menu, musical entertainment and decorations, Zimmer said. The menu will include beef tenderloin with mustard-cognac sauce accompanied by lime-grilled shrimp; orzo (Italian rice-shaped pasta) with tomatoes, feta and green onions; and baked asparagus with toasted sesame seeds. Dessert will feature key lime pie with passion fruit coulis (sauce).
After dinner, there will be a short oral auction featuring everything from an airplane excursion to an autographed Packers football to jewelry, wine and food. Entertainment featuring Pandora's Groove, an Oshkosh-based steel drum ensemble, will follow.
Reservations are due Friday, May 2. For more, call (920) 684-7152.
Suzanne Weiss: (920) 686-2140 or sweiss@htrnews.com
Murtaughs named winners of Battle for the Baton - April 21, 2008
Mother-son duo Susan and Alex Murtaugh were named winners of the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra's Battle for the Baton fundraising competition Saturday during the symphony's final concert of the season at the Capitol Civic Centre.
With his mother at his side, Alex Murtaugh stood on the podium, took the baton from director Wayne Wildman and conducted "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Phillip Sousa.
The candidates solicited more than 2,300 votes at $5 each and raised a record $11,800, exceeding the $10,000 goal.
In addition to the Murtaughs, candidates included The Revs. Dan Felton and Matt Sauer, Jason and Tina Prigge, Dave and Dr. Stacey Soeldner, and Bobbi Schuetze and Doug Day.
Symphony Orchestra spotlights The Naturals - April 17, 2008
By Suzanne Weiss, Herald Times Reporter
The Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra will go "Pops" for its last concert of the season, starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at the Capitol Civic Centre, 913 S. Eighth St., Manitowoc.
"Pops is simply short for popular music, so there's going to be no Bach or Beethoven on this program," said music director Wayne Wildman. "It's going to be largely music from movies, Broadway and some patriotic selections." Orchestra members enjoy the change of pace and love the music as much as people in the audience, he said.
The concert will feature The Naturals, a vocal jazz ensemble made up of 12 Lincoln High School students directed by David Bowman.
It is the first time the group will perform with the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra. "It's a very intimate style of singing, so when you put it with instruments … we need amplification," Bowman said of the challenge of balancing the voices with the full orchestra. The two sounds work well together. The symphony "really adds the nice back-beat rhythm that people expect when they hear jazz," he said.
Singers, who are chosen on the basis of auditions and rehearse twice a week before school, include Meagan Bown, Zachary Glaeser, Danae Haile, Sarah Huebner, Abbie Lee, Kevin Miles, Brittany Neuser, Boon Thao, Brian Schneider, Joe Wenninger, Chue Yang and Beth Ziolkowski.
"The students are getting the opportunity to see what the next level is in performance," Bowman said. "There's more pressure on them than when just Mom and Dad are watching." "I'm excited about going out into the community to show them what we can do," said Schneider, 17. "I'm excited but also nervous at the same time," said Lee, 16. "It's a big thing for us."
The group will sing "Lost in the Stars," an a cappella ballad; "Just in Time," a light swing piece accompanied by a small instrumental combo; and "Irving Berlin's America," a medley sung with the full orchestra.
The orchestra also will perform Broadway tunes, including selections from "The King and I," "Phantom of the Opera" and "The Producers." "If you go to Broadway to see a show, even a revival, you only normally hear a small orchestra in the pit, and at least part of that orchestra is usually synthesizers," Wildman said. "But if you come to our concert you are going to hear this music played by a full orchestra, really what was intended by the original authors. It's a very lush, full sound of a live symphony orchestra. There's really no electronic substitute for that."
Two of Wildman's compositions, "Remembering John" and "Blue Harbor Dawn and Celebration," will be part of the program. "A Trumpeters Lullaby," written by Leroy Anderson in the 1950s for the Boston Pops Orchestra, will showcase the talents of the symphony's principal trumpet player, Michael Henckel. Other featured numbers include "Armed Forces Salute," "The Pink Panther," "Over the Rainbow" and "Olympic Fanfare and Theme."
Also in the spotlight will be the Battle for the Baton fundraiser's winning team conducting John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Candidate teams vying for the honor include Alex and Susan Murtaugh; David and Stacey Soeldner; Dan Felton and Matt Sauer; Bobbi Schuetze and Doug Day; and Jason and Tina Prigge.
A free preview talk about the concert, by music teacher Jim Miller, will begin at 6:45 p.m.
Tickets to the concert are $25 and $20 for adults; and $5 for students ages 18 and under. For ticket information, call (920) 683-2184.
A salute to feathers, furs and fins - April 1, 2008
Fourth-graders attend orchestra's 'Carnival of the Animals'
By Helen Clarke
MANITOWOC — More than 700 fourth-graders spent Monday visiting an unusual zoo.
Just inside the Lincoln High School auditorium was a variety of animals — from elephants and kangaroos to fossils and personages with long ears. They told tales of grandeur and contrast, of storytelling and hidden meanings.
But no fur was flying. Instead, each creature was illustrated by a tune and carried out by the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra's performance of "Carnival of the Animals."
The orchestra has performed the musical suite for Manitowoc Public School District fourth-graders the past few years. Monday marked the first opportunity for other students in Manitowoc County to see the show.
"Last summer, it occurred to me that we could very easily expand this to the whole county," said Margaret Heffernan, who sits on the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra's Board of Directors.
Students from O.H. Schultz, St. Gregory, St. Francis de Sales, Koenig, Magee, St. Peter, St. Mary/St. Michael, St. Francis Xavier, First German, Reedsville, St. John-St. James, St. Peter the Fisherman and Bethany schools, as well as home schools, attended a 10 a.m. performance. A 1 p.m. show hosted MPSD kids.
Along with offering the experience to more children, this year's "Carnival" presentation also upped the ante in terms of preparation and education. "There was a much more sophisticated educational effort in terms of preparing the kids for the concert beforehand," Heffernan said.
In mid-February, each school received an instructional kit detailing the "Carnival of the Animals" experience. Included in the kit was: information about composer Camille Saint-Saens; a CD of themes; a CD of "Carnival of the Animals;" a carnival poster and lesson plan packet; concert etiquette guidelines; and a few items regarding concert day. The schools will keep the materials and reuse them in the coming years. "The kit is a permanent gift for the teachers and music departments," Heffernan said. "This is the orchestra's way of saying, 'Thank you.'"
"Carnival of the Animals" is a musical suite written for two pianos, violins, viola, cello, double bass, piccolo, flute, clarinet, xylophone and glockenspiel. It portrays a variety of animals in a fantasy zoo, including lions, hens and cocks, wild mules, tortoises, elephants, kangaroos, the aquarium, personages with long ears, the cuckoo, the aviary, pianists, fossils and the swan.
The concert was accompanied this year by activities at the Rahr-West Art Museum, Lester Public Library and Manitowoc Public Library.
For more information on the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra and its education and community programs, visit www.manitowocsymphonyorchestra.com .
MSO to present 'Messiah' on Saturday -February 24, 2008
The Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra and Lakeshore Chorale will present Handel's "Messiah," parts two and three, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1, at St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Parish, 3218 Tannery Road, Two Rivers.This inspiring oratorio for the Lenten season tells the story of Jesus' suffering, death, Resurrection and Ascension. The program includes the arias, "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" and "The Trumpet Shall Sound," as well as the choruses, "Lift Up Your Heads" and "Hallelujah." Wayne Wildman conducts; the concert is not a part of the regular symphony subscription series. Tickets are $15 and are available from the Capitol Civic Centre or from the church on the evening of the concert. The Capitol box office can be reached at (920) 683-2184.
A 'Passion' for music - February 12, 2008
Cellist Laura Kenney Henckel of Appleton likes to tell the story of how she came to love her instrument.
It all started with her mother, a concert pianist.
"When my mother was pregnant with my older brother she was performing with a violinist and he chose the violin," she said. "When she was pregnant with me, she was working with a cellist a lot. The story goes that when I was a year and half or so I crawled up to a cello and gave it a big hug."
That's not the end of the story. When her mother was pregnant with her younger brother, she was performing with a bass player and that brother now plays the bass.
"So it's three-for-three," she said with a laugh.
Henckel, principal cellist with the Manitowoc Sympho-ny, will be the featured soloist in the symphony's concert "Passion," starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Capitol Civic Centre in downtown Manitowoc.
She will perform "Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra in B minor, Opus 104" by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak.
"It's very challenging," Henckel said. "I've become a better musician trying to master the technical and musical demands of this wonderful piece," Henckel said. "The second movement is the most beautiful music, with its soaring melodies and interplay with the woodwinds and solo cello. Whenever I play it I give myself the chills. It's so beautiful I've fallen in love with it."
She is married to the symphony's principal trumpeter, Michael Henckel. They have three children.
"Music is incredibly passionate, and you have to be incredibly passionate about it and your spouse has to be incredibly understanding as you prepare for such a large performance such as this," she said.
One favorite moment in the piece involves her husband.
It comes during the last movement when she holds a long note on cello and the trumpet players, including her husband, come in with a "studied, retrospective fanfare," she said.
"I'm excited he's going to participate in this huge moment in my life. He'll be up there on stage with me and that means a lot to me."
In a nod to Valentine's Day, the symphony is dedicating its entire February concert to music by Dvorak.
"As typical of the music of the late 19th century, it's overflowing with emotion," said Wayne Wildman, music director of the symphony.
The concerto in which Henckel will be featured has a romantic tale attached to it.
"When Dvorak was a young man, he fell in love with one of his piano students. Her name was Josefina," Wildman said.
Josefina later marries and Dvorak ends up marrying her sister.
Later in his life, when he is a famous composer living in America and working on this particular cello concerto, he receives a letter telling him that Josefina is in ill health.
"What he decides to do is put into the second movement of the concert the melody of a song that he wrote when he was a young man in love with Josefina," Wildman said.
He finishes the concert and returns to his Czechoslova-kian homeland.
"And quite sadly, Josefina passes away," Wildman said. "Dvorak then decides that he's going to write a new ending for the concerto. Unlike the original ending, which was rather bombastic, this new ending is very quiet and wistful and he again works in the quotations from the song that he put into the second movement.
"It's perfect for the middle of February because the story is just so romantic."
Cellist Henckel "really understands the music and plays it with such great expression," Wildman said.
She also plays principal cello with the Green Bay and Fox Valley symphony orchestras, performs widely with other groups and teaches piano and cello.
Henckel will be teaching a master class for promising young cellists selected from local schools on Friday, Feb. 15, at the Capitol.
The Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra's upcoming concert also will include Dvorak's "Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Opus 88."
"It really fits our theme of passion very well," Wildman said. "You can really tell (Dvorak) expressed the joy of living and pride that he had in his national culture."
Manitowoc music teacher Jim Miller will give a free preview talk prior to the concert, starting at 6:45 p.m. in the Capitol's Kadow Room.
Tickets to the concert are $25 and $20; students 18 and under are $5. For tickets and details, call (920) 683-2184.
Suzanne Weiss: (920) 686-2140 or sweiss@htrnews.com
Local 'Celebs' vie to Conduct Symphony - February 6, 2008
Who will temporarily wield Maestro Wayne Wildman's baton?
It depends on how many votes they can buy.
Local "celebrities" will again be soliciting votes, at $5 each, for the honor of conducting the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra in the Battle for the Baton.
The annual event, in its seventh year, is one of the symphony's largest fundraisers. Members of the public are invited to vote as often as they like.
"It's really a good way to get the Manitowoc Symphony to the public and to get people involved in it," said Mary Fischl Elias, chairperson for the event. "We hope this year to raise $10,000."
The money will be used for operational and educational purposes, she said.
This year, there are 10 candidates — duos who will share conducting duties — instead of five. The winning team will be announced at the Saturday, April 19, concert and will conduct "Stars and Stripes Forever."
The goal of each team will be to obtain 400 votes, Elias said.
Candidates include the Revs. Dan Felton and Matthew Sauer, representing the religious community; the artistic Two Rivers mother-son duo of Susan and Alex Murtaugh; Jason and Tina Prigge and David and Dr. Stacey Soeldner, both husband-and-wife teams representing young professionals; and Bobbi Schuetze and Doug Day, also young professionals.
Gayle Asche, last year's winner, recalled her turn at the baton: "It certainly was a lot of fun. I totally enjoyed it. I enjoyed running with all the contestants and we had a wonderful time sharing with the community what a wonderful symphony we have." She is a member of the Battle for the Baton committee this year.
The 2008 candidates will be introduced to the public at the symphony's Saturday, Feb. 16, concert at the Capitol Civic Centre. Voting ballots will be included in the programs.
Each candidate will have ballots as well. Ballots also will be available at the Capitol Civic Centre, 913 S. Eighth St., or can be obtained by contacting Corinne Knab, symphony business manager, at (920) 901-9199. Ballots also will be available for download from www.manitowocsymphonyorchestra.org. Voting will be open until the start of the April concert.
Battle for the Baton candidates and the symphony board of directors gathered for an event kick-off Monday at the Courthouse Pub, where owner and past "Baton" winner John Jagemann introduced five new drinks in honor of the candidates.
They include Dan's Daiquiri named for Felton, Sauer Mellon Baller named for Sauer, Picture Perfect Martini named for the Murtaughs, Lotus named for the Prigges, Freudian Slip named for the Soeldners and Frequency named for the Schuetze and Day team.
Jagemann's drinks will be available throughout the contest at the Pub for $10, with $5 going toward a vote.
Element American Bistro in Two Rivers will offer one free White Russian drink to anyone voting for Jason and Tina Prigge starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9. Garth Neustadter, a member of the symphony, will entertain beginning at 8 p.m.
To encourage voting, Prigge at Element will be offering Battle of the Baton appetizers and drink specials starting at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 1, after the symphony's production of Handel's "Messiah." Entertainment will be provided by Kerry Mickels.
The Revs. Dan Felton and Matthew Sauer
The Rev. Dan Felton is senior pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish of Manitowoc and the Rev. Matthew Sauer is pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Manitowoc. Their platform, as outlined in press information:
"Music is one of the crown jewels of the church. As we lead Manitowoc in worship we expose our community to a wide variety of music from classical to contemporary, from reflective to raucous. Matt appreciates folk music and classic rock yet can lose himself in Vivaldi and Handel. Dan enjoys music from Bach to Bono."
Jason and Tina Prigge
Tina Prigge is assistant to Manitowoc Mayor Kevin Crawford; Jason Prigge opened Element American Bistro in Two Rivers in 2006. They have been married since 2004 and have a son, Teak.
They are described as sharing "a passion for the stage and a passion for life. They met during a performance of 'Clue — the Musical' in Elkhart Lake and it was love at first sight."
Dr. Stacey and Dave Soeldner
Dr. Stacey Soeldner is a psychologist at Riverhill Psychological Associates and her husband, Dave Soeldner, is a civil engineer and head of his own company, Eastpoint Engineering Group of Manitowoc.
"The acronym BATON describes why we hope to earn your vote," they said. They wrote a poem, which said, in part: "B is for brassy; A is for analysis; T is for talents; O is for original and N is for natives."
Susan and Alex Murtaugh
Susan Murtaugh has worked in design and advertising art direction for 30 years, including 11 as owner and creative director of her own design firm. Her son, Alex Murtaugh, is an autistic young adult who has inherited her talent for art; his works have been shown at a number of area galleries.
"The best way to enjoy music is live," they said. Describing the Manitowoc Symphony: "We have some of the greatest orchestra music the world has ever known played by wonderful musicians. Right here. How sublime. What fun."
Bobbi Schuetze and Doug Day
Bobbi Schuetze and Doug Day are co-hosts of the "Out 'n About in Manitowoc County" show on WOMT radio, which they credited for broadening their musical tastes.
"Conducting the symphony would be a perfect job — and right in line with what we do on the radio," according to their platform statement. "Doug makes sure we start and stop on time and Bobbi makes sure everything in between fits together like a well-engineered machine."
Source: Battle for the Baton organizers
Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra Announces New Board Members
October 22, 2007
The Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra (MSO) announced the appointment of four new members to the MSO Association’s Board of Directors. The new board members are Gayle Asche, Patrick Brandel, Michael Dunlap and Angela Krajnek.
Barb Jenkins, Board President, noted, “In our fifty-seventh season, the Association is thrilled with the knowledge and talent our new board members display. We continue to have a strong and committed board of directors that are well-suited to addressing the current and future needs of the Symphony.”
Gayle Asche served on the symphony league board and is the 2006 Battle of the Baton winner.
Patrick Brandel serves as Chief Financial Officer at Holy Family Memorial and is a Trustee of St. Francis of Assisi Parish.
Michael Dunlap is the director of student learning for the Manitowoc Public School District and formerly a public school music teacher and university professor.
Angela Krajnek is an elementary and high school band teacher in the Sheboygan Area School District and has been a member of The Manitowoc Symphony flute section since September 1997.
From left to right: Michael Dunlap, Angela Krajnek, Gayle Asche, Patrick Brandel
|
