Author Archives: Morris

About Morris

Sang with Madison Maennerchor many years between 1995 and 2012. Currently sing with UW Madison Choral Union and Madison Symphony Chorus. Played violin in Verona Community Theater productions since 1997.

Austrian Wine Festival

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Hello friends–please spread the word and invite your friends! Here’s a chance to enjoy a great afternoon of entertainment this Sunday, October 13 at the annual Wine Fest. It’s a friendly mix of Austrian Volksmusik, Viennese songs and operetta, humor and skits, and you get to dance and sing along!
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You’re invited!
33rd Annual Wine Fest
Klub Österreich
Austrian American Society of Milwaukee

Sunday, October 13, 2013
at the Schwabenhof in Menomonee Falls
N56 W14750 Silver Spring Drive

Doors open at 1:00 p.m.
Program begins at 2:00 p.m.

Enjoy Authentic Austrian Volksmusik, Elegant Viennese Song, Skits, Good Humor, Old-World Culture and a chance to sing and dance along! Featuring the exquisite zither music of Kurt von Eckroth and the graceful singing of soprano Rachel Renee.

Tickets $8.00 at the door on the day of the event—no pre-sales.
Additionally, fine food and beverages will be available from the Austrian Club and from the Schwabenhof bar and restaurant staff.

For more information contact:
Doug Scott, (414) 614-2235
dougliness@gmail.com

Choral Concert – Die Erste Walpurgisnacht (Mendessohn)

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The University of Wisconsin Choral Union and UW Chamber Orchestra will present a concert containing two works, Dona Nobis Pacem by the English composer of Welsh descent Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Die Erste Walpurgisnacht by German composer Felix Mendelssohn. The concert will be presented on Saturday November 23rd (7:30 pm) and Sunday November 24th (2:00 pm) in UW Mills Hall, Mosse Humanities Building. Please call the School of Music’s Concert Line (608) 265-2787 for tickets. You can also purchase tickets on line at the UW Choral Union web site. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $8 for students/seniors.

Die erste Walpurgisnacht (The First Walpurgis Night) is a secular cantata for soloists and choir composed by Felix Mendelssohn. The words are taken from a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The text involves Druids in the Harz mountains The piece is about 36 minutes in length. Sung in German.

The sections are titled:

  • Es lacht der Mai (May is in full bloom) Tenor & chorus of Druids & people.
  • Könnt ihr so verwegen handeln? (Could you be so rash, so daring?) Alto, old woman, & chorus of wives of the people.
  • Wer Opfer heut zu bringen scheut (Whoever fears to sacrifice) Baritone, priest, & chorus of Druids.
  • Verteilt euch, wackre Männer, hier (Divide your forces, valiant men) Chorus of Druid watchmen.
  • Diese dummen Pfaffenchristen (Christians and their priests are witless) Bass, watchman, & chorus of watchmen.
  • Kommt mit Zacken und mit Gabeln (Come with prongs and pitchforks) Chorus of Druids and people.
  • So weit gebracht, dass wir bei Nacht (It’s come so far that now by night) Baritone, priest, & chorus of Druids and people.
  • Hilf, ach hilf mir, Kriegsgeselle (Help, oh help me, comrade) Tenor & chorus of Christian watchmen.
  • Die Flamme reinigt sich vom Rauch (The flame is purified by smoke) Baritone, priest, & chorus of Druids and people.

Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace) by Ralph Vaughan Williams was composed in 1936 to mark the hundredth anninversary of the Huddersfield Choral Society. The texts are taken from Walt Whitman poems, speeches and excerpts from The Bible. It was intended to be a plea for peace. It is scored for soprano and baritone soloists with chorus and orchestra. Sung in English.

References
“Die erste Walpurgisnacht”, p. 226 in The World of the Oratorio, Kurt Pahlen. Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1990.
“Die Erste Walprugisnacht”, retrieved from Wikipedia, accessed September 24, 2013. “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_erste_Walpurgisnacht”
“Dona Nobis Pacem”, retrieved from Wikipedia, accessed September 24, 2013. “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dona_nobis_pacem_(Vaughan_Williams)”

Celebrate German Master Brewing

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Celebrate the Joys of German Master Brewing and support the Madison Early Music Festival. The Madison Early Music Festival (MEMF) is partnering with the Capital Brewery for a wonderful afternoon in the Biergarten. Saturday, June 8, 2013 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at the Capital Brewery Beer Garden, 7734 Terrace Ave, Middleton WI. Click on the following link for the flyer.

MEMF_German 0001

All proceeds benefit MEMF. RSVP: Mary Ellen Bell or (608) 347-6260 (e-mail preferred).

Other important links:
Madison Early Music
Capital Brewery

Visiting Fermenting Tanks at the Capital Brewery

Visiting Fermenting Tanks at the Capital Brewery

Brewing Vats at Capital Brewery

Brewing Vats at Capital Brewery

German Interest Group Annual Conference July 13 2013

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The German Interest Group of Wisconsin is holding their Annual Conference on Saturday, July 13 at the UW-Whitewater Campus Conner Center (Hamilton Auditorium)!

The featured speaker is Roger P. Minert, who is a well-known author and genealogist as well as a professor at Brigham University in Provo, Utah

GIG – WI Annual Conference Please feel free to print copies for your groups. Early Registration is due before June 15th.

For more information, contact:
Kristina Freund
(262) 332-9225
Kristina.freund@yahoo.com

German Interest Group Meeting June 3 2013

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Event Date: Monday June 3, 2013
Sponsor: German Interest Group – Wisconsin
When: 7 p.m. Monday, June 3
Where: St. Mark Lutheran, 2921 Mount Zion, Janesville, WI
Topic: FROM THE FEUDAL TO THE FEDERAL STATE, 19TH CENTURY GERMAN IMMIGRATION TO WISCONSIN, by Johann Stroschänk, Professor of German language, culture and literature and Bill Thiel, Instructor of German immigration, both of UW Eau Claire.
Contact: Kristina – Ph (262) 332-9225 or E: Kristina.freund@yahoo.com

MMC begins 161st Season

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We are about to begin our 161st year of song and Gemütlichkeit. The Madison Männerchor invites you to consider becoming an Associate member. Your Associate membership helps us continue our 161 year tradition of German song and heritage.

Your Associate membership includes:

  • Two (2) tickets to our Spring Concert,
  • Notice of all of our social functions, and
  • The great personal feeling you get when you support the second-oldest organization in the United States dedicated to preserving German singing and Gemütlichkeit.

Upcoming scheduled events this year will find us at Essenhaus, September 15th for Oktoberfest (We sing at 3:00 pm); Wauktoberfest at Endres Mfg. in Waunakee September 25th (We sing at 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm); we are the guest choir at the Damenchor concert on October 21st in Milwaukee, and we perform a private concert at Oakwood Village West on November 15th at 7:00 pm. Our Christmas Concert will be at 3 pm, December 9th. Help make this a successful year by participating as much as possible.

 

German Fest 2012

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On Sunday, July 29th, members of the Madison Maennerchor participated in the annual Milwaukee German Fest Church Service. This year’s service is Lutheran, and we heard many fine youthful speakers as they read in both german and english. The celebration was in the Henry Maier Festival Ground’s Marcus Amphitheater. We had a wonderful, spiritual time, surrounded by friends in the “pew” and on stage. The Freistadt Alte Kameraden band provided a wonderful musical foundation for our singing.

Among the more than 200 choristers on stage were MMC members
Fred Berger
Klaus Bodenstein
Bill Dries
Paul Essert
Mel Grulke
Joe Johnson
Ron Kycek
Morris Sadicario
Greg Tatusko

MMC Thursday Night Festivities July 19 2012

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Singers,

Instead of meeting at the Essen Haus this Thursday, a few of us decided to give the Capital Brewery a visit instead. 7734 Terrace Avenue Middleton, WI 53562 (NOTE: No tables of drunks drinking mulitple glass boots of beer!)

The Bier Garten closes at 9:00, so we thought a gathering time of 6:30 – 7:00 would be more appropriate.

Hope to see many of you there!
Tim