Events

January 21 | 9:00 am | Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall

Free | registration required

Students and community musicians are warmly invited to participate in Chamber Coaching with internationally acclaimed violinist Guglielmo Dandolo Marchesi (violinist of the Alinde Quartet and VERITÀ BAROQUE).. This workshop offers ensembles and individual players the opportunity to explore chamber music in a focused, collaborative setting. Coaching will emphasize musical communication, ensemble balance, phrasing, style, and interpretation, helping participants deepen listening skills and strengthen artistic connection within the group. Whether you are preparing repertoire for performance, building ensemble experience, or simply looking to grow as a chamber musician, this session provides expert guidance and inspiration.

January 21 | 10:00 am | Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall

Free | registration required

Students and community musicians are warmly invited to participate in Double Bass & Viola da Gamba Coaching with Mario Filippini, the double bassist of VERITÀ BAROQUE. This workshop offers a unique opportunity to explore repertoire in a supportive and focused setting, with individualized guidance tailored to each performer’s goals. Participants are welcome to bring any repertoire, whether preparing for an audition, performance, or simply looking to deepen their artistry.

Coaching will emphasize healthy technique, musical clarity, stylistic awareness, and expressive communication—helping musicians strengthen their confidence, refine interpretation, and discover new inspiration in their music-making.

January 21 | 2:00 pm | Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall

Free | registration required

Lute, Baroque Guitar & Style with Juilliard professor Daniel Swenberg is a welcoming class open to lutenists, guitarists, and anyone curious about historical plucked instruments. Participants will explore technique, style, and musical expression through hands-on coaching in a supportive setting. Lutenists are invited to bring and share repertoire from 1500–1800, while classical guitarists are encouraged to join with their own transcriptions. The class will also touch on sound production, articulation, continuo playing, and interpretive choices—offering practical tools and fresh inspiration for players at every stage. All levels welcome, and both students and community musicians are warmly invited to participate.

January 21 at 3:00 pm | Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall

Free | registration required

Do you have a cello piece you’ve been eager to refine, polish, and rediscover with fresh inspiration? Bartolomeo Dandolo Marchesi, cellist with the Alinde Quartet, VERITÀ BAROQUE and The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, would be delighted to work with you

Students and community musicians are warmly invited to Cello Coaching with Bartolomeo Dandolo Marchesi, winner of the prestigious Bach Competition, for an encouraging, focused session designed to support your growth as a performer.

Participants are welcome to bring any repertoire—whether you’re preparing for an audition, working toward a performance, or simply exploring new musical ideas. Coaching will address technique, sound, articulation, phrasing, and expressive interpretation, with special attention to musical clarity and confidence.

January 22 | 9:00 am | Morphy Recital Hall

Free | registration required

Do you have a violin piece you’ve been wanting to refine—one that feels almost there, but could use fresh ideas, greater confidence, or new inspiration? Students and community musicians are warmly invited to join Violin Coaching with Eugenia Ottaviano (professor at the Mozarteum University Salzburg and the Landeskonservatorium Innsbruck), an encouraging and hands-on session designed to help you take your playing to the next level.

In this coaching, participants are welcome to bring any repertoire and work on the aspects that matter most: technique, sound, phrasing, musical style, and expressive communication. Whether you’re preparing for an audition, polishing a movement for performance, or simply revisiting a favorite piece with new curiosity, this workshop offers personalized feedback and practical tools you can immediately apply.

UPDATE (Posted 1/22/26): This event has been canceled due to the weather. We apologize for the inconvenience.

January 23 at 10:00 am | Chazen Lobby and Auditorium

Please join us for the first Arts Convening of 2026! We know the first week of classes is a busy one, so this gathering will be an abbreviated session featuring a short performance by VERITÀ Baroque — the Madison Early Music Festival’s International Visiting Artist Program (IVAP) Ensemble-in-Residence — followed by plenty of time for guided dialogue about our shared interests, campus challenges, and what the year holds for the arts community at UW–Madison.

We’ll have coffee and donuts to keep everyone energized as the week wraps up.

Arts Convenings are dynamic gatherings designed to spark collaboration and elevate the collective voice of the arts community across UW–Madison’s campus.

January 23 at 3:30 pm | Lathrop Hall | Baroque Dance Now

Free | registration required

International Baroque dancer and choreographer Julia Bengtsson leads a master class that introduce the foundations of Baroque style while inviting contemporary reimagining.

In a fun, supportive environment, participants will learn foundational Baroque steps and movements, explore the elegance of the style, and experience the joy of dancing together. No prior dance experience is required—just curiosity and a willingness to move. Musicians are especially welcome—learning the dance steps is one of the best ways to discover historically informed tempo, phrasing, and pulse.

January 23 | 7:30 pm | Collins Recital Hall

Verità Baroque. Vivaldi. The Storm of Emotions

Purchase tickets
$35 GA; $30 senior
Students free (ticket required)

Weekend Pass
$90 GA; $75 senior
Students free (ticket required)

Learn more

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, Nicola Canzano, and Marc Migó, who give voice to new forms of rebellion—emotional, internal, and imaginative.

Stay for the reception to meet the artists, reconnect with friends of MEMF, and celebrate the festival’s return.

January 24 | 10:00 am | Lee/Kaufman Rehearsal Hall

Free | registration required

A brief historical overview and practical live singing of America’s homegrown folk-choir tradition.

Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate social singing, wherein shapes were added to the noteheads in written music to help singers find pitches more associatively, without the use of more intensive musical training. The notation became a popular teaching device in American singing schools, rising to peak popularity in 19th century. Although the texts are conventionally mostly Christian, the tradition is also known for its secular bent, with many singers partaking purely for the enjoyment of the idiomatic harmonic flavor and strong communal factor. After a relative lull in engagement in the mid 20th century, the practice is currently experiencing a worldwide revival.

January 24 | 10:00 am | Collins Recital Hall

Free | registration required

We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Angie Zhang — the first and only American to earn a top prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition on Period Instruments (Warsaw)—for a special fortepiano masterclass exploring Chopin (and his world) through the sound, touch, and expressive possibilities of historical instruments.

In this masterclass, Dr. Zhang will work with selected performers on core topics unique to period performance: articulation and clarity, singing tone on light action, pedaling and resonance, ornamentation, rubato, voicing, and how the fortepiano’s colors reshape phrasing and character. Pianists will come away with practical ideas they can apply immediately—whether they primarily play modern piano or are newly curious about historical keyboards.

January 24 at 11 am | Chazen Art Museum | Immersive Art Experience

Free | No ticket required

World-renowned artists from across the globe gather at the Madison Early Music Festival for an immersive experience where art becomes audible and music becomes visible. Audiences will encounter the Chazen Art Museum in an entirely new way, as Baroque soundscapes and dance unfold alongside modern visual art—each illuminating the other in unexpected ways.

Artworks selected by the soloists appear as projections, inviting listeners into a playful “gallery hunt”: search, pause, listen, and discover. Past and present enter into dialogue, revealing new dimensions of creativity and reuniting the arts in a living, immersive encounter.

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  | 11 am | Collins Recital Hall | Aria coachings with Sarah Brailey

Free | registration required

Join Sarah Brailey—GRAMMY Award–winning soprano and faculty member at the University of Wisconsin–Madison—for a Solo Aria Vocal Coaching Workshop designed to help singers bring their repertoire to the next level.

Through personalized coaching, participants will work on vocal freedom, musical precision, Baroque style, diction, and expressive communication. Whether you’re preparing for an upcoming audition or simply want deeper insight into your aria, this workshop offers practical tools and artistic guidance in an encouraging, supportive environment.

January 24  | 12 pm | Collins Recital Hall

Free | registration required

Students and community members are warmly invited to apply for Vocal Coaching with Julia Rottmayer, an avid performer and champion of both contemporary and early music. Certified in Vocology through the National Center for Voice and Speech, Julia brings a unique combination of artistic insight and evidence-based vocal expertise to each session. Singers are encouraged to participate with any repertoire, and coaching will focus on healthy, efficient vocal production, musical interpretation, expressive communication, and confidence in performance. Whether you are preparing an audition, refining a favorite piece, or exploring new vocal possibilities, this workshop offers supportive, personalized guidance for every singer.

January 24 | 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)

Learn more

A physics lecture meets a concert in a one-night exploration of sound as science and art. UW–Madison Assistant Professor Dr. Elio König joins Verità Baroque to dive into acoustic waves, Baroque-era tuning systems, and reflections on quantum wave theory—presented in honor of the 100th anniversary of Schrödinger’s equation.

The musical journey unfolds in a clear arc: it begins with Johann Joachim Quantz, musical luminary of Frederick the Great’s court, whose works set the historical foundation. From there, the program turns playful with whimsical Schrödinger-inspired “cat” pieces, before moving into a special homage—Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” performed on a historic fortepiano, bringing us close to the sound world Beethoven knew. The evening culminates in an immersive electronic finale by Tim Russell, where sound enters a vivid contemporary dialogue with history.

January 25 | 10 am | Hamel Music Center

Winter Wings in Wisconsin: A Family Concert Experience

Free | Ticket required

Learn more

Take flight on a joyful winter journey as Taya the goldfinch searches for her lost friend — the cuckoo bird! With live Baroque music performed by internationally acclaimed ensemble, VERITÀ, and led by celebrated educator, Dr. Zeynep Alpan, the audience becomes part of the story through movement, sound-making, and musical clues from the animal kingdom.

Families can also enjoy our Wing-Making Station, Instrument Petting Zoom, and coffee & tea before the show — and join the community scavenger hunt at local Madison businesses to collect bird-themed stickers and win prizes at the concert!

Perfect for all ages — come flap your wings, listen for birdsong, and help reunite two feathered friends in a musical adventure through the Wisconsin winter.

Taya the Goldfinch chirps with worry,

“My Cuckoo friend got lost in a hurry.

To help me search, you must explore,

Madison’s shops and so much more.”

Tea Time with Taya (Coffee welcome!) is a cozy meet-and-greet where you can ask questions, meet the artists, and mingle with fellow festival-goers—reconnecting with friends from MEMF’s 20+ years and making new ones. Whether you’re returning after years away or joining for the first time, come linger a little longer. Bring your curiosity, your stories, and your favorite warm drink, and help us rebuild the MEMF community one cup at a time.

January 25 | 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)

Learn more

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!