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To•Day

DIARY: WEEKEND, December 18-21, 2025

by Daniel Hathaway

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS:

Here are our top classical music recommendations for the weekend before Christmas, culled from our master concert listings calendar. There are other holiday events to support in Northeast Ohio, many of them free. Visit our listings here.

Beginning on Thursday at Trinity Cathedral, Jeannette Sorrell leads Apollo’s Fire in Michael Praetorius’ elaborate Christmas Vespers, featuring antiphonal choirs, and exotic late Renaissance instruments — trumpets, sackbuts, cornettos, lutes, harp, strings and recorders. Singers include sopranos Rebecca Myers, Andréa Walker and Molly Netter, countertenor Doug Dodson, tenors Michael Jones & Matthew Newhouse, baritone Matthew Dexter, and Apollo’s Singers and Apollo’s Musettes (Treble Youth Choir). This Nativity extravaganza will be repeated on Friday at Trinity, on Saturday at First Baptist in Shaker Heights, and Sunday afternoon at St. Raphael in Bay Village.

The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus plus guest choirs will continue their Holiday Concerts with guest conductor Sarah Hicks and chorus conductor Lisa Wong in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center on Thursday evening, with two shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The matinees are at 2:30, the evening performances at 7:30.

Burning River Brass, the 13-member brass and percussion ensemble, an annual highlight of the Christmas holiday season, will begin its progress around the region at The Bath Church in Akron on Thursday, return to its birthplace — Pilgrim Church UCC in Tremont (pictured above) — on Friday, and visit Wooster United Methodist Church on Saturday afternoon, Federated Church in Chagrin Falls on Saturday evening, and Port Clinton Performing Arts Center on Sunday.

For details of these and other classical events, visit the ClevelandClassical.com Concert Listings.

WEEKEND ALMANAC:

On December 18, 1737, Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari died in Cremona, having crafted some 1,100 instruments — mostly violins, but also violas, cellos, harps, guitars and mandolins, of which some 650 survive today. [Read More…]

Pre•Views & Features

Apollo’s Fire to bring back Praetorius Christmas Vespers

by Mike Telin

On Friday, December 12 at 7:00 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron, Apollo’s Fire will revive its popular Praetorius’ Christmas Vespers under the direction of Jeannette Sorrell.

Soloists include sopranos Rebecca Myers, Andréa Walker, and Molly Netter, countertenor Doug Dodson, tenors Michael Jones and Matthew Newhouse, and bass Matthew Dexter along with Apollo’s Singers, and members of Apollo’s Musettes (Treble Youth Choir). The program will be repeated at 7:00 pm on the 18th and 19th at Trinity Cathedral, 7:00 pm on the 20th at First Baptist Church, and at 4:00 pm on the 21st at St. Raphael Catholic Church. Tickets are available online.

I caught up with Jeannette Sorrell on Zoom and began our conversation by asking her when she first created the program.

Jeannette Sorrell: Exactly 20 years ago. So, we’re bringing it back on the 20th anniversary of the premiere. [Read on…]

Arts Renaissance Tremont presents Burning River Brass: a holiday tradition

by Mike Telin

According to HISTORY.com, “the Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic ‘rebirth’ following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art.”

Founded in 1991 with a mission to enhance the quality and diversity of life in Tremont by providing the fine arts with a greater presence in its neighborhood, Arts Renaissance Tremont has played an important role in creating community and fostering a greater appreciation for the arts through accessible artistic programs.

Although the organization has experienced some setbacks over the past few years, taking a cue from that period in history and their own name, Arts Renaissance Tremont (ART) will return to its founding home, Pilgrim Church UCC, to launch its 34th season with a performance by Burning River Brass on Friday, December 19 at 7:00. The concert is free. [Read on…]

Music at Main presents the Daniel Bennett Group

by Max Newman

The downtown Cleveland Public Library is no stranger to presenting eclectic musical offerings. Through its Music at Main series, the library’s fine arts department is transformed into a concert space on select Saturday afternoons, a recurring event which has platformed an ever-widening spectrum of genres and styles since its inception.

At 2:00 pm on December 6, the Daniel Bennett Group will continue this trend. the trio, led by their namesake saxophonist, will bring a self-described “mix of jazz, folk, and minimalism” to the third-floor lobby. I spoke with Bennett over the phone about the upcoming performance.

Bennett says his journey with the sax began in his formative years in Rochester, New York. Kickstarted by a particularly striking performance at a high school jazz concert. “I heard a kid play the Pink Panther theme on tenor saxophone, and that was life changing for me.” From that point, Bennett said he did all he could to further his bond with the instrument. “I went through the school band program, concert band and marching band, and I taught myself to play guitar on the side. I was writing songs and singing and  playing in church 2 or 3 times a week. I was doing everything.”

[Read on…]

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