Arts and Literature Laboratory welcomes Oakwood Chamber Players on Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 2:00pm, as they embark on their 39th season with a delightful collection of travel-inspired works for winds and strings. Free spirits and firmly-rooted Madisonians alike are invited on a musical excursion with Oakwood, a long-standing pillar of “outside the box” chamber music in Wisconsin. Tickets are $25 general admission, and $20 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased at oakwoodchamberplayers.com.
“Souvenir de Voyage” by American composer Bernard Herrmann is a sonic tour of Europe, from lush folk tunes depicting the idyllic countrysides of England and Ireland to lilting melodies that meander the canals of Venice. Meanwhile, Stella Sung’s woodwind trio “Paris 1987,” takes us on a tour of emotions, oscillating from whimsy to melancholy, just as one might expect from “The City of Light.”
And, since travel and early mornings all too often go hand in hand, our fellow globetrotters will appreciate the jazz-tinged “Wake Up!” by Tillman Denhard, cheekily written for piccolo and alarm clock. Divertimento for Oboe and String Quartet by the celebrated Scandinavian composer and clarinetist Bernhard Crusell, a contemporary of Beethoven with touch points in Germany and France, will complete this musical journey. Charming, pensive, witty, and definitely “off the beaten path,” passports are optional for this one-of-a-kind performance.
Personnel
Marilyn Chohaney, flute and piccolo
Valree Casey, oboe
Nancy Mackenzie, clarinet
Amanda Szczys, bassoon
Elspeth Stalter, violin
Neil Gopal, violin
Marie Pauls, viola
Maggie Darby Townsend, cello