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January 23 at 7:30 pm: The Storm of Emotions – Verità Baroque (Opening Celebration)
January 23 at 7:30 pm | Collins Recital Hall
The Storm of Emotions – Verità Baroque
Purchase tickets
$35 GA; $30 senior
Students free (ticket required)
Weekend Pass
$90 GA; $75 senior
Students free (ticket required)
Hailed by the BBC as “fearless in expression and musically irresistible,” Verità Baroque launches its first American tour with A Tempest of Emotions, a journey through the unleashed forces of nature and the human soul. Each work explores emotion in its rawest form: impetuous, mysterious, uncontrollable.
Antonio Vivaldi, master of musical drama, leads us into a world where storms are not merely meteorological but metaphors for passion. His language enters into dialogue with contemporary composers SJ Hanke and Alessio Barcellini, who give voice to new forms of rebellion: emotional, internal, and imaginative.
Adding a rare dimension, Nicola Canzano will perform his own works live with VERITÀ Baroque, giving audiences the chance to witness music’s creation in real time. This collaboration bridges centuries, offering an immersive artistic experience.
Tempest of Emotions
Verità Baroque sets sail,
where storms of heart and nature wail.
Vivaldi strikes with thunder bright,
passions flashing through the night.
Hanke, Barcellini, dare
to spark new worlds within the air.
Canzano shapes, before our eyes,
music born where past and future rise.
Together, soul and sound entwine:
a tempest fierce, both yours and mine.
January 24 and 25: Neon Baroque
January 24 and 25 | Collins Recital Hall
Neon Baroque
Free | No ticket required
VERITÀ Baroque, in collaboration with UW Music Director Timothy Russell, invites audiences into an exploration where centuries-old instruments meet contemporary electronics. This project fuses Baroque performance with modern sound worlds, forging new artistic expressions and immersive soundscapes.
Listeners are welcomed to witness the creative process and actively engage with it. Students and curious participants are encouraged to experiment with ways of augmenting reality and interacting with the music. Here, the acoustics of 300-year-old instruments are reimagined in dialogue with electronic sound.
Neon Baroque
Strings of centuries whisper in the air,
Wood and bow meet circuits’ electric glare.
Baroque echoes twist in neon light,
Old and new converse through day and night.
Fingers dance on keys both carved and bright,
Currents hum where history takes flight.
Listeners lean close, the process revealed,
Reality bends, imagination unsealed.
Ancient voices rise in modern streams,
A fusion of past, present, and dreams.
January 23, 24, and 25: Baroque Dance Now
January 23, 24, and 25 | Lathrop Hall
Baroque Dance Now
Free | No ticket required
International Baroque dancer and choreographer Julia Bengtsson leads masterclasses for students and community members, introducing the foundations of Baroque style while encouraging contemporary reimagining. Together, participants will create a new Dance Suite, blending historical patterns with today’s movement practices.
UW faculty Omari Carter and Liz Sexe contribute body percussion and break dance, infusing Baroque dance with modern rhythmic energy. The masterclasses culminate in the MEMF Student Showcase and Dance Performance
Baroque Dance Now
Step and twirl, the old meets new,
Julia shows what dancers do.
Patterns of the Baroque past,
Mix with moves that snap and blast.
Omari, Liz bring beats that spin,
Body percussion, modern din.
Students leap, the suite takes form,
Old and new in lively swarm.
From masterclass to final show,
Baroque and today in vibrant flow.
January 24 at 11 am: Immersive Art Experience at the Chazen Art Museum
January 24 at 11 am | Chazen Art Museum
Immersive Art Experience
Free | No ticket required
For the first time, Verità Baroque transforms the galleries of the Chazen Museum of Art into a living stage, creating a multisensory encounter with visual art. Musicians are placed throughout the museum, filling each room with live Baroque sound as visitors move from gallery to gallery.
Guided tours become journeys where audiences experience art not only with their eyes but also through sound, rhythm, and spatial awareness. This integration of music, dance, and visual art invites visitors to step inside the artworks themselves, reimagining the museum as a complete sensory landscape: unforgettable and transformative.
Step Inside the Art
Step inside the gallery halls,
Where music dances on the walls.
VERITÀ Baroque fills each space,
Turning art into a living place.
Paintings hum, and sculptures sway,
Notes and colors dance and play.
Every step’s a brand-new part,
Where you can step inside the art.
See, hear, and feel the stories spin,
A museum alive, with sound within!
January 24 at 7:30 pm: Quantz and Physics Lecture Recital
January 24 at 7:30 pm | Collins Recital Hall
Quantz and Physics Lecture Recital
Purchase tickets
$35 GA; $30 senior
Students free (ticket required)
Weekend Pass
$90 GA; $75 senior
Students free (ticket required)
This program combines a physics lecture by UW Assistant Professor Dr. Elio König with a concert by VERITA BAROQUE, exploring the incommensurability of acoustic waves, Baroque-era tunings, and reflections on quantum mechanical wave theory. Presented in honor of the centenary of Schrödinger’s equation, the evening bridges history, science, and innovation in a unique celebration of art and discovery.
The performance unfolds through Baroque music interwoven with whimsical cat-themed works dedicated to Schrödinger, ultimately transforming into an immersive electronic experience where sound enters a contemporary dialogue with history. At its center is Johann Joachim Quantz, a leading figure at the court of Frederick The Great.
Quantz’s music becomes a meeting ground for past and present, resonating alongside explorations of physics, quantum theory, and electronic sound, a testament to the enduring power of creativity across time and disciplines.
Quantz & Physics
In halls where science meets the sound,
Dr. König’s words and notes abound.
Acoustic waves in Baroque embrace,
Quantum theory finds its place.
Schrödinger smiles in feline guise,
As music dances, leaps, and flies.
Quantz leads the court with measured hand,
While electrons spark a modern strand.
Past and present, history and art,
Collide in sound that bends the heart.
January 25 at 11 am: Interactive Educational Family Concert
January 25 at 11 am | Hamel Music Center
Interactive Educational Family Concert
Free | Ticket required
The Madison Early Music Festival invites families to a lively, hands-on Baroque adventure designed for all ages. The event begins with a Baroque Instruments Petting Zoo, where children and adults can see, hear, and even try instruments—each introduced as a playful “animal character” with its own unique voice and personality.
During the concert, these characters come alive in a story-driven journey following a protagonist who travels through France, Italy, Germany, and beyond, discovering how Baroque music communicates emotion across cultures. Each child receives a concert passport to complete during the performance, creating a keepsake of their musical journey.
Guided by Dr. Zeynep Alpan, celebrated for her educational work with the New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center, and accompanied by Verità Baroque, this interactive concert combines storytelling, live performance, and hands-on exploration to spark curiosity, nurture creativity, and bring Baroque music vividly to life.
Baroque Adventure
Step inside the music zoo,
Where flute and violin talk to you!
The theorbo strums, the harpsichord sings,
And cello hums with silver strings.
Travel through France, Italy, and lands afar,
Where melodies dance like a shooting star.
Fill your passport, mark each tune,
Follow the story from sun to moon.
With Verità Baroque and Dr. Alpan near,
Baroque leaps to life—fun, loud, and clear!
January 25 at 7:30 pm: Student Showcase and Dance Performance
January 25 at 7:30 pm | Collins Recital Hall
Student Showcase and Dance Performance
Purchase tickets
$35 GA; $30 senior
Students free (ticket required)
Weekend Pass
$90 GA; $75 senior
Students free (ticket required)
The Madison Early Music Festival concludes with a celebratory Student Showcase Concert, highlighting the creativity, growth, and collaboration of participants throughout the festival. Students from UW–Madison and beyond will share the results of their work in masterclasses, workshops, and rehearsals with international guest artists.
Dance students and community participants will join the musicians on stage, presenting choreographies developed during the festival that bring Baroque music to life through movement.
This culminating event embodies MEMF’s spirit of tradition and innovation, offering audiences a glimpse into the dynamic exchange between students, faculty, and guest artists.
Festival Finale
The festival shines, the stage alight,
Students leap and spin with might.
Voices rise and laughter rings,
Movement flows like feathered wings.
Workshops, classes, practice, play,
All their efforts shine today.
Dancers twirl, performers gleam,
Baroque bursts forth like living dream.
A joyful mix of skill and fun,
MEMF’s celebration has begun!