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Archives for December 2025

Apollo’s Fire to bring back Praetorius Christmas Vespers

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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 more…]

Arts Renaissance Tremont presents Burning River Brass: a holiday tradition

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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 more…]

Les Délices welcomes the festive season with “Noel, Noel” (Dec. 7)

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by Stephanie Manning

Once December kicks in, an almost overwhelming number of holiday programs pop up around Northeast Ohio. But Les Délices’ offering should draw your attention.

While other festive concerts may create the atmosphere of a bustling party by the fireplace, “Noel, Noel” is like observing a snowy evening from the warmth of the indoors. This is music best enjoyed in quiet contentment, and especially live — so it’s no surprise that the early music ensemble brought back this signature program for three performances this month.

On December 7 at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, the six-member group presented a lovely ninety-minute program, which is also available on CD and via streaming until the end of the year. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir: In Four Voices (Dec. 3)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

Renaissance polyphony can bloom in resonant spaces, but the Donna and James Reid Gallery at the Cleveland Museum of Art presents particular challenges: hard surfaces and a long reverb tend to blur consonants into watercolor. The Cleveland Chamber Choir’s four-voice ensemble met those conditions head-on during its “In Four Voices” program on December 3. What emerged was an evening of consistently beautiful vocal timbre shaped by a group navigating the sonic characteristics of the room.

The concert, to be followed in January and March by appearances of various-sized ensembles, is part of a new development for the Cleveland Chamber Choir, called the Camerata Series — more information here.

To improve their chances of hearing one another, the quartet — soprano Lauren Vanden Broeck, mezzo-soprano Kira McGirr, tenor Joel Kincannon, and bass Dominic Aragon — stood in a traditional “part book” formation, like a diamond, facing inward. This meant that their sound was directed toward each other, rather than outward to the listeners around them. [Read more…]

DIARY: Thursday, December 11, 2025

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HAPPENING TODAY:

Tonight at 7:30 in Warner Concert Hall, faculty soprano Martha Guth (pictured) will be featured with the Oberlin Sinfonietta, Tim Weiss, conducting, in Soomin Kim’s Four Love Songs, the premiere of Chloe Arnold’s Shattered, and the nonet version of Johannes Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 in D, Op. 11.

Also at 7:30, the 11-member vocal ensemble Voctave will perform seasonal favorites from the Disney screen to the Broadway stage in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

On December 11, 1918, Russian conductor Nikolai Sokoloff led the debut concert of The Cleveland Orchestra in Grays Armory. The program, a benefit for St. Ann’s Church, included Liszt’s Les Préludes, Victor Herbert’s American Fantasy, Bizet’s Carmen Suite, excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, and Liadov’s Enchanted Lake. [Read more…]

Labadie leads fresh-sounding performance of Messiah with Cleveland Orchestra, Chorus and solo quartet (Dec. 4)

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by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – On Thursday evening at Severance Music Center, guest conductor Bernard Labadie did far more than just hold the performance of Messiah by the Cleveland Orchestra, Chorus and solo quartet together, he led a surgically clean account of George Frideric Handel’s 1741 oratorio.

Like a London cabbie, Labadie knew all the available highways and byways for the two-hour musical journey and pointed out interesting sights we might otherwise have missed.

And to change metaphors, like a skilled restorer he gently removed layers of interpretive grime that has accumulated over the years from Handel’s score, allowing us to hear it with fresh ears. He also tucked in some surprises of his own for those of us who thought we knew the piece and how it should go. [Read more…]

CityMusic Cleveland: Three Eras, One Conversation (Dec. 5)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

“We love coming here!” CityMusic Cleveland’s managing director Henry Peyrebrune said in his opening remarks on Friday at St. Noel Catholic Church. Open and modern and warmly lit, St. Noel proved a welcoming setting for December 5th’s  well-attended concert. Many pews had been claimed early, and finding a seat required a bit of roaming. As always with CityMusic, admission was free, with only a suggested ticket price and friendly greeters at the door.

The program, titled Three Eras, One Conversation (although I only counted two) traced a through-line from Mozart to Haydn to Stravinsky, with conductor James Feddeck clarifying the connections across style and time. [Read more…]

Les Délices’ elaborate, entertaining Aesop Project (Nov. 22)

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by Peter Feher

In the 1670s, Louis XIV commissioned a series of 39 fountains for the Gardens of Versailles, each modeled on a story from Aesop’s Fables and intended for the education of the king’s young son, the Dauphin.

The Aesop Project, the latest community offering from Les Délices and artistic director Debra Nagy, is slightly less ornate but just as inspired. Cleveland’s ever-resourceful period chamber ensemble partnered with local puppeteers and poets for this family-friendly program teaching music and morals.

After touring Northeast Ohio schools earlier in the week, the project received a public performance at the CMA Community Arts Center on Saturday morning, November 22. Children, parents, and committed patrons of early music sat down for the 35-minute show, surrounded by spectacular displays of costumes and props from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s annual Parade the Circle celebration. [Read more…]

DIARY: Wednesday, December 10, 2025

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HAPPENING TODAY:

Tonight at 7:30, Vinay Parameswaran leads The Cleveland Orchestra in James Horner’s underscore to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, performed live-to-picture at Severance Music Center.

And at 7:30 in Oberlin Conservatory’s Warner Concert Hall, violinist Jennifer Koh (pictured) will be featured with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, Tim Weiss, conducting, in Courtney Bryan’s Syzygy and Vijay Iyer’s Trouble.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

French composer Olivier Messiaen was born on December 10, 1908 in Avignon. [Read more…]

DIARY: Tuesday, December 9, 2025

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ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Oberlin Conservatory has announced that Amy Lee, Cleveland Orchestra associate concertmaster, will join the faculty full-time, having been a visiting professor for the last year. Read the article on the Violin Channel here.

HAPPENING TODAY:

At Noon,  Kachofugetsu Japanese Handbells, Kaori Hongo, director, perform at the Church of the Covenant in University Circle.

Tonight at 7, The Singers’ Club of Cleveland, Christopher Clark, director, celebrates the holiday season at Trinity Cathedral.

At 7:30, Vinay Parameswaran leads The Cleveland Orchestra in James Horner’s underscore to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, performed live-to-picture at obSeverance Music Center.

Also at 7:30, the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra, Raphael Jiménez, conducting, performs Wolfgang Amadé Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, Jessie Montgomery’s Coincident Dances, and Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs with faculty baritone Timothy Lefebvre in Finney Chapel.

TODAY’S ALMANAC:

German soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was born on this date in 1915 and passed away in her sleep at age 90 in 2006. [Read more…]

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