Concerts on the Square

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Ingrid Laas

Middleton High School Choir at Concerts on the Square.

Middleton High School Choir at a 2022 Concerts on the Square event.

July 12 update: Due to the rain on Wednesday, A Wisconsin Celebration will be postponed to Thursday, July 13 at 7:00 PM. Each week we work with our media partner, News 3 Now and the incredible team of meteorologists at the station, to make these types of difficult decisions.

We can't wait to see you tomorrow on the Capitol Lawn!

“A Wisconsin Celebration” is on the agenda as the 40th summer of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's Concerts on the Square continues July 12. Guest performers include Ho-Chunk drummer Eric Logan with the Little Priest Singers, Middleton High School Choir and Community Choir. There's a local aspect to the music on the program as well, which includes the “Be a Friend Medley,” an arrangement by Mt. Zion Gospel Choir director Leotha Stanley, and the “Anniversary Salute” by former WCO conductor David Crosby. Blankets, as always, cannot be laid as placeholders until 3 p.m.

media release: The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s famous Concerts on the Square returns for its 40th Season this summer. Concerts will take place on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM starting June 28, 2023, and ending on August 2, 2023 on the King Street corner of Capitol Square and are free and open to the public.

An iconic Madison tradition, Concerts on the Square has grown from an idea by American Girl Founder Pleasant Rowland into a nationally recognized concert series, attracting 250,000 people annually for free concerts on the steps of the Wisconsin state Capitol.

July 12: Wisconsin musicians take center stage in this concert! Opening with works by Debussy, Florence Price and Aaron Copland, we close with a special arrangement of Leotha Stanley’s Be A Friend Medley. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear the Community Choir, Middleton High School Choir, and Ho-Chunk drummer Eric Logan and the Little Priest Singers as we celebrate 25 years of school music advocacy with Madison Public Schools.

Program

Debussy | Nocturnes, I. “Nuages”

Lili Boulanger | D’un matin de printemps

Florence Price | Symphony No.1, III. “Juba Dance”: Allegro

Copland | “Morning on the Ranch” from Red Pony Suite

Eric Logan and the Little Priest Singers | Shield Dance and Jingle Dress Dance

David Lewis Crosby | Anniversary Salute

Debussy | Nocturnes, II. “Fetes”

(Arr. Leotha Stanley) | Be A Friend Medley

*program subject to change

The decision to continue or cancel a concert due to weather conditions will be made at 3 PM on concert days. The official announcement will be made on wcoconcerts.org and on the WCO’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Email will also be sent to WCO subscribers. If the concert is postponed at that time, it will be held the following day at 7 PM. If the concert is not postponed by 3 PM but is subsequently canceled due to poor weather conditions, that week’s concert will not be held or may be cut short. Table reservations can be made here.

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