Frigg from Scandinavia to come to CFA

Hot fiddle group from Scandinavia visit to Platteville:

PLATTEVILLE-The Center for the Arts Performing Arts Series at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville presents Nordic folk group Frigg, October 15th at 7:30pm.

Acoustic Nordic folk music is advanced by the next generation through Frigg, a new group rich with folk heritage from Finland and Norway. Combining elements of their respective folk traditions with touches of American Appalachian and country & western music, they create an entirely new sound which feels simultaneously innovative and familiar.

The seven-piece band contains three young Järveläs, two sons and a daughter of the most famous fiddle family in Finland, whose fathers and uncles founded JPP, and two Larsen brothers, members of a comparable Norwegian Hardanger fiddle clan. The traditional sounds are then supercharged with innovative arrangements, and combined with mandola, cittern, double bass, guitar and dobro.

This young band has been dazzling festival audiences in Scandinavia the US, creating a phenomenal buzz among listeners and fellow musicians in the process.

Frigg has been catching ears on both sides of the Atlantic with their self-titled CD released in 2002, Oasis in 2005, and most recently their newest CD Economy released October 21st of this year. During an appearance on Garrison Keillor's famous public radio show “A Prairie Home Companion” Frigg had the studio audience baying for an encore. That's the way it's turning out wherever they play.

Tickets for this event are $14 for General Admission $12 for Faculty and Senior Citizens $10 for Kids Under 18 and $5 for UWP Students (with current ID).

Tickets are available through the University Box Office in the Center for the Arts the University Box Office is open Monday through Friday 8am-5pm and can be reached by calling (608)-342-1298. The University Box Office is located in newly renovated Ullsvik Hall located at the intersection of Hickory and Main Streets in Platteville. Tickets are now available online 24/7 at http://tickets.uwplatt.edu. More information on the Performing Arts Series and other performance events can be found at http://uwplatt.edu/arts/cfa.

Heartland Lighting Designers Win National Award

A big congratulations to Heartland Festival lighting designers Lisa Weinshrott and Michael Kimmel! The team, who have designed lights for all Festival productions for the past five seasons, have been selected for the annual Apollo Standing O Award!! They are being featured in a national ad campaign as well. Very, very cool!

Visit this WEBSITE for all the details.

Spanish Brass @ UWP

The Center for the Arts Performing Arts Series at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville presents Spanish Brass October 8th at 7:30pm.

Since its founding in 1989, brass quintet Spanish Brass, has strived to give special emphasis to originality and innovation. Its schedule of many worldwide concert tours is complemented by chamber music courses for brass ensembles, concerts for brass quintet and orchestra and by CD recording sessions and radio broadcasts.

Members are constantly on the lookout for original new works written by dedicated contemporary composers and by highly talented young composers. They also have to their credit the regular commissioning of new works, which they premiere around the world. Their programs reflect their high artistic standards and their eclecticism, always taking advantage of their Latin temperament and elegance.

Famous throughout Spain, the five virtuosos were invited in 1995 to play for the awards ceremony of the prestigious annual Prize of Asturia, which was held at the Campoamor Grand Theater in Oviedo, Spain.

Since then, Spanish Brass has experienced a dazzling and spectacular international career. Each of their concerts, from Hong Kong to New York, Krakow to Verona, Gothenburg to Bonn, or Kiev to Lisbon confirms their special ability to delight their legion of fans and admirers, whose numbers are continually increasing.

Fred Mills, an ex-Canadian Brass member who lives in Athens, Ga., says, "Not only are the Spanish Brass virtuosi, I would say the musical result is sheer poetry. They have achieved a unique standing in today's music world developing their own individualistic quality. ... They have the ability, fantastic dynamic range and maintain a rhythmic intensity whether performing flamenco music or J.S. Bach."

Tickets for this event are $18 for General Admission $16 for Faculty and Senior Citizens $12 for Kids Under 18 and $6 for UWP Students (with current ID).

Tickets are available through the University Box Office in the Center for the Arts the University Box Office is open Monday through Friday 8am-5pm and can be reached by calling (608)-342-1298. The University Box Office is located in newly renovated Ullsvik Hall located at the intersection of Hickory and Main Streets in Platteville. Tickets are now available online 24/7 at http://tickets.uwplatt.edu. More information on the Performing Arts Series and other performance events can be found at http://uwplatt.edu/arts/cfa.

Cutting Edge

Touring company's razor, 'meat pies' and barbershop drop in at UW-P
By The Telegraph herald


The Demon Barber of Fleet Street -- bloody razor, suspicious "meat pies" and all -- will make a national touring company stop on the stage of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's Center for the Arts, as part of the Performing Arts Series.

Tickets are on sale for a one-night performance of "Sweeney Todd," Sunday, Oct. 5.

The Stephen Sondheim musical -- made into a 2007 movie starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter -- is based on a 19th century legend about a London barber. After an evil judge takes his wife and child away from him, the barber plans his revenge with a businesswoman named Mrs. Lovett.

She has a meat pie establishment conveniently located near Todd's barbershop.

The national touring company includes a cast of 10 actor/musicians. It is produced by NETworks Presentations, whose production of "Rent" was part of UW-Platteville's 2005-06 art series.

The Wall Street Journal called it, "The greatest musical of the past half-century."

Director and designer John Doyle's Broadway production opened in 2005, winning Drama League, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for best revival of a music. The production also won a special citation by the New York Drama Critics Circle.

News You Can Use
What: "Sweeney Todd," a musical thriller
Who: The national touring company
When: 7 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 5
Where: Center for the Arts, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Cost: $32, general admission; $28 for children younger than 18; call the box office at 608-342-1298 or purchase tickets online at http://ticket.uwplatt.edu

Annual High School Choral Festival features UWP and area choirs

Approximately 200 area high school singers will have the opportunity to practice and perform with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's and women's choirs on Oct. 7 at the 2008 High School Choral Festival.

Groups of students representing area high schools have been invited to work with the UWP men's and women's choirs all day on Oct. 7 in preparation for a joint performance that evening. The UWP and area high school men's choir will be performing "Silent Noon" by Ralph Von Williams, "The Pasture" by Randall Thompson and two other pieces. The UWP and area high school women's choir will be performing a spiritual entitled "Jordan's Angles," and a Spanish piece called "No Puedo Apartarme," in addition to two other pieces.

Bob Demaree, UWP associate professor of music and director of choral activities, commented on the importance of this experience to participants. "This is a unique event because the students who come are spilt up according to gender," Demaree said. "The high school students get the opportunity to sing with more mature voices all day and this is often an inspiring experience for them."

The High School Choral Festival performance will be held at 7 p.m. in the Richard and Helen Brodbeck Concert Hall in the Center for the Arts on the UWP campus. Everyone is welcome to attend. Ticket prices are $5 for adults, UWP faculty and senior citizens and $3 for individuals under the age of 18 and UWP students with a valid ID. Tickets are available through the University Box Office at (608) 342-1298 or at tickets.uwplatt.edu. For more information, contact Demaree at (608) 342-1446 or demaree@uwplatt.edu.

Rountree Ensemble perform recital benefitting music scholarships

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville's Rountree Ensemble, UWP's chamber music ensemble-in-residence, will perform its first concert of the season on Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m.

Featured in this concert will be pianist Eugene Alcalay, flutist Margaret Cornils, clarinetist John Marco and bassoonist Barry Ellis - all members of the ensemble and faculty members at UWP. The concert will include a varied program of music by Bach, Piazzolla, Stravinsky, Schumann and others.

Ticket sales for this concert will benefit the UWP music scholarship fund. Marco, clarinetist and artistic director of the Rountree Ensemble, said, "It's a pleasure to be able to help bring in more talented students to the excellent music program UWP has to offer."

The concert will be held in the Richard and Helen Brodbeck Concert Hall at the UWP Center for the Arts, located on the UWP campus. Tickets are available through the University Box Office located on the ground floor of Ullsvik Hall. Tickets can be purchased by phone at (608) 342-1298 or at http://tickets.uwplatt.edu. Tickets are also available from the CFA location beginning one hour before ticketed performances. General admission for the concert is $10. Admission for senior citizens and UWP students with a valid ID is $4.

In addition to the concert on Sept. 24, Rountree Ensemble concerts will also take place on Nov. 19, Feb. 18, 2009 and March 29, 2009. For more information, contact Marco at (608) 342-1123 or marcoj@uwplatt.edu.

Eugene Alcalay to perform at faculty piano recital

PLATTEVILLE- Eugene Alcalay, University of Wisconsin-Platteville associate professor of piano, will be performing a selection of classical piano pieces at a faculty recital on Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. The program includes a Bach Prelude and Fugue, the Brahms Waltzes, a Beethoven Sonata and a Chopin Sonata. Alcalay recently performed these pieces at a recital in St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, England. "I have a very special connection with the Bach piece and have played it for many years. It contains an amazing five-voice Fugue," Alcalay said.


The sonata that will be performed is one of Beethoven's two fantasy-sonatas. It is a four-movement piece, played without any pauses. According to Alcalay, the 30-minute, four-movement Chopin Sonata is one of the most important piano works of the Romantic era. The faculty recital performance is free of charge. It will take place in the Richard and Helen Brodbeck Concert Hall in the Center for the Arts on the UWP campus. For more information, contact Alcalay at (608) 342-1292 or alcalaye@uwplatt.edu.

On Sept. 14, Alcalay will be performing the Brahms, Beethoven and Chopin live on Wisconsin Public Radio. The concert can be heard at 12:30 p.m. on WPR, 88.7 FM or on the website at wpr.org.

Contact: Eugene Alcalay, associate professor of piano, department of performing and visual arts, (608) 342-1292, alcalaye@uwplatt.edu Written by: Anne Killian, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, killiana@uwplatt.edu