 all here today. We have a wonderful program for you tonight. About over a little over a year ago, Shara called me and said she had this great idea for putting together music to some wonderful poetry that she's seen and known in Wisconsin. And she was going through ideas and we decided we're going to make this work. We're going to come up with this great idea. And so after all the planning and practicing, rehearsing tonight is the final night and we're so proud to present it to you this evening. So, without any further ado, Shara, to me, various of saying this with Poetsons. Thank you. Welcome to the premiere of Poetsons. It is an evening of gifts and surprises. The poets here first gave us a gift of their poems, which were the seeds of this project. None of the poets have heard the music that I've written using his or her poem. And that is a surprise and my gift to them. The musicians, the poets, and I hope that you will all enjoy the variety of these expressions in the twelve poems and pieces. And we thank you for the gift of your presence. Our Poetsons, Wisconsin Year and Song and Premier, will take us on a poetic musical journey tonight. Although each Poetson can stand alone, all of the Poetsons are related and were created as a musical unit, flowing with ease from one month to the next, just as our months and seasons do in Wisconsin. For each month, I'll read program notes about each Poetson and then introduce the poet to read his or her poem. Following the reading, we'll hear the musical Poetson. Let's begin with January. Poet Antler's poem, Looking Up at the Milky Way Thought. Looking up at the Milky Way Thought, uses medieval chant-like harmonies of parallel fits to convey the meditative, mystical emotion of Antler's poem. The chant's motif intensifies with the growing insistence of the poet's vision to at last relax and to ascending arpeggio, piano progression which foreshadows a melodic refrain of the next composition, Spring Sonnet. It's my pleasure to introduce our first poet this evening, Antler. Looking up at the Milky Way Thought, what must it be like for fish, watching ice form on the surface of their lake, or looking up at fish frozen in the ice above them, and feeling the water thickening around them till they too can't move, but are still alive, looking up seeing falling snow, slowly cover the ice till darkness engulfs their realm. A poet on his back, on snow-covered ice, looking up at the Milky Way. This grows into a viola solo of Section B, which introduces new melodics of the piece. The careful listener emphasizes the relationship between the themes of these two poems, one about winter times freezing and dying, the other about spring times sat, being set free, and life's return. She felt inspired to wrap the seeds of each of these expressions inside the other, since they are. Please welcome our poet-poten, who will read her poem, Spring Sonnet. Of melting snow, and February's page is facing out, then down the basement steps I quickly go to gather brace and bit, and two, and spout. I make a trail from tree to tree, at each I pause, acknowledge spirit's role, then slowly, slowly set the sweet sap free, insert a smile in every dripping hole while the sky is reamed by eager wings as geese bore northward toward their summer home. The sap of spring that rises in these sings to join the goose cries, I am not alone. The geese and I are here because we know that life is stirring deep beneath the snow. It's a variation, a contest of sorts, as the tenor tries to keep pace with the Irish flutus to break the musical code and earn his coveted emerald gene. For the month of March, please welcome Jack Jane, who will read his poem. No matter how noble my paternity, I must search and seek till eternity. To unwind my double helix strand, to break the code, I demand at least one emerald. He's popping the lid back, words the end, the composer enjoys playing with the word charge, which appears in a poem. She squeezes more than one meaning out of the word to enhance the overall piece. It's my pleasure this evening to introduce Jeff Penebash to read this poem, Super America Invades Polish America. Polish America. Right across the street from Kosciuszko Park on the Polish south side of Milwaukee, the new Super America gas station. Sword upraised, the equestrian statue of Kosciuszko charges the Super America as futile, valiantly as the Polish cavalry charged the invading Nazi tanks. Ms. Charbonneau will first howl herself like then she will cue, she slowly lowers her arm, she will cue the audience to howl three different times. The audience howls should be fairly quiet and distant, so the music underneath. Since our poet Charlotte Potei can not be with us tonight, it is my pleasure to read her poem. It is a night for walking, the moon rides high, I follow the river, dry grasses crunch underfoot, soft gurgle of water in the dark, a cricket chirps, frogs fall suddenly silent, and I smell a wildness on the wind, feeling warmth near me as but a leap away, head held high, ears bricked forward, our eyes meet, one soft wine escapes her lips, then she turns, lobes away, moments later and she waits. From a poem by the composer begins with the soprano singing about a special summer trident suing string interlude. The vocalist enters on the triplet's motif and spins it out for the strings. The piece returns to the beginning lines. Need a pleasure to introduce our composer this evening and poet for the month of June, Sharon Zephus reading her poem, Kerosene Light. Before bed, dad would like he to raise his hands casting shadows on the walls and we'd be off, stumbling whatever rolled into our heads. Fragments of light twirled on the sowing spinning farther and farther away from the stones of our words until I would start to slip deliciously dizzy towards sleep to the tinkling of crystals. Ms. Youngquist fireworks flower's poem is so lovely in itself but the composer just couldn't leave it alone and she added further meanings and impressions. Thus the piece opens with a military style instrumental section based on the national anthem. Fragments of the anthem travel from key to key mingled with drum and cymbal rolls creating an unsettling effect appropriate following the September. Then comes the lush vocal rendering of the poem with rising and falling, falling triadic chords as the voices express the rich magnificence of youngquist fireworks flowers. This moves into the burst looms lines added by Ms. Zephus which hearken back to the bombs bursting in air words of the national anthem. These climatic phrases include a dissonant active electric bass part and a rock music drum beat to call to mind another turbulent time in our country's history the 1960s. The work dissolves quickly after the flowers fall into ash exploding light showing the skies over we fold up our lawn chairs and we head for home. Please welcome Mary and Youngquist who will read her poem for the July 9th. Explode into floral fantasies golden dandelions amethyst asters sapphire hydrangeas ruby shooting stars emerald sunflowers crystal chrysanthemums petal sparkle shimmer fall drifting drifting drifting with a sassy trumpet strings provide a lazy drawl seventh and ninth chord later in the song as Zephus includes a reference to the tune somewhere over the rainbow as a tribute to the memory of Ms. Ross's father about whom the poem was written. Please welcome Jean Ross who will read her poem Lackner and Rain. You sat in the trailer smoking a cigar smiling because you knew how I would look drenched by the downpour that began when I was all the way down the road picking the berries with no shelter and no shortcuts through the stands of birches brushing thickets just that long walk back on slick asphalt to the accompaniment of pelting rain the steady watersqueak of sodden shoes opening the trailer door to warmth and laughter the joke was sweet the shared amusement yes but even better the taste of those berries black beginning with a brief musical reference to a short shimmering piano interest of the piece a run of ascending thirds ariana walking in field in the sun the color of happiness in siphoning in the twilight and its stalks shimmering like her hair in the week in the sun setting like seeds on the wind above the punctuation of the pizzicato accompaniment in this work the composer treats the two voices as one instrument throughout the piece they nearly always sing the same words at the same time the one voice often follows the other contrapuntally harmonizing the musical line the safest one is to create a unified human texture rather than a duet with independent or interacting parts to help express the universal experience of happy solitude in the poem for the month of october please welcome cx dill hunt who will read this poem on the way to riley on the way to riley even before my bike thinks of stopping i am hopping happy to be reaching into these half open pods to release some late fall milkweed seeds and now before i realize one pod is empty i go on to the next and the next flying from pod to pod even before i realize that i am standing not riding and that all the pods are already empty except for one getting on and off my bike until i get to the one late fall milkweed pod the one with a single seed somehow missed by the wind the last seeker and i dig it out set it sailing and before i know it the bike is with me again and again the trail slides on slides along happy as a single seed hopping through space not knowing a name or a number just floating never thinking of stopping or landing and i am spinning along kettle around kettle pedaling along on this late fall day on this trail on the way to riley the three vocalists interact throughout warning each other to be truthful be truthful in a rising metal this musical snippet was actually sung by pamina to popo gano in mozart's opera the magic flute toward the end of act one after popo gano asked her what they should say to the approaching sarista pamina replies the truth the truth to popo gano who has a history of line the first time his safest heard the opera years ago the little motif struck her as a very funny and it popped back into her head as she was working on this piece begging to be included first the women chided ten or two be truthful as he is about to relay the amazing absurd things he saw in his fall drive later he warns them right before they describe what they saw on their north country drive which of course tops what he just said and finally it is you the audience it's your turn to scold the three singers to be truthful be truthful as queued by the piano player and the conductor before they join forces to get out the message to all non-believers but can you believe it you the audience you are invited to participate in this song by speaking or singing the phrase be truthful be truthful waving your fingers to the singers as led by conductor Earl Kenevers he is right here the audience phrase is the same one the vocalist will sing to each other earlier in the piece the safest will give the starting chord on the piano followed by mr. Kenevers conducting the audience's words be truthful be truthful you introduce Harvey Taylor who will read his poem getting ready leaves alchemyzing and blushing right fence posts were pulling stocking caps down over their gnarly ears old telephone poles were tying woolen scarves around their skinny necks way up high near the wires and a scarecrow surrounded by a flock of pumpkins grinned as she put her mittens on the work of many people made this program happen i'd like to thank the poets the musicians and conductor for bringing the music to life the program runs so smoothly first united lutheran church for use of a rehearsal space the arts center for putting this event in their new live series and my family for doing a lot of work behind the scenes and supporting me in this endeavor again thank you all for coming you are invited to a reception in the outer hall following the concert there will also be a table set up where some of the poets will have books available and there will be a place you can order a cd recording of this program if you're interested thanks again for the gift of your presence in snow moon is entitled the poem by louisa love reach down galas his love reach galas december lament for summer's green ballads to return lends itself to the bluesy style used the vocal line consists of a progression of descending minor six cadencing on a rising chromatic hook to cap off each verse after the third verse the composer introduces a rousing rendition of the on wisconsin march with the words changed into a fight song against winter the bluesy lament returns to eventually wind down in a mournful chromatic descending phrase on the word moon but that's not all for the truly astute listener the composer embedded fragments from two earlier pieces towards the end of wisconsin snow moon the vocal line on the words winters the only one choosing the tunes ends on the rising refrain from february's poem spring sonnet and directly following the mezzo's next words under our loyal in wisconsin snow moon the trumpet and saxophone articulate together a foreknown phrase that echoes the chant motif from the january selection looking up at the melky way thought this brings us full circle in tonight's performance of poet songs the wisconsin year is my pleasure of course to introduce liza leverage gallus to read her poor wisconsin snow moon wish the aloof winter sun would drop its attitude and cozy up to you just like last summer crooning gee baby ain't i good to you while you slip into your easy clothes to flirt with the breeze except this torch song only happens in your dreams tuck tight as you are in your hefty afghan icicles flicking a jazzy upbeat on rims of frosted windows summers green balance beneath huddle drifts winter is the only one choosing the tunes under our loyal wisconsin snow moon