The Knights

UW Mead Witter School of Music concert.

press release: As part of the Hamel Music Center’s opening year celebrations, the Mead Witter School of Music is welcoming Brooklyn-based orchestral collective The Knights, whose dynamic and collaborative work undertakes the mission to “transform the orchestral experience.”

On Friday, February 7, the collective will offer a one-day, on-campus residency. Open to the public, opportunities include access to strings, wind, percussion, and horn master classes; a workshop on music business; a side-by-side orchestral reading; and attendance to their rehearsal. All activities will take place in the Hamel Music Center. (Schedule here: https://www.music.wisc.edu/the-knights/)

On Saturday, February 8, The Knights will close their residency at UW–Madison with a Kreutzer Project concert. The program features an arrangement of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata (Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47) for violin and chamber orchestra, with Knights violinist Colin Jacobsen as soloist; a new work by Jacobsen; and two arrangements for chamber orchestra of Janacek and Brahms. (Program and details here: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/the-knights/)

Joining them on stage is the School’s own Alicia Lee, assistant professor of clarinet, who performs frequently as a “Knight.” “We are excited to bring a group with a fresh perspective that is run in perhaps a less traditional way,” Lee says of the residency. “This is a group of people with interesting, diverse approaches to a life in music. Many have been making music together for nearly 20 years, so the roots of both friendship and musical values run very deep.” 

Tickets: $30 (free for UW students/faculty, subject to availability).

PROGRAM:

Colin Jacobsen: New Work*

Ludwig van Beethoven: Kreutzer Concerto

arranged by The Knights for solo violin and chamber orchestra

INTERMISSION

Leoš Janáček: The Kreutzer Sonata

arranged by The Knights for chamber orchestra

Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dances

arranged by The Knights for chamber orchestra

*World premiere

ABOUT THE KNIGHTS: An adventurous young orchestra that has established a strong reputation for polished performances and imaginative programming —New York Times

The Knights is a collective of adventurous musicians, dedicated to transforming the orchestral experience and eliminating barriers between audiences and music. Driven by an open-minded spirit of camaraderie and exploration, they inspire listeners with vibrant programs that encompass their roots in the classical tradition and passion for artistic discovery. The orchestra has toured and recorded with renowned soloists including Yo-Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw, Béla Fleck, and Gil Shaham, and have performed at Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and the Vienna Musikverein. Read more: https://theknightsnyc.com

ABOUT ALICIA LEE: Clarinetist Alicia Lee enjoys a diverse musical life performing old and new works in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings.

Before her appointment at the Mead Witter School of Music, Alicia was a resident of New York City for over a decade where she performed and toured regularly with a variety of groups including The Knights, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, and NOVUS NY. She is a founding member of Decoda, the affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall, as well as a member of the composer/performer collective, NOW Ensemble, with whom she has premiered dozens of new works written for the ensemble.

She is assistant professor of clarinet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she also performs with the Wingra Wind Quintet. Read more: https://www.music.wisc.edu/alicia-lee/