by Kevin McLaughlin
Aficionados of silent film music know there is an infinite variety of approaches to performing a film’s music, from original scores to improvised performances and generic musical cues that have been stitched together from a variety of sources.
On Saturday, April 5 at 4:30 pm in the Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium at the Cleveland Public Library, the Cleveland Silent Film Festival will continue their “CPL: Celebrating 100 Years” series with a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1929 thriller Blackmail. Daniel Goldmark, Professor of Music at Case Western Reserve University, will introduce the film and the musical score. Admission is free.
The screening will also mark the debut of The Cleveland Photoplayers. Directed by pianist Eric Charnofsky (pictured), the ensemble includes violinist Emily Cornelius, cellist David Ellis, clarinetist Amitai Vardi, and cornetist Riley Conley.
On Sunday afternoon, March 30, at 3:30 pm, the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra will continue its long tradition of performing in Severance Hall. The ensemble’s 90th Anniversary Concert in what is now known as the Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center will be conducted by music director Eric Benjamin. Tickets are available 
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When Amer Hasan introduced himself to the Akron Symphony in 2019, he did so with the opening movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. “ It was the first piece that I played for Maestro Wilkins in my audition, behind the screen,” Hasan recalled in a recent interview. “So the first three minutes of the concerto is not only the first music I associate with auditions, but also with the Akron Symphony.”
