Founding member of Harmonious Wail, Maggie Delaney-Potthoff is a vocalist extraordinaire whose percussive instrument of choice is a cardboard box (but who can also rock almost any household object). Harmonious Wail plays Americana-infused Gypsy Jazz. Along with her illustrious yet humble artist bandmates, she vows that every performance is played from the heart and infused with a perfect balance of inspiration, emotion, wit, and storytelling. Presently, the group celebrates ten recordings and over thirty years of existence. Their music has been played in films and they have received the 2017 Musicnotes Outstanding Musical Career Achievement. Award and the 2020 18th Annual Independent Music Awards Acoustic Song category for “Move.” Maggie’s captivating voice captured voters’ hearts and made her the 2020 AARP Superstar recipient. She also teaches voice. In this interview you will hear her talking about her teaching.
Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/02/2020.

Mandolin virtuoso and vocalist Sims Delaney-Potthoff is one of the founding members of the multi-award-winning trio, Harmonious Wail. The group plays Americana-infused Gypsy Jazz and takes their listeners on a ride via the music of the Hot Club sounds of Parisian cafes, to the deepest blues of the Memphis Delta, to the heartfelt folk scenes across every-town-America. This harmonious clique are sublime entertainers, great educators, and lifters of spirits. As stewards of the Gypsy Jazz genre, they have established the Midwest Gypsy Swing Fest, held twice a year in Madison, Wisconsin.  They also offer to take the fest on the road as a special concert package. They have mastered a plan on how to bring amazing Gypsy Jazz All Stars from around the world and place them in front of concert audiences throughout the United States.
Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/02/2020.

Vincent Fuh, an active pianist in the Madison classical and jazz communities since 1983, has appeared with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Bach Dancing Dynamite Society, Oakwood Chamber Players, Sound Ensemble Wisconsin, Madison Chamber Choir, Madison Choral Project, LunART Festival, Fresco Opera, and Opera for the Young. Since 1997, he has toured extensively with Opera for the Young, an arts outreach organization dedicated to encouraging student participation in fully staged operas at schools throughout the Midwest. Crossing genres, he was pianist and writer/arranger for salsa band Madisalsa and Afro-Cuban quintet El Clan Destino. He joined University of Wisconsin School of Music professors on five CDs, three with Mark Hetzler (trombone), one each with Marc Vallon (bassoon) and Tom Curry (tuba). His other CD collaborations include Laura Medisky (oboe), Patrick Hines (horn), Matthew Onstad (trumpet), Thomas Pfotenhauer (trumpet), and Charles Tibbets (horn).
Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/18/2020.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Orlando Pimentel began his musical training in Venezuela’s System of Youth Orchestras, also known as “El Sistema.” From 1989 to 2009, he was a member of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and performed with such renowned conductors as Claudio Abbado, Sergiu Comissiona, Gustavo Dudamel, Judit Jaimes, and many others. In 1988, together with three other colleagues, he formed the Caracas Clarinet Quartet (1996 National Artist Award: Best Classical Ensemble), a chamber ensemble that has performed throughout Venezuela, as well as in China, Europe, South America, and the United States of America. Since he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2009, Orlando has performed regularly with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Fox Valley Symphony, Racine Symphony, Kenosha Symphony, and Festival City Symphony Orchestra. He performs also with his wife, pianist Elena Abend, as part of the Elisio Ensemble. Orlando received his master’s degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee studying under the tutelage of Todd Levy. Most currently, he has been appointed as Faculty of Clarinet at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/09/2020.

Director of Education of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Rebecca Whitney, tells us about the different ways MSO has managed its programming during the COVID-19 pandemic in both regular season concert activity and education programs such as the Arts in Community Education (ACE) program, a nationally acclaimed program that enhances students’ total education through the integration of music and other art forms into the overall curriculum; MSO concerts for schools; and Bach Double Violin Competition in which winners perform with the MSO on the ACE concert series.
Interviewed by Raquel Paraíso, 09/09/2020.