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Archives for December 2024

Jazz vocalist Magos Herrera with her trio at CMA (Dec. 11)

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by Peter Feher

Magos Herrera sang for a full five minutes before uttering a single lyric at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

It was an apt introduction to the artistry of the Mexico City-born jazz vocalist, whose boundary-free style can sometimes beguile and sometimes confuse.

Performing the wordless “Choro de Lua,” a track off her 2023 album Aire, Herrera sounded transcendent in certain moments but less than stellar in others. That pattern would continue throughout the evening in Gartner Auditorium — her set just beginning to coalesce near the end. [Read more…]

Northwest Ohio Vocal Arts Ensemble at Cleveland Heights’ Church of the Savior (Dec. 15)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

The fifteen singers of the Northwest Ohio Vocal Arts Ensemble (NOVA) gladdened the heart at Cleveland Heights’ Church of the Saviour on Saturday, December 15, in a program drawing from Medieval chant, early Renaissance, and 20th-century settings.

Artistic director Kevin S. Foster and his Toledo-based choir presented a comforting and relatable version of the Nativity story in a sequence of hymns, motets, and carols collectively called “Songs of Wonder: The Nativity Through the Ages.”

Even for the non-religious, the antiquity of the repertoire, the grandeur of the building,  and the winsomeness of the singing all worked in combination to evoke a collective sentiment, a shared sense of seasonal memories, and a timeless message of peace and good will. [Read more…]

Canadian Brass dazzles Severance with holiday magic and musical mastery (Dec. 23)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Canadian Brass brought its customary brilliance and easy rapport to Severance Music Center on Monday night, in their holiday program “Make Spirits Bright.”

There was plenty of fun to be had for sure, but unlike the frivolity of Canadian Brass concerts of the 1970s and ‘80s, this was a more disciplined product.

Playing their trademark tune, “Just a Closer Walk,” they marched in New Orleans-style from the back of the hall, dressed in black suits and white Nikes. Then a Christmas carol quickly followed. But that light music — maybe the lightest on the program — was soon unmasked as being not an opening number, but an encore. “You can never take those for granted,” explained tubist Chuck Daellenbach, the group’s only remaining original member.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra delights audiences with the heartwarming ‘Muppet Christmas Carol’ (Dec. 18)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — With a whole week to go, December 18 wasn’t quite “One More Sleep ‘til Christmas.” But for those at Severance Music Center on Wednesday, it was close enough.

That heartfelt ballad about Christmas Eve sung by Kermit the Frog is just one of many gems from The Muppet Christmas Carol — the surprisingly faithful movie retelling of Charles Dickens’ tale that features Michael Caine, the cast of the Muppets, and a healthy dose of holiday cheer. Add to that list The Cleveland Orchestra, who played Miles Goodman’s score live under the direction of Sarah Hicks.

The beloved Disney holiday classic, released in 1992, drew a sold-out crowd. The Orchestra’s performance of Paul Williams’ songs — which many in the audience likely knew by heart — blended almost indistinguishably with the film. [Read more…]

A Message from Daniel Hathaway

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As I write this end-of-calendar-year letter, I’m pleased to announce the renewal of our San Francisco Conservatory grant “to support the publication of classical music reviews, previews, profiles, and features” as one of the publications supported by the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.

We’re delighted to continue being part of a distinguished group of publications that includes the Boston Globe, the Dallas Morning News, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Baltimore Sun, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Chicago Tribune, who are keeping the great tradition of classical music journalism alive amid drastic changes in the industry.

That said, we would be nothing without the outstanding local musicians who provide us with such interesting topics to write about. In addition to a full concert calendar, look out in the new year for features about the 15th anniversaries of Blue Water Chamber Orchestra and Cleveland Chamber Choir, the Grammy-nominated classical producers of the year, Erica Brenner and Elaine Martone, and the 2025 edition of the Cooper International Violin Competition. And that’s just at the beginning of January.

ClevelandClassical.com provides a unique service to Northeast Ohio’s vibrant classical music scene, a valuable source of information for presenters, musicians, and audiences alike.

If you use and appreciate what we offer, we hope you’ll consider making a tax-exempt gift to ClevelandClassical as we close out 2024. Click here for easy ways to do that.

With grateful thanks and best wishes for 2025,

Daniel Hathaway
President

DIARY, Friday, December 20, 2024

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by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

It’s the Winter Solstice, the longest night and shortest day of the year. (Left: the sun rises over Stonehenge in England.)

At 7 pm, Arts Renaissance Tremont hosts Burning River Brass — a longstanding tradition — for a holiday pops concert at St. Wendelin Church.

At 7:30, Cleveland Chamber Choir presents a concert centered around David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion, a modern day retelling of the 1845 Hans Christian Andersen story, influenced by Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, at the Cleveland School of the Arts. Read a preview article here.

Also at 7:30, Sarah Hicks presides over a Cleveland Orchestra Holiday Concert featuring vocalist Jimmie Herrod, the Orchestra Chorus, the Youth Chorus Chamber Ensemble, and The College of Wooster chorus at Severance music Center.

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

NEWS BYTES:

The Hohens International Piano Competition has released the names of the 51 pianists who will compete in its quarterfinal rounds in Calgary, Alberta. Cleveland piano fans will recognize at least three of them: Maxim Lando, Evren Ozel, and Yuanfan Yang. [Read more…]

DIARY, Thursday, December 19, 2024

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by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Burning River Brass plays its Holiday Pops program at the Bath Church in Akron tonight at 7 pm.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s live-to-picture screening of Disney’s The Muppet Christmas Carol is sold out.

For details of these and other upcoming events, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The annual Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition alternates between pianists and violinists. This year young violinists ages 13-18 will compete in the event, which moves from the summer to January. After the drawing for performance order on January 5, live rounds at the Oberlin Conservatory will begin on Monday, January 6 and conclude with Concerto Finals with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra on Friday, January 10. Each round will be open to the public and will be streamed live.

Click here to view the slate of participants.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

French composer, organist, and harpsichordist Louis Nicholas Clérambault was born on December 19, 1676 in Paris. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir: “Little Match Girl Passion”

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by Mike Telin

Cleveland Chamber Choir will present a program centered around David Lang’s Little Match Girl Passion on December 20 and 21 at the Cleveland School of the Arts. Artistic Director Gregory Ristow has curated a playlist of Christmas music to precede Lang’s piece — a modern day retelling of the 1845 Hans Christian Andersen story influenced by J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion — and followed by his own arrangement of Good King Wenceslas, the classic Christmas Carol about supporting those in need.

In a recent interview Ristow said, “The Little Match Girl Passion has become a piece that’s performed a lot around the holidays — a time that a lot of us take a moment to stop and think about people who are in need and our and society’s role in supporting them.” The concerts are presented in partnership with Northeast Ohio Food Bank. Register for free tickets for the 7:30 pm performances here.

[Read more…]

DIARY: Wednesday, December 18, 2024

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by Stephanie Manning

HAPPENING TODAY:

If you feel like making a joyful noise, Trinity Cathedral’s Brownbag Concert Series hosts a Messiah Sing-a-long at 12 Noon.

If you want to admire art and music simultaneously, visit Claude Monet’s Water Lilies (Agapanthus) at the Cleveland Museum of Art at 6:00 pm. The Chamber Music in the Galleries series presents guitarist Craig Slagh, violinists Jenny Cluggish and McKenna Glorioso, and violist Christopher Jenkins in works by Jules Massenet, Erik Satie, Antoine L’Hoyer, and Antonín Dvořák.

And if you were lucky enough to already snag your tickets, the first of two sold-out performances of The Cleveland Orchestra’s Muppet Christmas Carol in Concert (pictured) is tonight at 7:30 pm. Sarah Hicks conducts the complete score live-to-picture.

For more details, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Cleveland Institute of Music has announced the honorees for its 2025 Alumni Awards. During next May’s commencement ceremony, the Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to conductor and violinist John McLaughlin Williams (BM ’97, MM ’97), while the Alumni Achievement Award will be presented to violist and arts administrator Jennifer Arnold (BM ’03, PS ’05).

The institution also reaffirmed that renovations for Kulas Hall remain on track, with an expected grand reopening in fall 2025. Read the full press release here. [Read more…]

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