June 1, 2006
Concert to honor music prof’s memory
When the first-ever Wood Flute Festival and Conference is held June 16-18 at the UW, it will include a memorial concert for Felix Skowronek. Skowronek, a UW professor who died in April, was a flutist who championed the modern wooden flute and whose idea it was to hold the conference.
Prominent flutists from all around the U.S. and Canada will perform everything from jazz to Brazilian music and the avant garde during the event, most of which will be in Brechemin Auditorium in the Music Building. There will be five concerts and two cabaret performances, with lectures, symposia and presentations by prominent scholars and collectors.
The memorial concert will be at 8 p.m. Sunday, June 18 in Brechemin Auditorium. It will feature Soni Ventorum bassoonist Arthur Grossman, flutists Tim Lane, Clifford Dunn, Danilo Mezzadri, Lanny Pollet, Adrianne Greenbaum, Bradley Leighton, Jim O’Halloran, Martin Lund, and Duozono; cimbalom player Alexander Eppler; the Wisconsin Woodwind Quintet; and a special selection to be performed by all conference participants and the UW Flute Choir. A reception will follow.
The concert is free, but donations to the new Felix Skowronek Endowed Memorial Flute Award will be gratefully accepted.
There will also be an audio-visual tribute, “Felix Skowronek, Pioneer of the Wooden Flute,” by William McColl and members of the Soni Ventorum, along with Skowronek’s sons Neil and Theo at 7 p.m. Friday, June 16 in Brechemin Auditorium.
“The Wood Flute Conference now serves in part as a tribute to Felix, an ardent spokesman for wood and everything it means for the flute, as he demonstrated in the concert hall, through his scientific studies and work in the UW School of Forestry,” said flutist Jeffrey Cohan, who, along with Skowronek’s son Neil, took over the flute conference after the musician’s death.
Other concerts on the program include:
Friday, June 16
8 p.m. – Evening Double Concert: Brasilidade with Danilo Mezzadri, followed by Duozona with Theresa and Chuck Hulihan, flute and guitar duo (Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music).
10 p.m. – Cabaret: Flutist Jim O’Halloran and the Jim O’Halloran Quintet (UW’s McCarty Hall).
Saturday, June 17
2 p.m. – Pre-concert event: “The Wooden Flute in America” with David and Nina Shorey (Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music).
3 p.m. – Afternoon Double Concert: Flutist Lanny Pollet (Victoria, BC) performing the Cambini Wind Quintet No.1 and Villa Lobos, followed by New Music from the Heartland with flutist Tim Lane and pianist Namji Kim (Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music).
8 p.m. – Evening Double Concert: Wisconsin Woodwind Quintet, followed by Klezmer Flute with Adrianne Greenbaum and Alexander Eppler, cimbalom (Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music).
10 p.m. – Cabaret: Jazz flutist Bradley Leighton and the Tom McElroy Trio (University Tower Hotel District Lounge, 4507 Brooklyn Ave NE).
Sunday, June 18
2 p.m. – Pre-concert event: Historical Development & Orchestral Use of Wood Boehm-System Flutes with Shelly Collins (Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music).
3 p.m. – Afternoon Double Concert: “The Wood Flute: On the Cutting Edge through Six Centuries” with Janet See, Jeffrey Cohan and others, performing selections on wooden flutes from the Renaissance through the 19th century, followed by “The Avant-Garde Wooden Flute” with flutist/composer Clifford Dunn (Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music).
Concert admission is $20 ($10 for students) for all but the Skowronek memorial concert. Admission to pre-concert events is free with a ticket to the following concert. There will be a small cabaret cover charge for those not attending the conference.
Registration for the full conference is $100 ($50 for students) and provides access to all performances, meetings, etc. A single day registration is $65 ($25 for students). For further information, see www.woodflutefest.com or call 866-808-6708 toll-free.
