Thollem McDonas

press release: A live-streamed concert in an intimate studio setting with renown pianist, Thollem McDonas.   Thollem McDonas: “half pianist, half hurricane” (Culture Catch) 

Audio for the Arts recording studios has been presenting a series of live-streamed concerts featuring local and regional artists. The concerts, which are presented before an intimate live audience of about 20 people, has to this point been live-streamed to Audio for the Arts' Facebook page, as well as to audioforthearts.com/afalive.  Beginning immediately, WVMO-LP will become a co-presenter, and will broadcast the concerts on the third Friday of each month, beginning July 19, 2019, at 10:00pm. A few select concerts will be broadcast LIVE as they happen.

History of Acoustic Moose: On September 7, 2018, Audio for the Arts recording studios in Madison decided to present a mostly acoustic concert featuring the band Wurk. The concert had an intimate in-person audience of about 20 people, and was live-streamed to Audio for the Arts' Facebook Live page, as well as to a play button on our website, www.audioforthearts.com/afalive. A modest cover charge is set by the band for in-person attendees, and 100% of the door money goes to the artists. The studio has continued with this series, doing a concert roughly once a month. Artists featured on the series thus far include Wurk, The Jeffrey James Show, Bad Philosopher, Alison Margaret, One Human Band, Meggie Shays, Mr. Chair and Dana Perry.

Who is 98.7 WVMO? On the air since only 2015, WVMO has quickly gone from a well-loved local treasure to a powerhouse of a radio station which is turning heads nationwide. Named the 2018 Large Market Station of the Year by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, WVMO has quickly become a model for community-focused excellence in radio broadcasting. The City of Monona applied for and created a low-power FM radio station, and with leadership from Lindsay Wood Davis, Tom Teuber, and other Madison radio veterans, has become a phenomenon which far outweighs its 100 watts.

Who is Audio for the Arts? Started in 1995 by Buzz Kemper out of a spare bedroom of his house, AFA was a product of demand. Kemper, the former technical director of Minnesota Public Radio's “A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor” and recording engineer for the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and many other ensembles, came to Madison to find that there were very few recording resources available for classical and jazz artists. With a small loan from a local bank, Buzz bought some gear and started doing recording gigs in the evenings, after hours from his day job as Technical Producer/Announcer for Wisconsin Public Radio. Now, 22 years later, Buzz and co-owner Audrey Martinovich, with their colleagues Noah Gilfillan, Grant Blaschka, Tyler Willenbrink and others, have continued AFA's commitment to acoustic music with a Yamaha C6 Grand Piano as the studio's centerpiece. And they've expanded beyond that in many directions, recording audio books, podcasts, internet, radio and TV commercials, sound design for films and gaming, rock bands, hip-hop and much more.