Free | No ticket required

Mead Witter School of Music Changemaker Series
A celebration of individuals who help society challenge and expand the boundaries of music

The School of Music is partnering with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra to welcome one of their guest artists each year for our Changemaker Series. On October 10, WCO is presenting a concert titled “Convergence.” This concert will feature one of Patrice Rushen’s works, Fanfare and Fantasie, alongside works by other contemporary composers, for their recording series Musical Landscapes in Color.

In this Changemaker Series event, Rushen will talk about her work from the previous evening and discuss aspects of her stunning career, from being one of the world’s top jazz pianists to her work as the first female music director for such top award shows as the Grammy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the People’s Choice Awards, and the NAACP Image Awards.

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Patrice Rushen is an award-winning musician and composer who is also one of the most sought after artists in the music industry. She is a classically trained pianist who originally found success in the 70’s and 80’s with her signature fusion of jazz, pop and R&B. During this era, she composed and recorded the hit song, “Forget Me Nots,” which has been frequently covered and sampled by other artists. 

Rushen is also a four-time, Grammy nominee who has composed scores for movies and television. She has been the first female musical director for many of the entertainment industry’s top award shows, which include the Grammy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the People’s Choice Awards, the NAACP Image Awards and HBO’s “Comic Relief V.” 

Considered one of the world’s top jazz pianists, she has performed with many artists. Among them such esteemed names as Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Prince, Nancy Wilson, Ndugu Chancler, Carlos Santana, Christian McBride and Lee Ritenour. She is a record producer and an award-winning composer of symphonic music, some of which was commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Rushen is the ”Ambassador of Artistry In Education” at Boston’s Berklee College of Music,  and has been the Chair of the Popular Music Program at USC’s Thornton School of Music from 2013 till 2023. 

Rushen also spends time working with the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, NARAS “Grammy In The Schools” program and other organizations dedicated to establishing music education and mentorship programs for underprivileged youth. 

Free | No ticket required
Also streaming live

Mariana Farah and Albert Pinsonneault, conductors
Monica Betrand, Mary Brandenstein, and Sam Speer, graduate student conductors

Featuring Treble Choir, University Chorus, Chorale, Concert Choir, and Combined Choirs
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Program

Free | No ticket required

Anthony DeMartinis DMA Percussion Recital

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Anthony DeMartinis is a solo and collaborative percussionist and educator based in Madison, Wisconsin. Anthony was a featured performer with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Wind Ensemble, the University of Michigan Symphony Band, has performed chamber music alongside members of the New York Philharmonic percussion section, and has given performances at the AlamoDome in San Antonio, Millennium Park in Chicago, and at concert halls in Spain, Argentina, and Uruguay.

He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Michigan and is currently pursuing his DMA in Percussion Performance with a minor in Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. When he is not teaching or performing, Anthony enjoys disc golfing, reading, and hiking with his wife, Alissa, and his dog, Ruby. Anthony is a proud endorser of Artifact Percussion.

Free | No ticket required

Marc Fink Recital
Professor Emeritus Oboe

Marc Fink, oboe
Trevor Stephenson, harpsichord
Karlos Moser, piano
UW Double Reed Band

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Program

Sonata in g minor, BWV1032b        Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Trevor Stephenson, harpsichord

6 Metamorphoses after Ovid, opus 49.      Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)

Strauss and Verdi operatic scenes
Karlos Moser, piano

Ole Guappa, Stars and Stripes Forever, and Echoes from Camp Randall
UW Double Reed Band