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by Hailey Eisenrich, Communications Intern

The 100th anniversary of our Concert Series is nearly upon us. In light of the occasion, former Theater director Michael Goldberg joined us for a chat on the Shannon Hall stage. Mr. Goldberg graciously shared his wealth of historical knowledge and personal experiences regarding the Concert Series and the Union Theater itself.

Photo by Rebecca Broberg

Armed with a crinkly-eyed smile and a hot cup of Peet’s coffee, the man is truly a fountain of knowledge, sprinkling specific names and dates atop his anecdotes with phenomenal ease. Mr. Goldberg appears entirely at home within the walls of Shannon Hall, which is to be expected: he’s been involved with the Theater since first helping strike a show as an undergrad in the ‘60s. He fondly strings together the lore and legacy of the Theater, and his words stir up the spirits of performances past, sending them swirling almost magically into the rafters.

To start us off, Mr. Goldberg provides an interesting history lesson about the Concert Series and the Theater itself. The Theater was always intended to be a part of the Union, which opened in 1928, but a lack of initial funding caused it to open much later, in 1939. He explains that in the 1910s and 1920s — prior to the building of the Theater — concerts on campus by visiting guest artists were sponsored by an organization called the Men’s Union. Beginning with the 1919-1920 season the Concert Series was “kind of a vagabond, wandering from venue to venue,” Goldberg muses. Famous artists were performing in locations across campus, from Bascom Hall to the Red Gym. Since the beginning, the core of the Series has been recitals and chamber music.

The first Concert Series performance featured violinist Fritz Kreisler, who was about as famous as a musician could be at the time. Back then, the Concert Series consisted of four or five concerts each year, which were always sellouts. Mr. Goldberg describes the Theater’s early programming as “not strictly formulaic, but typically including a pianist, vocalist, chamber ensemble, and one or two unique instruments [ex. clarinet, guitar, etc.]” He notes that in the ‘50s, the Concert Series became a double series, Red and White, thanks to Theater director Fan Taylor. “Back in those days, artists played different programs at every venue, so you could subscribe to both series and not get the same program twice.”

This particular detail sparks a remembrance of the late Fan Taylor. Ms. Taylor was placed in charge of marketing for the Union Theater when it opened in ‘39, and became its Director in ‘46. Mr. Goldberg speaks with great reverence in crediting her as his mentor, adding, “for a lot of people presenting the performing arts on campus, she is kind of the mother of us all.”

The Theater has had five directors, Mr. Goldberg himself serving from 1980 until 2003. He believes that “each one of us has put his/her stamp on the theater, but the imprint of Fan Taylor is the one that is the most lasting.” It’s clear she’s an icon with an unfading legacy. “Fan had a couple principles that she was absolutely adamant in adhering to,”  Goldberg says. “First and foremost was quality. You only book the best. It’s the cornerstone of all programming, and it’s critical. Let’s say you’re bringing in a student who’s never been to a string quartet program…if they hear the best, they will either like it, or not. But at least they’ve heard the best.”

Looking to the future of classical music concerts, Mr. Goldberg gave us his take on recent concerns about declining attendance numbers. “I’m not convinced that there are fewer audiences for classical music,” he says confidently. He cites the significant amount of classical music that the city of Madison sustains, and speculates that “the number and variety of concerts, classical and otherwise, grew so much that the audience kind of got diluted into other spaces.”

“I can’t prove this, but my suspicion is that there are as many —if not more— people who love [classical music]. It’s just that they’re accessing it in different ways than coming together in a concert hall on a Friday night six or seven times a year.”

When the conversation began to wrap up, Esty Dinur asked Mr. Goldberg to share anything that may have gone amiss. Without hesitation, he asserts: “There are no bad seats.” Anyone who has attended a concert in Shannon Hall can surely testify to this truth. “When you come to a concert here, at intermission you see people standing in the aisles talking…being friendly with each other. The geography of the seating lends itself to the audience interacting with one another, more so than in a theater with continental seating [designed to maximize the number of seats].”

The passage of time has certainly done the Concert Series, the Theater, and the Union well. As we draw closer to the Concert Series’ centennial celebration, Mr. Goldberg’s words help us to celebrate and preserve some of the Theater’s best years.  He truly has an anecdote for every season, every venue, and every performance; from the time a train whistled perfectly in tune and in time with Beethoven’s third movement, to his own encounters with the ghosts that haunt Shannon Hall. (For more about that, check out the video below!)

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