Single Reed Day

Sunday, January 18, 2026
9 am-5:30 pm
Hamel Music Center
$30 per attendee | Register

Professors Alicia Lee, clarinet, and Walt Puyear, saxophone, are excited to host UW–Madison’s annual Single Reed Day on Sunday, January 18, 2026 at the Hamel Music Center.

Single Reed Day offers saxophonists and clarinetists from around the state and region the opportunity to participate in large instrument choirs and learn from Mead Witter School of Music faculty in performance classes and clinics.

Admission is $30 per attendee. If participant is a minor, registration must be completed by a Parent/Guardian. Our faculty members have been background checked and have undergone trainings in order to work with youth.

Schedule

9-9:30 am: Check In (Hamel Music Center lobby)

9:30-10:15 am: Group warm ups

10:30-11:30 am: Chamber rehearsals

11:30-12:30 pm: Lunch (Pizza in Hamel Music Center lobby)

12-12:30 pm: Q&A with current students during lunch (Hamel Music Center lobby)

12:30-2:30 pm: Workshops (Lee/Kaufman Rehearsal Hall, Collins Recital Hall)

12:30-1 pm: Reeds and Equipment Maintenance with Brian Gnojek
1:15-1:45 pm: Improvisation
2-2:30 pm: Mindfulness with Stephen Dubetz

2:30-3 pm: Dress rehearsal

3-4 pm: Final concert (Collins Recital Hall)

Single Reed Day Faculty

Alicia Lee

Associate Professor of Clarinet

Walt Puyear

Lecturer, Saxophone

Experience the Hamel Music Center

Hamel Music Center

Located at the busy intersection of University Avenue and Lake Street, the Hamel Music Center, occupies one of the most publicly visible corners of the campus. The warmth of the precast concrete echoes the limestone of the historic and iconic campus buildings, but the forms of the Hamel Music Center reflect the forward-thinking, progressive, Wisconsin Idea. The space, through rhythm and syncopation, is designed to evoke the musical experience as one experiences the architecture through time. The syncopated curtain wall façade of the main entrance invites the public to enter the sheet music.

Mead Witter Foundation Hall

The Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall seats 413 (plus 8 wheelchair access) on the main floor; 153 (plus 2 wheelchair access) in the balcony; and seats 85 on bench seats in a choir loft. Total seat count is 661. A series of coffers—circular, recessed or projecting panels—along the walls also absorb and reflect sound back into the concert hall. Two 50,000 cubic-feet floating concrete reverberation chambers on the second floor, covered in fabric, are installed 30 feet high on each side of the concert hall stage. The chambers absorb sound and reflect it back out into the audience. Motorized curtains can be drawn around the walls to adjust the level of “live” sound in the hall.

Collins Recital Hall

The Collins Recital Hall seats 189 on the main floor (plus 3 wheelchair access) and 104 in the balcony, with an additional three for wheelchair access, to total 299. Warm wooden elements include wooden planking sourced from tribal lands of the Menominee Indians in Wisconsin; wooden “petals” on the lighting “tiaras” suspended from the ceiling; and framed glulam beams (laminated timber of exceptional strength) that support the cement-filled ceiling. The hall’s colorful and dynamic wallpaper was designed by Tandem Press founder and printmaker William Weege, professor emeritus of UW–Madison’s Department of Art.

Information for prospective students

Learn more about our undergraduate admissions process.

We are a community of musicians, scholars, and teachers. Since its beginning in 1895, the School of Music has lived out a commitment to practical and enriching student-centered musical education. Our faculty and staff provide models of academic and artistic leadership, and our students reap the benefits of a dynamic public university and the limitless intellectual and artistic opportunities provided in Madison, Wisconsin.

What we look for in our applicants

Just like the UW–Madison’s general admissions process, the School of Music has a holistic application review. While individual specialties may apply their own criteria, broadly speaking we are looking for qualities such as leadership, community engagement, and success in other areas, in addition to academic excellence and potential for growth and achievement in music. Pre-college musical opportunities and interests vary widely between individual applicants. Musical engagement and drive to excel may be evidenced by a wide range of qualifying experiences. We also consider personal background and potential to contribute to the School of Music community.

Mead Witter School of Music