Milwaukee Artists Unite for Japan

The "Milwaukee Artists Unite for Japan" concert features a wide range of performers from our area. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Frank Almond will perform on violin, accompanied by pianist Stefanie Jacob. Singer Jillian Bruss of the Florentine Opera and Milwaukee Opera Theatre will collaborate with faculty from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. The Conservatory's Philomusica Quartet and Prometheus Trio are also on the program, along with flautist Caen Thomason-Redus and pianist Elena Abend of UW-Milwaukee's Peck School of the Arts. The Peck School's Vocal Tapestry ensemble will perform, as will UWM's esteemed Fine Arts Quartet with guest cellist Ronald Thomas.

The concert will be held 7:30 p.m. June 25 at the Zelazo Center's Helen Bader Concert Hall, 2419 E. Kenwood Blvd. Proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross' campaign to relieve the ongoing suffering of the Japanese people after this year's devastating tsunami. Tickets are $25 ($15 for students and children under 18).

The Fine Arts Quartet will return to the Helen Bader Concert Hall next week to conclude its 65th season. The concert will feature the String Quintet in C Major by Michael Haydn, Joseph Haydn's younger brother and a great composer in his own right. Also on the program is Giuseppe Verdi's String Quartet in E Minor, a chamber work from a composer better known for opera, and Mozart's String Quintet in G Minor.

The concert takes place 7:30 p.m. June 29 at the Zelazo Center. Early birds can catch the 6:30 p.m. pre-concert talk by former MSO principal bassoonist Stephen Basson.