Performances
Upcoming Concerts
Stephen Self
Organ Recital
Sunday, April 13, 2025 2:00 PM
Stephen Self, Director of Music, will present Marcel Dupré’s monumental The Stations of the Cross, a work that vividly chronicles the events of Jesus’ last hours. Each movement of the work will be preceded by the narration of poetry by Paul Claudel that inspired the music.
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Past Performances
Madison Bach Musicians
Masterpieces by Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi
Trevor Stephenson, Sarah Brailey, Natan Giglierano, Ben Lenzmeier, James Waldo
Sunday, March 24, 2024, 2:00 PM
Madison Bach Musicians Website
Members of the Madison Bach Musicians will perform a selection of works by three great masters of the Baroque—Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi—ranging in style from meditative and metaphysical to the dazzling and outright athletic. MBM director, Trevor Stephenson, will bring his 17th-century Flemish harpsichord and will perform Bach’s French Suite in B minor. Dr. Stephenson will also give a bit of background on the composers and on each of the pieces in the program. Grammy-award winning soprano—and UW-Madison Mead Whitter School of Music faculty member—Sarah Brailey will sing: the tender aria Auch mit gedämpften, schwachen Stimmen from Bach’s Cantata BWV 36, two songs by Handel on texts by John Milton, and the show-stopping vocal pyrotechnics aria Tornami a vagheggiar from Handel’s opera Alcina. Cellist James Waldo (UW-Madison Mead Whitter School of Music) will perform Bach’s E-Flat Major Cello Suite. Baroque violinist Nathan Giglierano will perform Handel’s ardent Sonata in A major for violin and continuo. Benjamin Lenzmeier will play Vivaldi’s E minor Violin Sonata. Then the two violins and continuo will join forces in Vivaldi’s stunning set of variations on the famous La Folia theme.
Danbi Um and JiJi
Virtuoso Guitar and Violin Duo
Sunday Feb 25, 2024, 2:00 PM
WORT FM radio Interview with Ava Borelli
Embark on a musical journey as the enthralling artistry of guitarist JIJI and violinist Danbi Um intertwines classical traditions with contemporary innovation. JIJI is an adventurous guitarist known for her virtuosity and command of diverse repertoire. Danbi Um, a Menuhin International Violin Competition and Naumburg International Violin Competition prizewinner, showcases her virtuosity and interpretive sensitivity in captivating concertos, intimate solo recitals and chamber collaborations.
Hailed as a top 21st-century guitarist, JIJI fascinates audiences with her impeccable musicianship and diverse repertoire. The first guitarist in 30 years to secure first prize in the Concert Artists Guild Competition, JIJI’s performances range from traditional and contemporary classical to free improvisation. Beyond her musical pursuits, JIJI is a committed educator, serving as Associate Professor of Music in Guitar at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Praised for her brilliant performances and “mesmerizing grace,” Danbi Um, showcases her virtuosity and interpretive sensitivity in captivating concertos, intimate solo recitals and enriching chamber collaborations.
“A graceful and nuanced player…she presented an intimate, captivating performance” – The Kansas City Star, on JIJI
“Utterly dazzling, a marvelous show of superb technique” – The Strad , on Danbi
Sunday Nov 12, 2:00 PM
Gerald Gurss, Director
Verona Quartet
We’re thrilled to have the Verona Quartet at Bethel just a week before they perform at Carnegie Hall! Winners of Chamber Music America’s coveted 2020 Cleveland Quartet, the Verona Quartet has firmly established itself amongst the most distinguished ensembles on the chamber music scene today. The Verona Quartet will perform works by Grazyna Bacewicz, Ludwig van Beethoven, and the contemporary pipa virtuoso and composer Wu Man, whom they will officially collaborate with next season. This program focuses on composers who were/are also virtuoso performers themselves. This enables them to bring their unique unique compositional voices and iconic virtuosic fingerprints to the intertwining voices of the string quartet.
The Verona Quartet has appeared across four continents, captivating audiences at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, Boston’s Jordan Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, and Australia’s Melbourne Recital Hall, not to mention Madison’s own Wisconsin Union Theater. They have also performed at festivals including La Jolla Summerfest, Chamber Music Northwest, Caramoor, and Bravo! Vail, and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Serving as the Quartet-in-Residence at the Oberlin College and Conservatory, the Verona Quartet’s “vibrant, intelligent” (The New York Times) performances emanate from the spirit of storytelling; the Quartet believes that this transcends genre and therefore the name “Verona” pays tribute to William Shakespeare, one of the greatest storytellers of all time.
Verona Quartet, April 23, 2023
Nordic Choir, Luther College
Sunday, January 22, 2023, 4pm
Jan 22, 2023 4:00pm Nordic Choir, Luther College
Kara Shay Thomson
Sunday, January 8, 2023, 4pm
Dramatic soprano, Kara Shay Thomson, has built an expansive stage career by creating characters that push the limits both musically and dramatically. She continues to expand her career by choosing repertoire that not only showcases her vocal abilities and also draws upon her strong dramatic insight.
Ms. Thomson’s major roles include the iconic Puccini’s heroines, Turandot and Tosca. Additional roles include Leonore; Fidelio, Sieglinde;Die Walkyrie, Santuzza;Cavalerria Rusticana, Donna Anna; Don Giovanni and Magda Sorel; The Consul. Company appearances include Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Virginia Opera, Utah Opera, Portland Opera, Atlanta Opera, Dayton Opera, Opera Omaha, Kentucky Opera and Sarasota Opera.
Pianist, Michael Chertock, has performed as a concerto soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Pops, The Montreal and Toronto Symphonies, as well as the Dallas symphony, the Detroit symphony, and the State Symphony Orchestra of Moscow. He has recorded solo albums of film music hotel arc and appears on more than 40 different recordings on multiple labels.
He also serves as principal keyboardist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Kara Shay and Michael are excited to share their gifts with everyone and look forward to bringing this program to Bethel.
Jan 8, 2023 4:00pm - Kara Shay Thomson
THE OK FACTOR
Olivia Diercks, cello; Karla Colahan, violin
Have Yourself an OK Christmas:
Reimagined Holiday Favorites
Sunday, December 11, 2022, 4pm
theokfactor.com
Join The OK Factor as they celebrate the holidays with traditional carols, seasonal songs, and original arrangements of holiday favorites. Enjoy the sounds of the season in a new and unique arrangement while you spend an evening immersed in the spirit of the holidays with your friends, family, and loved ones.
Playful and unexpected, new-classical crossover duo The OK Factor writes and performs folk-inspired music influenced by multiple genres, with an artistry that reveals their classical training. Cellist Olivia Diercks and violinist Karla Colahan find great joy in defying expectations and delivering an experience outside of what audiences anticipate from a cello and violin combo. Organic and genuine, their original compositions feel both comfortingly familiar and uniquely fresh, and have been described as “genre-bending” (Julie Amacher, MPR) and “pure magic” (Wausau Pilot & Review). The ease with which they write and perform and their passion for educational outreach has caught the attention of the Minnesota music community in which they live and work, bringing them success on stages such as The Cedar Cultural Center, as frequent featured artists with Minnesota Public Radio, and as finalists for the McKnight Fellowships for Musicians in 2018. Olivia and Karla invite audiences to explore music and cultivate a curiosity about its role in their lives.
OK Factor Concert
INNA FALIKS
Polonaise Fantasie:
The Story of a Pianist
Sunday, November 20, 2022, 4pm
https://www-innafaliks.com
evolution as an artist through this piano performance.
Inna Faliks considers Polonaise-fanatsie: The Story of a
Pinist is the most personal endeavor she has undertaken.
She says: “It is my hope that, in sharing this story. I offer
audiences a glimpse into the life of a performing musician,
as well as my very personal story – the story that makes me
the artist I am today.”
Listen to Inna’s Interview on WORT FM about her Bethel Concert: www.wortfm.org/inna-faliks-interview/
Inna Faliks Concert at Bethel
Special Event: Organ and Brass
Join us in celebrating our great pipe organ and praising God for the gift of music at 7pm on Tuesday, October 18, the same day the organ was dedicated in 1964. Zach Busch will perform solo and with Bethel Brass. A freewill offering will be collected to benefit future organ projects at Bethel.
The event has been livestreamed.
Jutt-Wienholts Duo
Spring Awakening: Masterpieces for Flute and Harp
Friday, April 22, 2022, 7pm
VIEW CONCERT FROM APR 22
The combination of harp and flute has always been known as a heavenly duo. But is it really? Is it perhaps something more primal, something more earthy, something more ancient and profoundly human? The new duo of flutist Stephanie Jutt and harpist Johanna Wienholts seeks to explore the vast repertoire for flute and harp, from the most delicate confections by Franz Joseph Haydn and Nino Rota to the most exciting and driving rhythmic compositions by Mexican composer Eduardo Angulo.
When people happen to catch harpists moving full-sized pedal harps, the question is almost always, “Don’t you wish you played the flute?” While flute and harp are indeed on opposite ends of the size spectrum, the sound of these two instruments can both contrast and complement like few other pairings can. Stephanie Jutt and Johanna Wienholts first met in 2017 when Johanna joined the Madison Symphony Orchestra as their new principal harpist. Because orchestral writing combines flute and harp in exposed symphonic moments, they often found themselves blending sound from across the orchestra. It seemed only fitting that a duo would be born.
Seraph Brass
Brass Quintet
Sunday, January 23, 2022, 4pm
Seraph Brass Website
VIEW CONCERT FROM JAN 23
Seraph Brass is a dynamic ensemble drawing from a roster of America’s top brass players. Committed to engaging audiences with captivating programs, Seraph Brass presents a diverse body of repertoire that includes original transcriptions, newly commissioned works and well-known classics.
In the Bethel Concert Series program, Seraph Brass will perform works by composers from underrepresented demographics as well as the well known classical hits. Committed to celebrating women in music, they will perform recent commissions by composers like Catherine McMichael and Reena Esmail. You will hear the women of Seraph dazzle on famous virtuosic piano pieces, sing through Spanish folk music, and soar in a Wisconsin premier by Kevin Day.Winners of the 2019 American Prize in Chamber Music, Seraph Brass is a dynamic ensemble drawing from a roster of America’s top brass players. Performing primarily as a quintet/sextet, Seraph Brass also performs as a larger 10-piece ensemble. Committed to engaging audiences with captivating programming, Seraph Brass presents a diverse body of repertoire that includes original transcriptions, newly commissioned works and well-known classics. Seraph released their debut studio album, Asteria, on Summit Records in January 2018, winning a Silver Medal Global Music Award. Seraph Brass is in residency at the Walton Art Center’s Artosphere Festival, alongside the Dover Quartet, in the festival orchestra.
Seraph Brass has toured extensively throughout the United States, China, Mexico and Europe. Featured performances of Seraph’s 2019-2020 touring schedule include a sextet recital at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Miami (FL), performances at the Busan Maru International Music Festival in Korea and a residency at the Interlochen Arts Academy. On the international stage, Seraph has performed at the Lieksa Brass Week in Finland and the Forum Cultural Guanajuato in León, Mexico. Seraph is on the roster of Manhattan Music Ensemble and G.L. Berg Entertainment.
