Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
ISTHMUS PICK: Established as a lark in 1985, this 10-member collective has been a hit since its first sold-out concert. Three decades later, the group has performed to international acclaim and honed their unique arrangements of popular music from Nirvana to Lady Gaga into a signature blend of voice and strings.
UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall 800 Langdon St., Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Chamber concert
MUSIC, FUN AND LAUGHS, YES; LEIS, NO. UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN
Think Lady Gaga. Think Nirvana. Now think of the most unlikely object to unite the two. We're talking ukuleles, matched in pitch in ways unlike you have ever heard them before. The Wisconsin Union Theater is looking forward to a highly anticipated performance by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Saturday, April 11, 2015, at 8 p.m. in Shannon Hall. Purchase tickets online or call the Box Office at 608-265-ARTS (2787). Tickets can also be purchased at either Vilas Hall (entrance on East Campus Mall, 821 University Avenue) or the box office in the Wisconsin Union Theater. Ticket prices are as follows. General Public: $42, $38 and $25; Wisconsin Union Members & Non UW-Madison Students: $38, $34; UW-Madison Faculty & Staff: $40, $36; UW-Madison Student (with ID): $10.
The orchestra, founded in 1985, has grown from a group started just for fun into one of international acclaim. The current ensemble of singers and players has made numerous appearances on BBC TV since its first LP release in 1988. Its current members have strummed and sang alongside each other for more than 20 years. Their long list of
performance spaces includes sold-out performances at the Sydney Opera House, The Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall.
"Hip to be square? Not quite. But, fun? Absolutely," according to The Boston Globe. "The conceit of the 30-year-old ensemble (its founding leaders are George Hinchliffe and Kitty Lux) is a mixing of the high and the low. It takes the stage in black tie to play inventive arrangements of frothy pop hits and baby boomer-approved classic rock favorites. The not-so-secret secret is that the band members sure have chops, instrumentally, vocally, and as arrangers."
If you are expecting hula skirts and leis, you are wrong. If you are expecting playful comedy accompanied by song and string, you are more than right.
Come for the ten ukes, 40 strings, 10 voices and one night at the Wisconsin Union Theater and stay for the laughs. Let the orchestra show you why BBC News, Radio 4, named The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain "The Nation's Ukulele Orchestra" for the United Kingdom in 2014.
These performances are presented by the Wisconsin Union Theater's Performing Arts Committee and supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds form the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.