Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society is now in its twenty-first season of bringing chamber music with a bang to enthusiastic audiences in Madison and south-central Wisconsin. Since 1992 flutist Stephanie Jutt and pianist Jeffrey Sykes have been inviting other world-class musicians to join them in a three-week summer festival that puts the element of “play” back into chamber music, showing that chamber music concerts, often serious to the point of stuffiness, can be both serious and fun at the same time.
New England Ragtime Ensemble:
One of the most distinctive contributions America has made to the world of music is ragtime, a musical style that developed in African-American communities in the late nineteenth century and took the world by storm. Ragtime features distinctive rhythmic syncopations that are very complex yet catchy—syncopations that greatly influenced the development of jazz. The style was popularized by "the king of ragtime," African-American composer Scott Joplin, through his hits "The Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer."
In this one-night-only-concert, THE ART OF THE RAG, explores the origins of ragtime in the early works of Black composers Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Louis Chauvin, and traces its development to the modern day with composers Joseph Lamb, Jelly Roll Morton, and Eubie Blake. It also includes “classical” music influenced by ragtime, including music of Debussy and Gershwin’s spectacular Rhapsody in Blue.
Over the years there have been many "revivals" of the ragtime style, but none more successful than the New England Ragtime Ensemble. Founded by Gunther Schuller at the New England Conservatory, the group won Grammys for best chamber music performance and classical album of the year. Flutist Stephanie Jutt was a founding member of the NERE, and she is reconvening the ensemble for BDDS audiences.
Stephanie Jutt, flute
Jeffrey Sykes, raconteur
John West, piano
Nick Moran, bass
Mark Belair, drums and percussion
Cyrus Stevens, violin
Leanne League, violin
Katrin Talbot, viola
Freya Samuels, cello
Bruce Creditor, clarinet
Laura Medisky, oboe
Daniel Grabois, horn
Cynthia Cameron-Fix, bassoon
Bo Winiker, trumpet
Matt Onstad, trumpet
Robert Couture, trombone
Robert Carriker, tuba
Jerome Harris, banjo and guitar
Ken Woods, conductor
Advanced tickets purchased through Stoughton Opera House: $30
Tickets at the door: $46.50