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To•Day

DIARY: Tuesday, January 20, 2026

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

In a free concert tonight at 7:30, the Oberlin Sonny Rollins Jazz Ensemble, Bobby Ferrazza, director, will play original works by members of the band and fresh arrangements of Rollins’ compositions along with jazz standards at the ’Sco (Dionysus Club) in Wilder Hall.

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

INTERESTING READ:

The New York Times sent David Allen to sit in on rehearsals by The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Music Center in advance of their concerts this week at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Read How the Cleveland Orchestra Stays at the Top of Classical Music here.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

By Jarrett Hoffman

Born on this date in 1895 in Coffeyville, Kansas, Eva Jessye is known as the first Black woman to achieve international recognition as a choral conductor. [Read More…]

Pre•Views & Features

Relic Ensemble takes a deep dive into The Odyssey

by Mike Telin

What is there not to like about Homer’s Odyssey? The ancient Greek epic chronicles the warrior Odysseus’s ten year journey home following the Trojan War during which he is confronted by storms, monsters, and temptations.

On Sunday, January 18 at 7:30 pm at Heights Theater, the period instrument Relic Ensemble will present “The Odyssey.” The one-hour, original program will be presented without intermission. Tickets are available online.

I spoke with violinist Aniela Eddy and cellist Cullen O’Neil, two of the group’s founders and began by asking them where their Odyssey begins. [Read on…]

No Exit and Zeitgeist: An Evocation of Our Current Time

by Mike Telin

NO EXIT evocation_jan_2026This week Cleveland-based No Exit and St. Paul-based Zeitgeist will continue their long-standing collaboration with “An Evocation of Our Current Time.” This 55-minute multimedia experience draws on improvisation, film, artificial intelligence, environmental manipulation, lies, magic, gaslighting and other forms of chicanery.

The 7:00 pm free performances are on Thursday at Trinity Cathedral, Friday at SPACES, and Saturday at Heights Arts.

No Exit’s Laura King spoke with artistic director/composer Tim Beyer about how the ensemble’s recent Surreality season reshaped their creative trajectory, why it’s important for artists to grapple with the foundational instability of “now,” and how audiences might react when confronted with a work that both mirrors and distorts the world we inhabit.

The interview is reposted with the permission of the ensemble and author. 

Laura King: Tim, please talk about how Surreality reshaped your thinking about what a No Exit concert can be, and how An Evocation of Our Current Time has grown out of that evolution.

[Read on…]

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…]

See all previews

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