Concert Choir, University Symphony Orchestra, and Wind Ensemble participated in the 2025 Wisconsin Arts Celebration Project with each ensemble performing and recording “Yellow Birds” by composer Marie Douglas.

The Wisconsin Arts Celebration Project (WACP) began in 2023 as a collaborative project between the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Arts Board created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wisconsin Arts Board. The project offers free music, lesson plans, and materials created by Wisconsin artists and educators to schools, communities, and libraries across the state.

Through its intentional integration of poetry, spoken word, music, dance, theater, visual art, and media art, the WACP “continues to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the arts and the unique capacity it has to teach essential human capacities.”

The 2025 WACP centers on the theme of “Connection.” Wisconsin Poet Laureate Nicholas Gulig wrote a poem titled “Yellow Birds of Morning” relating how words and music connect us to each other and the world. Gulig’s poem serves as a “touchpoint” for all of the other artistic creations involved with the project.

The project includes links to the music, poem, recordings, lesson plans, and materials, including “Yellow Birds” for concert band, string orchestra, SAA Choir, or any combination of these. Lesson plans, have been created by Wisconsin arts educators and artists.