Individual musician photographs by Katrin Talbot unless otherwise noted.
Full orchestra photographs by Greg Anderson.
Musician profiles are in alphabetical order.
Noteworthy: Played with renowned bassist Gary Karr; performed St. Matthew Passion under Robert Shaw; performed with Oakwood Chamber Players for Kennedy Center's 25th Anniversary; orchestra director for Monona Grove; B.M. from St. Olaf and M.M. from Northwestern; father of one. Oddest practice quarters: The empty bar of the Watergate Hotel. What your colleagues don't know about you: Played the
piccolo solo in Star and Stripes Forever on the tuba.
August Jirovec is a frequent performer with orchestras in the Southern Wisconsin area and beyond, and has appeared on several classical music recordings as a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison (BM, 2001) and the University of Arizona (MM, 2003). August is also the principal bassist of the Beloit-Janesville Symphony and coaches bass masterclass for the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Jirovec's photo was taken by David Cox Photography.
Noteworthy: Noteworthy: Graduate of UW School of Music; recently returned for teaching certification; play with Dubuque and Waukesha Symphony; former WYSO member. Oddest practice quarters: A garage. Funniest concert experience: Watching a mouse scurry among
the cello section during a performance. What your colleagues don't know about you: Many people who have heard me sing in other venues consider
me more of a singer than a bass player. Recurrent musical fantasy: Performing a jazzed up rendition of "At The Hop" with a bass quartet for the
half time show at the Super Bowl (and having Brett Favre give us a "thumbs up" and wink afterwards.)
I began studying the bass in 6th grade at P.S. 80, The Bronx. From there I studied privately with Homer Mensch at the Dalcroze School of Music in Manhattan and was a member of the Bronx All City Orchestra, similar to WYSO. I continued studying and playing through high school at Brooklyn Tech. While playing electric bass in a disco band, that’s right DISCO, I began studying with Richard Davis. He informed me he took a position as bass professor at the UW Madison, and life took another turn. In 1977 Barbara and I moved to Madison. I enrolled in the UW School of Music and joined the Madison Symphony under Roland Johnson. During this time I spent three summers at the Aspen School of Music studying with Stuart Sankey and taking master classes with Eugene Levinson. I also minored in Communication Arts and after graduating, ran the corporate video production studio of Madison Gas and Electric Company. Skip ahead to 1992 and I was back at UW to obtain a teaching license in instrumental music. I took a job as the orchestra director of Sun Prairie High School for the next six years and now teach at Cherokee M.S. and Randall Elementary schools in Madison. We live on Madison’s near west side with our daughter Allie who will be a sophomore at Edgewood College and our two dogs and cat. In my spare time I build and fly radio controlled seaplanes off Madison’s lakes and love riding recumbent bikes.
