November 1, 2020
New to our website!!!!
Monthly posts from our Conductor, Michael Kamenski… Click on “Conductor Post”
Monthly post of a “Featured Member” from the MFSO… Click on “Featured Member”
Dear Patrons of the Menomonee Falls Symphony Orchestra,
The Board of Directors for the MFSO would like to inform you of the most recent information we have regarding the current 2020 – 2021 Season.
At its most recent meeting, the Board of Directors re-affirmed the decision to keep our musicians and audience safe by not holding any rehearsals and cancelling our first three scheduled concerts for this season. The fourth concert, scheduled for April 17, 2021, has not yet been cancelled. The Board will be re-assessing the status of safety later in December to see if rehearsals might resume sometime in early 2021.
If it is deemed safe and if we have enough members willing to participate during these pandemic times, the goal would be to rehearse the orchestra in sections, hoping to offer some form of concert on April 17, 2021. This concert will not have the entire MFSO at one time on the stage. Rather, the intent is to feature separate sections of the orchestra (strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion), rounding out a shorter concert with no intermission. We are far from accomplishing this goal, but we wish to transparently share the Board’s intentions for both quality music as well as safety for our musicians and audience alike.
Through these website posts, we wish to keep you, our patrons, informed and up-to-date with the status of the MFSO.
In order to maintain contact and interest between the MFSO and you, our patrons, the Board of Directors will be offering two new features to this website. Firstly, each month we will feature one member of the MFSO (playing or Board member), highlighting their history with the orchestra. We hope you enjoy reading about the interesting background of those who are committed to bringing fine classical music to you. Secondly, the Music Director, Mike Kamenski, will offer a monthly article on a topic related to conducting and the orchestra. Look for these to begin very soon! If you have comments or requests, please let us know by e-mailing the conductor at mkamenski@saintsebs.org.
To start you off with some initial offerings, our conductor suggests the following selections for your listening pleasure. These three pieces are likely unknown to most everyone, including many professional musicians. Enjoy!
Suggested listening
“Javelin” by Michael Torke (orchestral piece)
“Suite on Canadian Folk Songs” by Morley Calvert (brass and percussion piece)
“Sinfonietta” (1 or 2) for Strings by Coleridge Taylor Perkinson
(this recording is of his 1st Sinfonietta – movement 3)
As always, the Board of Directors greatly appreciates your support, both financially and in your attendance of our concerts. Please know that all musicians and other performing artists alike deeply lament that we cannot bring the fine arts to our patrons as we have in the past. We are committed with increased fervor to soon bring fine music to you, and to do so in a way that is safe for our musicians and all of you, our audience!
Sincerely,
The MFSO Board of Directors
Ed Beale, President