As of June 28 at 9 am, we have received gifts totaling $15,269, exceeding our goal of $15,000 to be raised by June 30 by $ 269. Contributions are still welcome! Visit our Donate page to make a gift by Credit or Debit card and to view a list of donors to date. Thank you!
To•Day
DIARY: Friday, June 28, 2024
by Daniel Hathaway
Carillonneur George Leggiero plays a 12:15 Carillon Recital from the McGaffin Tower in University Circle, and Ohio Light Opera stages two shows: Guys and Dolls at 2 pm & Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers at 7:30 (Freedlander Theatre at the College of Wooster).
Tonight, ChamberFest Cleveland presents “Night Moves” with music ranging from Palestrina to Piazzolla (7:30, Disciples Church), Cleveland Lute Fest features Catherine Liddell (7:30, Harkness Chapel at Case), and faculty and students of the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute form a Baroque orchestra to play works by Lully, Leclair, and Rameau with violin soloist Edwin Huizinga (pictured, 8 pm, in Finney Chapel).
For details, visit the Concert Listings page.
SAVE THE DATES:
On Thursday. June 27, the Oberlin Artist Recital Series announced to friends and subscribers the lineup for its 2024-2025 season. Subscriptions will become available to the general public on July 22, and single tickets will go on sale on August 15. [Read More…]
Pre•Views & Features
Classically Lake View chamber series celebrates Justin Holland — Cleveland’s forgotten composer
by Mike Telin
Set on 285 acres on Cleveland’s East Side, Lake View Cemetery’s wonderful landscapes, beautiful gardens, and artful monuments make it a serene final resting place as well as a tranquil retreat for the living to reconnect with nature.
On Sunday, July 7 at 3:00 pm in the Community Mausoleum, the recently created Classically Lake View chamber music series will present “Cleveland’s Forgotten Composer, Guitar Hero, and Abolitionist, Justin Holland.”
Under the artistic direction of Cleveland Orchestra violinist Isabel Trautwein, the program spans over 280 years of chamber music by Black composers, including Joseph Bologne, Justin Holland, Scott Joplin, Florence Price, William Grant Still, George Walker, and Thomas Flippin. Performers include guitarist Damian Goggans, violinists Liyuan Xie and Isabel Trautwein, violist Eliesha Nelson, and cellist Tanya Ell. The emcee will be Jennifer Coleman, Program Director for Creative Culture and Arts at the Gund Foundation. Tickets are available online.
At last, Jason Vieaux to make ChamberFest Cleveland debut
by Mike Telin
This week guitarist Jason Vieaux will make his long-awaited ChamberFest Cleveland debut, appearing in three separate concerts. “We’ve tried for many years, but it always conflicted with other dates that I already had on my calendar. So it’s really great that we can finally do something together.”
On Wednesday, June 26 at 7:30 pm in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Vieaux will play Luigi Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D (“Fandango”). The piece is one of the most popular works in the guitar chamber music repertoire and one that he’s recorded with the Escher Quartet.
Why is it so popular? “My guess is that it’s because of the third movement — the famous Fandango that gets played on radio stations around the country. But I think what really brings it over the top is when the cellist plays the castanets. It’s just one of those works that presenters like to program.”
Jacob Allen on Ohio Light Opera’s 2024 season
by Mike Telin
One of the neat things about a summer light opera festival is that there is always a family atmosphere. Ohio Light Opera is a perfect example of that, especially when it comes to associate artistic director Jacob Allen and his relationship with the company. 2024 marks Allen’s 18th season — and his sixth position within OLO after he started out as a young artist performer.
Allen is directing two shows this season: Guys and Dolls and Me and My Girl, the latter of which opens on Thursday, June 20 at 2:00 pm at Freedlander Theatre.
The show includes music by Noel Gay and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose. Tickets are available online.
I caught up with Allen by phone to talk about the two shows he’s directing — and his history with the company.
Brandon Ridenour returns to ChamberFest Cleveland
by Mike Telin
This week, trumpeter Brandon Ridenour will be featured in three ChamberFest Cleveland programs both as a performer and arranger.
Ridenour’s journey to becoming a trumpet soloist, collaborative artist, composer, and arranger began at age 5, when he started studying piano with his father. After picking up the trumpet in 5th grade band class in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ridenour went on to study at the Juilliard School. After graduating he became the youngest member to join the Canadian Brass and eventually embarked on a solo career.
In 2014 Ridenour became the first trumpeter in 30 years to win the Concert Artist Guild competition. In his role as performer-composer, he helped to launch the Brooklyn-based ensemble Founders, and in 2023, he joined the American Brass Quintet. As an educator, he serves on the faculties at Juilliard, The New School and the Manhattan School of Music, where he is passionate about developing a new model of education for a well-rounded, progressive musician of the future.
Tri-C JazzFest: Sam Blakeslee takes the stage
by Max Newman
In addition to the stellar indoor lineup, there will be a myriad of talented artists featured on the outdoor stage at this year’s Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, to be held June 20-22 at Playhouse Square. One to keep an eye on is New York-based trombonist and composer Sam Blakeslee, who will be performing on Friday, June 21 at 6:45 pm as the bandleader of the Sam Blakeslee Large Group.
Blakeslee is cherishing the opportunity. “I have a pretty close relationship with Tri-C,” he told me during a telephone conversation. “When I was still living in Cleveland, I was the director of the JazzFest Academy, and then I taught trombone lessons at the College. I’m very grateful they’ve been supportive of me to come through and work with the students a couple of times a year, but this is the first time since 2017 that I’ll be performing with my own band. So it will be a nice reunion of sorts.”