For the first time at Arts + Literature Laboratory, the Madison New Music Ensemble will perform on Friday, May 19, 2023 at 7:00pm. Tickets are $15 ($10 student/ALL member) in advance online at https://madnewmusicensemble.bpt.me, and $20 at the door for everyone. Doors open at 6:30pm.
The MNME is dedicated to the performance of current compositions by contemporary composers whose works are related to the tradition of “written-out music” (concert music) which has been a mainstay of Western musical culture for many years. Past Madison concerts have been at the First Unitarian Society, the Summer Serenades Concerts at the Memorial Union, Capitol Lakes Auditorium, and Oakwood Village and other venues.
Joseph Koykkar serves as the conductor and the Artistic Director of the Madison New Music Ensemble.
The six-member ensemble is comprised of local professional musicians many of whom perform regularly with Madison orchestras and chamber music groups. The current musicians are Wes Luke, violin, Amy Harr, cello, Berlinda Lopez, flute, Bethany Schultz, clarinet, Elena Ross, mallets and Shuk-Ki Wong, piano.
Featured guest artist for this program will be virtuoso cellist, Craig Hultgren, performing two solo works commissioned by him for his electric cello.
A brief video of the Madison New Music Ensemble can be viewed on their YouTube channel.
Cellist Craig Hultgren has been active in new music for decades. He now resides outside of Decorah, Iowa, as the farmer-cellist. The New York Classical Review commented that he, "...played with impressive poise and sensitivity..." for Dorothy Hindman's 2016 chamber music retrospective at Carnegie Hall. A recipient of two Artist Fellowships from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, he was a member for many years of Thámyris, a contemporary chamber music ensemble in Atlanta. He is a founding member of Luna Nova, a new music ensemble with a large repertoire of performances available on iTunes. Currently, he is Vice President of the Oneota Valley Community Orchestra Board of Directors in Decorah and serves as Chair for the Iowa Composers Forum.
Joseph Koykkar, (artistic director/composer/conductor), is a musician at home in a variety of music from classical to avant-garde to rock and blues, and has had his musical compositions performed nationally and internationally on a regular basis for over 35 years. His music can be heard on 11 CDs, including an all-Koykkar CD released by Parma Records in 2016 (Double Takes and Triple Plays) and on Northeastern Records in 1992. He has composed in a variety of media including chamber music, orchestral scores, music for dance, film/video scores, and electronic/computer music. Prior to his retirement from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Koykkar taught courses in electroacoustic music/sound design and served as Music Director for the UW's Dance Department. He joined the UW-Madison faculty in 1987. He is the founder/artistic director of the Madison New Music Ensemble. He served as the President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers from 1990-1993, and was instrumental in establishing the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s unique Interarts and Technology Program in the 1980’s-1990’s, acting as the coordinator from 1995-2005. Website: josephkoykkar.com
Berlinda Lopez, originally from Texas, came to Madison on an Advanced Opportunity Fellowship to attend UW-Madison and obtained her DMA in 2004. She was also the principal flutist of the Laredo Symphony Orchestra. She has performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Janesville Armory Dinner Theatre. Berlinda also played in the premier of the LunArts festival, which celebrates women artists. In Wisconsin, she was instrumental in initiating the Wisconsin Flute Festival. In addition to her position as an Artistic Director of the Madison Flute Club, she maintains a private woodwind studio and plays in the Beloit-Janesville Symphony, Madison Savoyards, Inc., Fresco Opera, Arbor Ensemble, and Ovidius Trio. Berlinda conducts the Madison Flute Choir Adult Ensemble.
Bethany Schultz, clarinet, is a founding member of Black Marigold, a middle and high school music teacher at Madison Country Day School, and directs the handbell choir at Orchard Ridge UCC. Bethany has been featured as a guest soloist performing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with the Lake Geneva Symphony (2011) and regularly performs in and around Madison with ensembles such as the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Madison Symphony, Kenosha Symphony, Madison New Music Ensemble, Madison Savoyards, and Fresco Opera, among others. As a teacher, Bethany maintains a studio of private clarinet and saxophone students of all ages and levels. Her students are members of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, WSMA middle and high school honor bands and orchestras, and Winds of Wisconsin. Bethany has served on faculty at Maranatha Baptist University and Beloit College. She holds degrees from Arizona State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Amy Harr, cello, performs with the LunART Festival, Camerata String Quartet and Triple Play Trio, and coaches WYSO chamber music ensembles. Amy was principal cellist of the Colorado Ballet Orchestra and Denver Center Attractions, and acting principal cellist of the Houston Ballet Orchestra. She has performed with the Colorado and Houston Symphonies, the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, the Colorado Springs Symphony, and freelanced with church choirs, rock stars, at weddings, and in tango bands. Amy received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from UW-Madison and her Master of Music degree in Cello Performance and Orchestral Studies from the Rice University Shepherd School of Music.
Wes Luke, (violin), currently serves as the Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor of the La Crosse (WI) Symphony Orchestra and as a section violinist in the Madison (WI) Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He is also the Principle Second Violinist of the Dubuque (IA) Symphony Orchestra, regularly plays in the Wisconsin Philharmonic, and has led both ensembles as Concertmaster. In recent seasons he has appeared as a concerto soloist with the UW-Platteville Symphony Orchestra and the LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra. A frequent recitalist, he performs regularly with the critically-acclaimed Mosaic Chamber Players and is the recently appointed first violinist of the Ancora String Quartet. He holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA, where he studied under Boston Symphony Concertmaster Malcolm Lowe, and the University of Wisconsin- Madison, under Felicia Moye.
Elena Ross, (percussion) is a Madison-based percussionist, vocalist, and music instructor. She received the Bachelor of Arts degree in percussion performance under Anthony DiSanza. In addition to an extensive Western Classical background, she has a passion for performing, studying, and teaching Brazilian styles of percussion, including Afro-Brazilian music in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador do Bahia, Brazil. Currently, Elena devotes much of her time to coaching vocal ensembles in local schools and colleges and is a singer and percussionist in a wide variety of music groups, including: The Handphibians, Inc., a community based samba school; Grupo Balança, an ensemble dedicated to performing Brazilian samba pagode; Metabaque, a group that fuses Brazilian maracatu rhythm with funk and hip-hop; Panchromatic Steel, a steel drum band that plays a variety of styles from classical and calypso to pop and jazz; and Purple Veins, the Essential Prince Tribute band.
Jeff Stanek (piano) plays and teaches music in Madison. He has been featured as pianist, composer, or both, at: Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, Present Music, Tanglewood Music Festival, and other distinguished series. He is equally at home playing repertoire and improvising, and has performed in dozens of premieres of new works. In addition to performing solo and chamber music, he has been working regularly with dancers for over a decade as a ballet pianist. Jeff has an MM in piano performance and pedagogy from UW-Madison and a BM in composition and piano from Indiana University. He gratefully acknowledges his piano teachers: Teresa Dybvig (currently), Christopher Taylor, Jess Johnson, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, Renato Premezzi, Larry Elliott, and Diana Berryman. For information about his piano studio, please visit: pianowithjeff.com
A diverse pianist and educator, Shuk-Ki Wong, D.M.A. has performed extensively in U.S., Australia, Portugal, and Germany, and was named as the prize winner of the Schubert Club Competition (MN), Robert Buchannan Beardsley Competition (IN), UW Beethoven Competition and Concerto Competition (WI), to name a few. Active in research, Wong’s research interest centers around Asian American identities and performing arts, Chinese folk tunes, and underrepresented Asian keyboard literature. She has been invited to present at regional, national, and international conferences such as WMTA Conference, College Music Society Conference, and NCKP Conference. Wong has taught at Purdue University, Purdue Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center, Madison College, and Western Technical College.
