by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
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Organist Oziah Wales at Church of the Covenant, and Rosamunde String Quartet on the CCMS series
•Calls for performers, interns, and volunteers from Tri-C JazzFest, Heights Arts, Canton Symphony, and Les Délices
•Trinity Wall Street fires music director Julian Wachner after an accusation of sexual assault in 2014
•Masks no longer required at Severance
•Honors in the area: Ron Varn and Imari Hill
•Almanac: Lili Boulanger, chronic illness, and an intense pursuit of composition
HAPPENING TODAY:
Oziah Wales sits down at both the Newberry and Chancel Organs at Church of the Covenant to perform music by Samuel Scheidt, Brahms, and Thierry Escaich at noon. It’s free in person and online.
And at 7:30, the Cleveland Chamber Music Society hosts the Rosamunde String Quartet, made up of musicians from the Berlin, Los Angeles, and New York Philharmonic Orchestras. The program includes works by Beethoven, Barber, and Schubert. Tickets are available here.
Details about both events can be found in our Concert Listings.
CALLS FOR PERFORMERS, INTERNS & VOLUNTEERS:
Interested in performing on the outdoor Strassman Insurance Stage as part of the 2022 Tri-C JazzFest? Applications are open through April 3. The Festival takes place June 23-25 at Playhouse Square. Interested to find out about the Festival’s indoor lineup? Keep your eyes peeled — it’s being announced today.
Heights Arts invites ensembles to apply for an opportunity to perform on its Gallery Concert Series. The deadline is April 15.
The Canton Symphony has an opening for an internship in the area of development initiatives. They’re also looking for volunteers to support their season, as is Les Délices, which seeks assistance for its productions of “The White Cat” April 1-3 in Akron and Cleveland. (“Cat people preferred, naturally,” the ensemble writes, adding the obligatory cat emoji or three.)
TRINITY & WACHNER:
Trinity Wall Street has fired music director Julian Wachner, who has been accused of committing sexual assault in 2014. The conductor has denied the allegations, and a third-party investigation is ongoing. “Still,” said the church’s rector, the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, “we have concluded based on recent information that Julian has otherwise conducted himself in a manner that is inconsistent with our expectations of anyone who occupies a leadership position.” Read the New York Times’ coverage here.
COVID POLICIES:
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced that masks will no longer be required for events at Severance Music Center beginning Friday evening, March 18. And as of late last week, vaccinations are no longer mandatory. Click here for details about the ensemble’s COVID policy.
HONORS IN THE AREA:
Hoover High School band director Ron Varn has been named 2022 Music Educator of the Year. The award, sponsored by the Canton Museum of Art, Massillon Museum, and Canton Symphony, also came with a prize of $500.
And Imari Hill, who studies music technology at Kent State University Stark, recently took home an award for her piece You Are Victorious in the category of “Original Score Not Produced for Picture” at the UK’s Short Sounds Film Festival.
Kudos!
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
French composer Lili Boulanger, the first woman to win the Prix de Rome (and the younger sister of Nadia Boulanger), died on this date in 1918 at the age of 24 of what we now know as Crohn’s disease. Her story is remarkable for what she was able to accomplish not only in such a short career, but despite suffering poor health throughout her life.
In fact, her chronic illness played a part in her intense pursuit of a career in composition. In The Life and Works of Lili Boulanger, Léonie Rosenstiel writes that composing
provided Lili with the means to decide her own future as much as possible, and to show her family, her friends, and, above all, herself, that she was capable of being considered a contributing member of the artistic and intellectual community in which she lived. In other words, it gave Lili the chance to develop a positive self-image…Lili’s physical dependence on others, especially her immediate family and their servants, was often total, but she enjoyed complete intellectual and artistic autonomy.
Illness forced her to withdraw the first time she entered the Prix de Rome. A year later, at age 19, she won for her cantata Faust et Hélène, bringing her a contract with an important publisher — meaning a steady income, and a platform on which to grow her career.
By the time of her death five years later, her output numbered over 50 works. Perhaps most famous is her Psalm 24, as Daniel Hathaway noted in a Diary entry on August 21, the anniversary of Boulanger’s birth.
Another standout is the haunting and beautiful Pie Jesu. Listen to a spectacular performance here by Paul Jacobs and Christine Brewer in an arrangement for organ and soprano — four minutes of haunting yet subtle music to give you goosebumps of the soul.