Michael Batcho, director of music for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
There is such a thing as a free lunch and concert. It’s provided by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Downtown Milwaukee.
Michael Batcho has been the Director of Music for the Cathedral for 25 years. He serves as principal organist and director of the choir program, and he runs the Wednesday Noon Concert Series.
The free afternoon performances were started in 2002 and are the only series of its kind in the Greater Milwaukee area. Concerts start promptly at 12:15, with length enforced at 30 minutes. “Much of our audience consists of nearby office workers with a limited lunch schedule” says Batcho. “We do not want people walking out of a recital because of an overly long program.”
“A wide range of instrumentalists have played over the years, including organists, wind and string players. Once, we had a solo percussion player,” Batcho continues. “We’ve hosted advanced high school-age musicians through fully professional symphony players. All performers are paid.”
Word of mouth soon spread that the Cathedral was offering quality concerts. Says Batcho, “Due to the popularity of the series, we recently extended the series throughout the entire year. However, this winter, we decided to cease offering concerts in January and February. If you remember the polar vortex from last year, you understand why.”
The series receive administrative support from the Cathedral with financial support coming exclusively through private donations. “Our doors are open to everyone, from office professionals and retirees to the homeless,” Batcho says. “We understand that it is our mission to feed the soul as well as the body. In that spirit, we offer free lunches to the homeless every weekday.”
The Cathedral’s mission statement includes support for the arts. There are a number of music groups at the Cathedral, including three choirs and a handbell ensemble. Two pipe organs bookend the sanctuary—one recently renovated—which is considered one of the most magisterial in the city.
The Wednesday Noon Concert Series resumes on Wednesday, March 4, with guitarist Sergio Hernandez.
What’s Playing in Door County?
Door County, long known for its natural beauty, has become a year-round destination for arts lovers in Wisconsin.
Peninsula Players Theatre recently announced their 2020 season of The Play’s the Thing, a winter play reading series presented to audiences in Fish Creek, Wis.
“Peninsula Players Theatre is excited to celebrate 10 years of bringing arts programming to audiences during our traditional winter off-season," says Managing Director Brian Kelsey. “We are thrilled that the series we began 10 years ago remains fully embraced by the community.”
Scheduled for Monday, Feb. 3, is a reading of Popcorn Falls, a new comedy by James Hindman. The series continues with Haunted: The Great Lakes Ghost Project by Joe Zettelmaier and closes with Eternity by Wisconsin native Michael Cochran. The professional play readings are presented on Monday nights from February through April. There is no admission fee.
Peninsula Players Theatre is called America’s oldest professional resident summer playhouse. The traditional summer season runs June through October, with five productions planned in 2020.
The Peninsula Music Festival was founded in 1953 as a chamber music series, eventually growing into a full-sized symphony of 64 members. Now in its 68th Season, the orchestra will offer nine concerts in August 2020 at the Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek.
In 1998, the Festival added the Winter Concerts Series to bring live music to Door County throughout the year. Now called February Fest, these chamber music concerts bring members of the orchestra and guest artists back to Door County to perform in more intimate settings.
The orchestra consists of musicians from professional orchestras across the country, including the Nashville Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Milwaukee Symphony. The roster also includes a handful of top freelancers from the Milwaukee-Chicago area.
Festival music director and conductor Victor Yampolsky, who studied violin with the legendary David Oistrakh at the Moscow Conservatory. He was a member of the Moscow Philharmonic as both violinist and assistant conductor, and in 1985, he assumed the leadership of the Festival.
The 2020 winter chamber series begins Saturday, Feb. 8, in Ellison Bay, with Ellen Caruso Olson (viola) and Erick Olson (oboe). The summer orchestral season begins on Tuesday, Aug. 4, with an all-Beethoven program.
