Honoring Chamber Music Traditions
con vivo!...music with life is a professional chamber music ensemble founded in 2002 and comprised of seven core musicians who draw upon professional experience with the Madison Symphony, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and other regional performing groups to deliver dynamic and high-caliber performances. The members are often joined by guest artists from the Madison music community. In 2011, Madison Symphony conductor, John DeMain and American Players Theater actors joined con vivo! to present Stravinsky's masterpiece, The Soldier's Tale. Maestro DeMain has conducted the ensemble four times, most recently in 2023, and his appearance in 2013 conducting Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and Mozart’s Gran Partita for Winds was pronounced the best classical music concert of 2013 (Isthmus, 12/27/13).
con vivo! was honored to represent the Madison arts community nationally by performing at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City on December 13, 2012. In June, 2015, con vivo! was invited to represent Dane County in a cultural exchange with our sister county of Kassel, Germany. The ensemble performed three concerts at the Kultursommer Nordhessen Arts Festival in Kassel, Germany. The Dane County, Kassel Germany Sister County relationship was formed in 2007 to foster the exchange of ideas in the areas of transportation, renewable/sustainable energy, cultural arts, and education.
con vivo!’s repertoire represents a variety of time periods and styles from the classics to lesser-known chamber works to commissioned new works, presented in a concert setting that is uniquely engaging and inviting. The ensemble’s home venue, First Congregational Church at University Avenue and Breese Terrace, is ideally suited for chamber music. Each program includes an element of surprise and a dash of humor, through unannounced additions to the program, antiphonal performances and unusual encore selections. Talented high school musicians have on occasion joined the ensemble in a side-by-side performing experience. Concerts are followed by a reception where audience members and musicians can meet and discuss the performance. Also, each concert is performed at Capitol Lakes Retirement Community free of charge, providing access to chamber music for community members with economic, transportation or health challenges.
Maggie Darby Townsend
Maggie Darby Townsend
Maggie Darby Townsend
Maggie Darby Townsend (cello) received her Bachelor Degree in Music from the University of Iowa in 2002 as a student of Charles Wendt. In 2004, she finished her Masters of Music with Uri Vardi at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Over the years, she has attended music festivals such as Madeline Island, Aspen, and Musicorda, and in 2001 performed the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. She has been enjoying playing with the Madison Symphony Orchestra since 2002, teaching private lessons, and working at the Institute for Research on Poverty at the UW-Madison.
Dan Lyons
Maggie Darby Townsend
Maggie Darby Townsend
Dan Lyons (piano) Holding piano performance degrees from DePaul University and a doctoral performance degree from UW-Madison, Daniel Lyons has performed in solo, chamber and concerto performances throughout the Midwest. His teachers include Dmitry Paperno, Howard Karp and Mary Sauer. While completing his doctoral program, he researched and performed piano compositions of Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin. He was also the founder of Madison Academy of Music, a private music studio in Madison that provides private instrumental instruction along with one of the country’s largest and most successful Kindermusik programs. In addition to maintaining a private teaching studio, he serves on the faculty of the UW-Whitewater Summer Piano Clinic and continues to perform as a soloist and accompanist.
Olga Pomolova
Maggie Darby Townsend
Kathryn Taylor
Olga Pomolova (violin) was born into a family of musicians in Abakan, Russia. She received a doctoral degree in music from the Ural State Conservatory. She played in the Opera and Ballet Theater Orchestra and taught at the music school. After moving to Moscow, Olga played in many orchestras including the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Grand Symphony Orchestra, and the Russian National Symphony Orchestra. She moved to Madison in 2002 and is now a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and has played with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Beloit-Janesville Symphony and the Dubuque Symphony.
Kathryn Taylor
Maggie Darby Townsend
Kathryn Taylor
Kathryn Taylor (violin) is a violinist and the music librarian emeritus for the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and is on the faculty of Suzuki Strings of Madison. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wyoming, a Master of Library Science degree from Western Michigan University, and did further graduate work in music at Michigan State University. Kathryn’s previous orchestra memberships have included the Kalamazoo Symphony, Lansing Symphony and Lake Forest Symphony. She derives her musical inspiration from hearing live performances of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras. In May, 2012, Kathryn was invited by the Berlin Philharmonic from a worldwide pool of 600 applicants to perform in an orchestra under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle. The concert was played to a full house in the Berlin Philharmonic’s concert hall, the Philharmonie.
Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (clarinet) received his Master’s degree in music performance from Michigan State University and a Bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Wyoming. He has performed with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Children’s Theater of Madison, the Madison Savoyards, and in ensembles and as a soloist for the First Unitarian Society’s “Music for a Summer Evening” series. He has also performed with various orchestras in the Detroit and Chicago areas. Robert has been a performing participant for the Amici della Musica master classes with Karl Leister in Florence, Italy. In May, 2012, Robert was invited by the Berlin Philharmonic from a worldwide pool of 600 applicants to perform in an orchestra under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle. The concert was played to a full house in the Berlin Philharmonic’s concert hall, the Philharmonie.
Janse Vincent
Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor
Janse Vincent (viola) is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Wisconisn Chamber Orchestra. She also teaches with the Suzuki Strings of Madison and freelances in the area. After completing her undergraduate studies at Furman University, she earned a Master’s degree in viola performance from Northwestern University studying with Peter Slowik and a D.M.A. in viola performance and pedagogy from The University of Iowa studying with William Preucil, Sr. Janse has taught on the faculties of the Preucil School of Music in Iowa City and the Cincinnati String Academy in Wyoming, Ohio. Other orchestra associations include the Dayton Philharmonic, Cedar Rapids Symphony, Chicago String Ensemble and Gainesville Chamber Orchestra.