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courtesy LunART

Deborah Hearst (left) and Dana Pellebon

Madison-based nonprofit LunART works to center the voices of women in the arts, through interdisciplinary performances, educational programs for artists and the community, and more. LunART's annual festival returns after a couple years of virtual events with a week of programming loosely focusing on the theme of “identity.” Chamber music concerts on June 2 and 4 include new music by festival composer-in-residence Stacy Garrop, as well as Alexis Bacon, Ula Goldstein, Katie Jenkins, Patricia Lopes, Nicole Murphy, Rosita Piritore and Yuting Tan (the winners of LunART's Call for Scores program). Also still to come is the premiere of Threads, a new theater work written by and starring Deborah Hearst and Dana Pellebon, on June 3 (see Gwendolyn Rice’s story); a stand-up comedy showcase on June 5; and more. See below for full schedule.

press release: After two seasons of virtual programming, LunART Festival is back in person, in full festival flair, to continue its mission of supporting, inspiring, promoting and celebrating women in the arts. The 2022 season “IDENTITY” brings eight events to six venues in the Madison area, providing accessible, high-quality, engaging concerts and events with diverse programming from various arts fields. This season, the festival will showcase over 50 artists, including many familiar local artists and performers as well as guest artists from around the country and the world!

The LunART Festival 2022 season will kick-off with an interdisciplinary lecture “Timeless Music and a Timeless Disease: Classical Composers and Consumption,” taking place on Tuesday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m. at the Arts and Literature Laboratory (111 S Livingston St, Suite 100). Presented by guest speakers from the University of Nebraska, Dr. Yolande Chan and Dr. Mary Perkinson will explore the cultural links between music and tuberculosis (TB) while also increasing awareness of TB’s threat to global public health. 

On Wednesday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m.  at the Hamel Music Center (740 University Ave.), jazz lovers will relish the sounds of Ellen Rowe, a jazz pianist, composer and educator at University of Michigan. Described as “the best possible role model for young women trying to make it in jazz,” Rowe will be assisted by acoustic bassist Marion Hayden and drummer Eliza Salem. The trio will perform selections from her latest recording, “Momentum—Portraits of Women in Music” (2019), a mainstream jazz album honoring the women trailblazers who have inspired her, including Michelle Obama, Jane Goodall and Billie Jean King.

As every season, LunART will present two evening gala concerts of classical chamber music. “Who Am I?” on Thursday, June 2 and “Hear Us Out” on Saturday, June 4, both at 7:30 p.m., will take place at The Hamel Music Center and at First Unitarian Society of Madison (900 University Bay Dr.) respectively. True to LunART form, these thrilling programs will showcase a tapestry of diverse chamber works for winds, strings, piano, voice and percussion, including five world premieres and two US premieres. This year’s award-winning composer-in-residence is Dr. Stacy Garrop, whose music is centered on dramatic and lyrical storytelling. Garrop embodies LunART’s vision by challenging norms and being a strong advocate for diversity in the arts. Her music will be featured throughout the festival, among the works of other remarkable women who shaped music history, such as Florence Price and Amy Beach. Additionally, audiences will hear works by the winners of our 2020 and 2022 Call for Scores competition: Patricia Lopes (Brazil), Alexis Bacon (USA), Rosita Piritore (Italy), Nicole Murphy (Australia), Ula Goldstein (USA), Katie Jenkins (Wales), and Yuting Tan (Singapore).

Expanding on community relationships, LunART will present the world premiere of the theater show “Threads,” in partnership with Guest House Theatre on Friday, June 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bartell Theatre (113 E Mifflin St.). Based on the concept that our identities are grounded in our relationships and connections with others, audiences are challenged with this question: “What happens when those identities, or threads, become untethered?” Written and produced by Deborah Hearst and Dana Pellebon, this show is an exploration of those disrupted identities and how we can begin to weave a new portrait of ourselves in the wake of so much change.

The last day of the festival will be jam packed with creative enrichment, kicking off with a panel discussion, “The Identity In and Through Art,” on Sunday, June 5 at 10 a.m. at the Arts and Literature Laboratory. This session will explore the ways in which artists express their multifaceted realities through their creative work. Panelists Dr. Stacy Garrop (composer), Angelica Contreras (visual artist), Deborah Hearst (actor and writer) and Peggy Choi (dancer and choreographer) will facilitate the discussion, and Sue Goldwomon will serve as a moderator.

LunART’s Composers Hub educational program returns for a third season, bringing six composers to Madison to work with Garrop. During the festival she will mentor participants in developing practical skills to express their creative ideas, cultivate relationships with performers and master the art of collaboration. The program culminates with a free Composers Hub concert on Sunday, June 5 at 2 p.m. at Capitol Lakes Grand Hal (333 W Main St.), featuring original compositions by the participating composers.

The festival will close on a humorous note, embodying the theme on yet another creative platform. Every day in a comic's life can be one of crisis with one’s own identity. Join LunART on Sunday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Robinia Courtyard (829 E Washington Ave.) for a comedy show “Identity Crisis,” an evening of dropping walls and embracing our weird, authentic and sometimes messy selves. While, of course, laughing about what it is to be a lady human in this changing world. This all-women comedy show features comics Chastity Washington (headliner), Vanessa Tortolano, Maria Acosta, Rachel Mac and Carly Malison, comedians who are blazing a trail of funny that will leave you gasping in their wake.

Tickets for the LunART Festival 2022 are now on sale and can be purchased at lunartfestival.org. LunART Festival is supported by Dane Arts, Madison Arts Commission, Wisconsin Arts Board and Orange Tree Imports.