Concerts on the Square
courtesy Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
Pianist Maxim Lando was the winner of the 2020 Gilmore Young Artist Award.
press release: The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s Concerts on the Square® are back this summer. Just announced on July 19: The WCO is reducing all reserved seat and general admission bleacher ticket prices to $5 for the remaining three Concerts on the Square® performances at Breese Stevens Field. Tickets were $12 and $10, respectively, before today. In addition, children 12 and under can now enjoy the concerts free of charge (dropping the prior $5 entrance fee). Tickets are available at BreeseStevensField.com.
“The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra wants to encourage more friends and more families to get back to live music. We want to minimize any barriers to Concerts on the Square this summer, while still providing a safe, smaller audience size while we are still in the pandemic,” says WCO CEO Joe Loehnis. “Our summer concerts have always been a way to get Madison closer to this world-class chamber orchestra’s music, and we hope that reducing ticket prices to a minimum will encourage folks to come out on Wednesday nights.”
The nominal fee for seating supports the WCO’s goals two ways: manage crowd size in the pandemic and support our musician wages. Nearly 80% of the cost of every ticket and blanket pod sold goes directly to support musician wages lost during the summer series.
In addition, all concerts will be livestreamed for free so more Madisonians can experience this 38-year tradition. “We can’t wait to get back on the Square in 2022. But in the meantime, to protect our neighbors in this community, we’re thrilled to broadcast all five concerts live from Breese Stevens Field this summer,” says WCO CEO Joe Loehnis.
The upcoming concerts will all take place at Breese Stevens Field and is subject to change:
July 21 Shakespeare in Love, featuring Xavier Foley, bass soloist Young Concert Artist
July 28 Disco Inferno, featuring Jeans ‘n Classics
August 4 Tchaikovsky Rocks, with Maxim Lando, piano, 2020 Gilmore Young Artist
The WCO will sell seating as blanket pods and bleacher seating for a nominal fee to maintain the social distancing and safety protocols required. Tickets go on sale June 4. All funds from the sale of the limited blanket and bleacher seating will support wages for the orchestra’s 34 musicians.
Corporate sponsors and patrons wishing to purchase a table will continue to have that unique experience this summer as well. To keep up-to-date with Concerts on the Square schedules, sign-up for email updates on the WCO website or follow the WCO on Facebook and Instagram.
About the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
No other arts organization in Wisconsin performs for more people each year. Maestro Andrew Sewell and the musicians of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO) bring world-class music to more than 250,000 music lovers annually. Founded in 1960, the WCO is one of Madison’s gems, a national caliber chamber orchestra behind the now 38-year summer tradition of Concerts on the Square. The WCO also presents the classical Masterworks Series at the Overture Center, the annual sell-out Messiah and education concerts for families and children.