RESCHEDULED: Concerts on the Square

×

Expand

courtesy WCO

Pianist Antonio Wu was the 2020 winner of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra Young Artist Concerto Competition.

The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's summer outdoor concert series returns to in-person performances for its 38th season, but don't start putting your blankets out on the Capitol lawn yet. The concerts will be hosted by Breese Stevens Field for a second year, and tickets ($10 general admission; $12 reserved seats) are required. The season kicks off July 8 (note, the concert has moved to Thursday due to the weather) with “Summon the Heroes: An Independence Day Celebration,” featuring guest soloist Antonio Wu, a pianist and 2020 winner of the WCO Young Artist Concerto Competition. The series continues on Wednesdays through Aug. 4. For those who aren't quite ready to be in a crowd, the series will also stream at wcoconcerts.org.

press release: The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra announces two significant updates to its perennial summer classical concert series, Concerts on the Square ®. First, all Concerts on the Square will be performed at Breese Stevens Field as planned on Wednesdays, July 7-August 4. Because of current Public Health Madison & Dane County recommendations, high county vaccination rates and low infection rate, the WCO is able to expand our seating capacity.

“We’re working in lock-step with the PHMDC team, and based on the end of local public health orders on June 2, we are safely expanding our projected concert audience size from 1,500 to 5,000,” says Joe Loehnis, CEO of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.  

Loehnis adds, “We know orders are lifted, and we want to meet everyone where they’re at. We want to respect that people have different comfort levels in public spaces. Going from our initial plan of 1,500 to 5,000 today, and eventually back to a full-on Concert on the Square with 50,000 people, is step-by-step.”

All concerts will be livestreamed at wcoconcerts.org for free so more Madisonians can experience this 38-year tradition. “We are filled with gratitude to be able to perform live for an audience, for our hometown, and for people across the community with our livestreamed summer concerts,” says Maestro Andrew Sewell.

Second, tickets for the 5-concert series at Breese Stevens Field go on sale on Friday, June 4, at 10AM on wcoconcerts.org and Breese Stevens Field’s website. Concerts are scheduled for Wednesdays at 7PM on July 7, July 14, July 21, July 28 and August 4. 

Concerts on the Square Ticket Pricing:

Blanket Pods for up to 6 people: $50 (for up to 6). Reserve a Blanket Pod for all 5 concerts for $200 ($50 off). Blanket Pods are approximately 8’ x 8’ spaced 6’ apart. 100 Blanket Pods per concert on the field. Bring your own blanket.

General Admission Bleacher Seat: $10 / $5 for Children 12 and Under. No spacing restrictions are required in bleacher seating. 

Reserved Seats: $12. No spacing restrictions are required in reserved barstool seating.

Note: No food or beverage, nor picnic baskets, are allowed into Breese Stevens Field. However, food, beverages, wine and beer will be available for purchase inside.

Ticket sales are new to this 38-year summer concert series. “Reserving your seat this summer helps maintain a safe audience size, and all funds raised by ticket sales will support the wages for our musicians,” says Loehnis. “It is important for our orchestra and the community that we keep our musicians employed and working through COVID-19.”

At the concerts, masking is strongly encouraged, especially for those not fully vaccinated. Masks should be worn until patrons get to their seats. Socially-distanced blanket pod seating and patron tables on the field will remain 6’ apart to offer audience members a safe-distancing option as the community returns to live music experiences.  

2021 Concerts on the Square Program*:

July 7    Summon the Heroes, an Independence Day Celebration 

July 14    Bringing Us Together - Put A Little Love in Your Heart, featuring Leotha Stanley and Friends

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   

* Program subject to change

To keep up-to-date with Concerts on the Square schedules, sign-up for email updates on the WCO website, or follow the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra on Facebook and Instagram.