Wisconsin Union: Beloved Tudor Holiday Dinner Concerts Will Bring Festive Food, Music and Pageantry to Memorial Union Nov. 30-Dec. 4

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 3, 2022

Contact Information:
Abby Synnes, Communications Associate
Email: asynnes@wisc.edu

BELOVED TUDOR HOLIDAY DINNER CONCERTS WILL BRING FESTIVE FOOD, MUSIC AND PAGEANTRY TO MEMORIAL UNION NOV. 30-DEC. 4 

MADISON – The Tudor Holiday Dinner Concerts will return to Memorial Union’s Great Hall for five nights of holiday music and dining from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4. The dinner concerts did not occur in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19, so this year marks a return to the in-person, time-honored celebration of warmth, fellowship and history.

Each evening of this beloved Wisconsin Union tradition will feature a delicious feast, a grand processional, old English pageantry, a Yuletide toast and choral performances by the Philharmonic Chorus of Madison, Madison’s premier a cappella chorus. New Choir Director Clare Malinowski will lead Chorus members and audience members in joyful carols throughout the evening.

This year’s brand-new dinner menu, crafted by the Wisconsin Union catering team, features entree options of maple-glazed pork tenderloin with mustard fingerlings or a vegetarian maple-glazed acorn squash; sides of caramelized onion and apple chutney and herb-buttered carrots and green beans; and a dessert of flaming figgy pudding with hard sauce. Prior to dinner, patrons will also enjoy wassail, a hot mulled cider delight and a Tudor Holiday Dinner Concert tradition.

Tickets to the Tudor Holiday Dinner Concerts will go on sale on Oct. 19 on the event website. Patrons can choose between four different ticket prices, depending on the type of table and the patron’s Wisconsin Union membership status. Seats at a four-person cabaret table are $75 per person for Wisconsin Union members and $85 for nonmembers, while seats at a 10-person oval table are $65 for members and $75 for nonmembers.

“I’m excited and honored to be a part of the Philharmonic Chorus of Madison and the fabulous Tudor Holiday Dinner Concerts,” said Philharmonic Chorus of Madison Director Clare Malinowski. “I hope this year’s dinners leave new and returning guests feeling joyful and light as we bring back live performances. I’m thankful to be a part of this treasured tradition while introducing a fresh spirit that is welcoming and warm to all attendees and participants.”

The schedule for the evening includes wassail and hors d’oeuvres at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m., and choral presentations throughout the night.

While there is no dress code for the event, most guests dress in semi-formal attire. Guests may choose to wear Renaissance period costumes if they so desire.

The Tudor Dinners at the University of Wisconsin-Madison date back to 1933, when a group of community singers, under the direction of professor Edgar B. Gordon, agreed to sing a Christmas program at the University Club and the Wisconsin Union. The idea for the holiday dinners was borrowed from the Todd Union at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, where a legend of English pageantry crossed the Atlantic Ocean from England. 

According to the legend, an Oxford University student once saved a scholar from a wild boar attack. The Tudor Holiday Dinner Concerts pay homage to this story with a presentation of a boar’s head prior to serving dinner.

The Philharmonic Chorus of Madison first performed at the Tudor Holiday Dinners in 1972, led by then-Director Samuel L. Jones, and in 1973 the event became known as the Tudor Holiday Dinner Concerts. Today, more than 50 members make up the Chorus, an audition-only a capella group that has shared music with the Madison community since 1946. The Chorus performs in two concert series each year: the Tudor Holiday Dinner Concerts and three spring performances.

Ticket and event information about the Tudor Holiday Dinner Concerts is available at union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/special-events/tudor-holiday-dinner-concerts. 

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About the Wisconsin Union

The Wisconsin Union enhances the lives of members and visitors through recreational, cultural, educational and social opportunities. Formed in 1907, the Wisconsin Union is a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more about the Union and its tradition of providing experiences for a lifetime: union.wisc.edu.

To read this release online, visit union.wisc.edu/about/news/tudor-dinners.

Honkamp Krueger & Co., P.C. rebrands as Honkamp & Co., P.C.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Tricia Sullivan
888-556-0123
tricia.sullivan@honkamp.com
www.honkamp.com

DUBUQUE, Iowa (September 30) — Honkamp Krueger & Co., P.C., a Top 10 Midwest CPA and business advisory group, has changed its name to Honkamp & Co., P.C.

Greg Burbach, Honkamp’s CEO, states, “We are very excited about our new look. In celebration of the firm’s 75-year anniversary and to stay modern and relevant with industry and marketplace trends, we decided to revitalize the appearance and feel of our brand. Although we have a new name and logo, the way we do business remains the same.”

The firm was founded in 1947 by John and Peg Law when they established an affiliate office of Mail Me Monday. After 12 years, John Law became entirely independent, changing the name of the business to the John W. Law Company. In 1985, the partners at John W. Law Company decided to identify the organization as a certified public accounting firm, revising the name to Honkamp Krueger & Co., P.C. to reflect the names of shareholders Arnie Honkamp and Al Krueger.

About Honkamp & Co., P.C.

Honkamp & Co., P.C. is a Top 10 Midwest CPA and business advisory group (Accounting Today, 2022). Serving client organizations from coast-to-coast, our clients range from privately-held organizations to individuals and nonprofits. We specialize in various industries including construction and real estate, dental practices, franchises, health care, and manufacturing and distribution. Honkamp is headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa, with additional locations in Waukee, Hiawatha and Davenport, Iowa, Geneseo, Ill., and Madison, Platteville and Oshkosh, Wis.

For more information, please visit www.honkamp.com.

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Renaissance Senior Living of Hilldale: VIP Grand Opening and Oktoberfest Event

Renaissance Senior Living of Hilldale is excited to announce our VIP Grand Opening and Oktoberfest Event! Please join us for live music, hors d’oeuvres, and drinks on Thursday, October 27, from 3:00 – 7:00 pm.

UW–Madison Division of the Arts welcomes playwrights, musicians and composers Jay Adana and Zeniba Now, launching the Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program series for 2022–2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 29, 2022

Media Contact: aryn kresol, Arts Residency Programs Coordinator at UW–Madison Division of the Arts, akresol@wisc.edu

UW–Madison Division of the Arts welcomes playwrights, musicians and composers Jay Adana and Zeniba Now, launching the Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program series for 2022–2023

Madison, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of the Arts’ Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program for the 2022–2023 academic year will engage a partnership with the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI), presenting a series of short-term residencies with interdisciplinary artists. Each artist-in-residence in the series will represent the three pillars of OMAI: academics, arts and activism. 

The residency series launches with collaborators Jay Adana and Zeniba Now, in residence at UW–Madison October 6–16, 2022. The duo will be accompanied by Jess McLeod (“Hamilton”), Blu Rhythm Collective (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Christian Thompson (“Devil Wears Prada”, “Ain’t Too Proud”) Le’Asha Julius (“Random Acts of Flyness”), Tyler Fauntleroy (“Tambo & Bones”), Alessandra Valea (“West Side Story”), Jason Simon (Metropolitan Opera), Andrea Yohe and Kelsey Baehrens for a performance of “The Loophole” at the 16th Annual Passing the Mic (PtM) Festival. The residency will also include participation in the first Just Bust! Open Mic and Workshop events of the academic year along with guest lectures, workshops and open rehearsals.

The theme for the 16th Annual Passing the Mic Festival is Love & Revolution: how we revolutionize the ways we care for ourselves and each other across generations, languages, abilities, genders, ethnicities, nationalities, identities. Everyday is another revolution around the sun. We have seen the pandemic revolutionize the ways we can connect with each other, work together, access space and stories. We have seen and felt people across the globe call for revolution, demand revolution, fight for revolution of the status quo. All are invited to join for this intergenerational hip hop festival dedicated to this conversation: how does our love span borders? How does our love create change? How does our love save us? How far does our love motivate us to go?

Public Events

Friday, October 7 | 8–10 p.m. 

Just Bust! Open Mic

Wisconsin Historical Society (816 State Street)

Madison’s longest running all-ages open mic, Just Bust! Open Mic, includes community performances, First Wave and alumni spotlight performance, and performances by Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program Artists-in-Residence Jay Adana and Zeniba Now. Interested in performing during the open mic portion of the event? Sign up (in-person) begins at 8 p.m. and goes on throughout the night until all slots are filled. Make sure to arrive early to guarantee a spot in the lineup!
Free, all ages and open to the public

Saturday, October 8 |  1–3 p.m. 

Just Bust! Hip Hop Theater Workshop

Wisconsin Union Theater’s Play Circle Theater, Memorial Union (800 Langdon Street)

Just Bust! Hip Hop Theater Workshop led by Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program Artists-in-Residence Jay Adana and Zeniba Now. This workshop centers around an upcoming performance of “The Loophole” at the 16th Annual Passing the Mic Festival (October 15).

A sci-fi adventure musical set in The American Civil War with Book & Bars by Zeniba Now and Music & Lyrics by Jay Adana, “The Loophole” is the story of the self-liberation of Polly Danfield, a black scientist and cartographer stuck at a crossroads. As The Civil War rages and the call of the mysterious Alligator Queen beckons, Polly must choose: safety in hiding or love and revolution? With a folk/rap score, verse and body percussion, this swampy epic recasts the American hero. 

Free, all ages and open to the public

Saturday, October 15 | 7–9 p.m. 

Passing the Mic (PtM) Public Showcase

Wisconsin Union Theater’s Play Circle Theater, Memorial Union (800 Langdon Street)

The theme for the 16th Annual Passing the Mic Festival is Love & Revolution: how we revolutionize the ways we care for ourselves and each other across generations, languages, abilities, genders, ethnicities, nationalities, identities. We have seen the pandemic revolutionize the ways we can connect with each other, work together, access space and stories. We have seen and felt people across the globe call for revolution, demand revolution, fight for revolution of the status quo. All are invited to join for this intergenerational hip hop festival dedicated to this conversation: How does our love span borders? How does our love create change? How does our love save us? How far does our love motivate us to go?

This year’s festival features a performance of “The Loophole” by Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program Artists-in-Residence Jay Adana and Zeniba Now. A sci-fi adventure musical set in The American Civil War with Book & Bars by Zeniba Now and Music & Lyrics by Jay Adana, “The Loophole” is the story of the self-liberation of Polly Danfield, a black scientist and cartographer stuck at a crossroads. As The Civil War rages and the call of the mysterious Alligator Queen beckons, Polly must choose: safety in hiding or love and revolution? With a folk/rap score, verse and body percussion, this swampy epic recasts the American hero.

Free, all ages and open to the public

Artist Biographies

JAY ADANA (she | her) is loud and shy. “The Loophole” (Public Theater Studio, music and lyrics), “The Jordan & Avery Show”(The O’Neill Theater Center, book, music and lyrics), “The Woodsman”(New World Stages, lyrics), “Notes From Now”(59E59, contributed music and lyrics), “Fingerpaintings” (Playwrights Horizons Downtown, music and lyrics), “LeFay”(Musical Theater Factory,book and lyrics), “The Last Tiger in Haiti” (Berkeley Rep/La Jolla Playhouse, contributed music and lyrics). Currently developing “The Jordan & Avery Show” as a musical movie. 2020 Richard Rodgers Award, 2021 Vivace Award, 2018 Jonathan Larson Award, 2019 Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellow. Work featured by PBS, The American Theater Wing, Joe’s Pub, and The Dramatist Magazine. Residencies: Public Theater #BARS residency writer under Jeanie O’Hare, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, SPACE on Ryder Farm. Education: #BARS workshop founded by Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs, Acting BFA SUNY Purchase Conservatory.

ZENIBA NOW is a musical storyteller and artscientist from Los Angeles. Millions of people have enjoyed her performances online and on stage. As a writer of musicals, her work includes “Beloved” (PBS, #BARS at The Public), “Human Resources” (St. Louis Rep, Woolly Mammoth), “The Loophole” (The Public Theater) and “Take the Lead” (forthcoming). Her one-woman specials “IQuit: Millennial Retirement Gala” and “Sincerely, Z” can be seen on TIk Tok and Youtube. Z has also collaborated with Buzzfeed, The New York Times, Mixed Blood, NYU Playwrights Horizons, Goodspeed Musicals, NYMF, Theatre Raleigh, Theatre by The Sea, RWS & Associates, La Mama, The Dramatist Guild Foundation, The American Theatre Wing, Joe’s Pub, The GreenRoom42, 54 Below, The Gibney, Ring of Keys, Democracy Now, Caveat, SPACE on Ryder Farm, SpeakEasy Stage, Signature Center, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Rhinebeck Writer’s Retreat and more.

Zeniba is passionate about the effects of heart and brain coherence on human consciousness and has completed Alpha Brainwave Training 1 at Dr. James Hardt’s Biocybernaut Institute and two advanced retreats on piezoelectricity with Dr. Joe Dispenza. She has a degree in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee with an emphasis in Directing. Additional training in antiracism and leadership from Urban Bush Women, and graduate coursework in Trauma & Communal Suffering, The Shape of The Story, and Artist Identity from NYU Gallatin where she briefly pursued an Independent Masters in Musical Film and Television. Zeniba is the winner of the 2021 Jonathan Larson Award, 2021 Vivace Award, the 2020 Richard Rodgers Award and West High’s Funniest Senior.

About the Work

A sci-fi adventure musical set in The American Civil War with Book & Bars by Zeniba Now and Music & Lyrics by Jay Adana, “The Loophole” is the story of the self-liberation of Polly Danfield, a black scientist and cartographer stuck at a crossroads. As The Civil War rages and the call of the mysterious Alligator Queen beckons, Polly must choose: safety in hiding or love and revolution? With a folk/rap score, verse and body percussion, this swampy epic recasts the American hero. Winner of The 2020 Richard Rodgers’ Award, developmentally produced in Public Studio at The Public Theater, Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellowship, #BARS at The Public Alumni Residency, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat Winner and featured commission at the 50th Anniversary of HAIR! gala.

About the Presenters

The Division of the Arts’ Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program (IARP), originated through the Cluster Hiring Initiative of the Office of the Provost, brings innovative, world-class artists to the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. Since 1999, the program has hosted over 40 residencies involving more than 100 guest artists from 20 different countries, engaging over 60 university units and community organizations. 

All residencies center interdisciplinary arts, recognizing that interdisciplinarity can break down barriers and silos, advance intellectual artistic diversity and give opportunities to people who do not fit into the traditional modes of inquiry and practice (see the Division of the Arts’ guiding principle of The Arts for Everyone, Everywhere). The program often brings together artists, faculty, staff and students from various disciplines across the arts, sciences and humanities. Integrated with curricular activities, all arts residencies in this program are proposed by academic departments or officially recognized interdepartmental programs, centers or institutes at UW–Madison.

While in residence, artists teach interdisciplinary workshops and participate in public programming with campus and Madison communities. The program provides students with extended learning experiences with a working artist, including options to earn course credit; increases diversity of teaching staff on campus; and strengthens programmatic ties among individual departments, programs and other campus and community arts entities.

The Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI) within the Division of Diversity, Equity, & Educational Achievement provides culturally relevant and transformative arts programming to promote positive social dialogue and to give cultural art forms a legitimate academic forum. By harnessing the broad cultural influence of spoken word, hip hop and emerging as well as traditional art forms, OMAI’s events and programming create learning environments that directly affect UW–Madison’s campus climate, improving retention and graduation success, preparing future leaders to reinvest in their communities. By continually refreshing this paradigm that integrates traditional academics and cutting edge arts activism, OMAI empowers transnational leaders with new tools for inclusive community building.

One of OMAI’s most prominent initiatives is the First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Learning Community, a cutting-edge multicultural artistic program for incoming students which offers a four-year full tuition scholarship to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Bringing together young artists and leaders from across the United States and beyond, the First Wave Learning Community offers students the opportunity to live, study and create together in a close-knit, dynamic campus community. First Wave is the first university program in the country centered on urban arts, spoken word and hip-hop culture.

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Wisconsin Union Theater: South African Gospel Choir Will Perform Songs in Celebration of Freedom and Civil Rights Oct. 8 in Madison

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 23, 2022

Contact Information:
Shauna Breneman, Communications Director
Email: sbreneman@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-8862

SOUTH AFRICAN GOSPEL CHOIR WILL PERFORM SONGS IN CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM AND CIVIL RIGHTS OCT. 8 IN MADISON, WIS.

MADISON – The Soweto Gospel Choir will perform a new program, called, “Hope – It’s Been A Long Time Coming,” on Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall in commemoration of South Africa’s Freedom Movement and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

The three-time GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble will open the show with South African freedom songs and then move into music of the Civil Rights Movement, including works by artists James Brown, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin.

The Soweto Gospel Choir celebrates African gospel music and brings more than 50 artists from churches in and around Soweto, South Africa, together on stages across the world. The Choir is known around the world with its powerful blend of African gospel, freedom songs and international classics.

Patrons can purchase virtual and in-person tickets online, by phone at (608) 265-2787 or in-person at the Memorial Union Box Office. Wisconsin Union members, guests under the age of 18, and University of Wisconsin–Madison students are eligible for discounted tickets.

“The Soweto Gospel Choir has been touring worldwide for almost 20 years. It brightens people’s lives with its artists’ talents and stories wherever it goes,” Wisconsin Union Theater Director Elizabeth Snodgrass said. “The spirit and energy its singing and dancing put into the world are infectious. People won’t be able to stay in their seats.”

The Wisconsin Union Theater presents this performance as part of its 2022-23 season, which also includes jazz, dance and classical music performances.

The Wisconsin Union Theater team presents the 2022-23 season in collaboration with the UW–Madison student-led Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Performing Arts Committee. Ticket revenue and purchases from the Wisconsin Union Theater and the Wisconsin Union’s Memorial Union partly support WUD professional development experiences.

Patrons can click here to learn more about the Soweto Gospel Choir performance.

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About the Wisconsin Union Theater

For more than 80 years, the Wisconsin Union Theater has served as a center for cultural activity in the heart of the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. The Theater hosts performances in multiple locations, including Memorial Union, and has an extensive history of remarkable performances. The Wisconsin Union Theater is committed to social justice and works to create an equitable, diverse, and inclusive place for all who engage with the Theater’s programming, events, and activities. The Wisconsin Union Theater is part of the Wisconsin Union, a membership organization that blends study and leisure to create unique out-of-classroom opportunities. Learn more: union.wisc.edu/wisconsin-union-theater.

About the Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee

The Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee is part of the Wisconsin Union’s leadership development program for UW–Madison students and supports the Wisconsin Union Theater’s mission of serving students through the performing arts. By helping to program the Theater’s annual season of performing arts presentations, the students learn about program curation, relationship-building, marketing, communications, budgeting, and production. Learn more: union.wisc.edu/get-involved/wud/performing-arts.

[Click here to download photos of the Soweto Gospel Choir. Photos by Lorenzo Di Nozzi.]

To read this release online, visit union.wisc.edu/about/news/soweto-gospel-choir.