ClevelandClassical.com Header
Ad
Ad
Ad

Violinist Emily Cornelius on escaping the inescapable — performing in a pandemic

by

by Stephanie Manning

In such an unpredictable year for musicians, Emily Cornelius feels overwhelmingly grateful to continue performing for others. From a small, socially distanced concert with the Canton Symphony to a recent guest concertmaster appearance with the Eric Philharmonic, the violinist considers herself lucky to have been staying busy these past few months. “Like most musicians, my work is really the center of my life—it’s not just a job, it’s who I am,” she said in a recent Zoom interview.

“To get to continue doing that in some form is enormous.” With her time in Erie now behind her, she is focusing on her next performance, a live streamed recital on November 19th sponsored by the Local 4 Music Fund.

The three composers and their pieces on the program are all well-known, but familiarity was the goal. She and her collaborator, pianist Eric Charnofsky, chose works “that would be personally challenging and satisfying for us to play and hopefully a joy for the audience to hear.” [Read more…]

Pulse Quartet to perform
at Bop Stop October 29

by

by Barnaby Woods

“Nothing could have prepared me for this scenario” bassist Aidan Plank said over the phone. In March 2020, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic threw the livelihood of freelance musicians into question. Jazz professionals with flourishing careers suddenly found themselves without work and unable to safely collaborate with their colleagues. Since then, the world has found ways of adjusting to the pandemic — Cleveland’s Bop Stop has installed state of the art streaming equipment to facilitate live performances for audiences to enjoy safely from their homes. On Thursday, October 29th at 7PM, Plank and his Pulse Quartet will be performing a set at The Bop Stop for a restricted live audience. You can also tune in via the jazz club’s Facebook page.

In addition to Plank, the ensemble features Anthony Fuoco on piano, Dustin May on drums, and Brad Wagner on saxophone. Plank is a well known bassist in Northeast Ohio. Outside of Pulse, he performs in Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Cleveland Jazzworks, and Dan Bruce’s Beta Collective and was featured on NPR’s “Jazz Night in America” in 2019. Having started on piano in elementary school, he was introduced to jazz at a young age by his grandfather. “As a kid I would go to his house and there would be jazz records playing all the time — I remember looking at the album covers and I simply liked the way the bass looked — it looked big and fun and I loved how it sounded.” [Read more…]

Akron Symphony announces
Interlude Season for 2020-2021

by

by Staff

This past Monday, the Akron Symphony Orchestra revised its plans for the coming year. The previously announced 2020-2021 concert season has been moved forward to  2021-2022, and the Orchestra will instead present the ASO Interlude Season — Akron Symphony’s Gift to the Community, designed to share free music throughout  Northeast Ohio.

“I’m tremendously excited about the Interlude Season,” ASO Music Director Christopher Wilkins said in a press release. “I do mourn the loss of a full orchestra season. But ironically, it gives us the chance to do a great many things we’ve always wanted to do. Our greatest asset is the creativity of our musicians, and this new plan allows us to utilize their skills in an extraordinary variety of ways.”

During the season, which will run from August 2020 through May 2021, ASO musicians will provide free performances with numerous collaborative partners, including the Akron Art Museum, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, Akron Public Schools, Akron-Summit County Public Library, the Akron Zoo, International Institute of Akron, Jilly’s Music Room, Love Akron, Mustard Seed Market & Café, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, Summa Health, the Summit County Historical Society, and Tuesday Musical Association. [Read more…]

CD Review: Wet Ink — Glossolalia/Lines on Black 

by

By Tyler Smith
Special to ClevelandClassical.com

Hailed by the New York Times as “The Best Classical Music Ensemble of 2018,” Wet Ink Ensemble has lived up to this acclaim once again with their recent release Glossolalia/Lines on Black. The album takes its name from the two extended works by Wet Ink members Alex Mincek (saxophone) and Sam Pluta (electronics). The remainder of the septet includes Eric Wubbels (piano), Erin Lesser (flutes), Ian Antonio (percussion), Josh Modney (violin), and Kate Soper (voice). [Read more…]

Oberlin Students partner with UH Elyria for “Gratitude Showers Challenge”

by

Back in January, a group of Oberlin students began a collaboration with a nearby hospital. Now those students and others have begun a new initiative to support that hospital’s staff.

The Gratitude Showers Challenge honors the dedication and sacrifice of healthcare professionals at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center. In recent weeks, the project has been further reenvisioned to involve the creativity of area children and to support a key fundraising initiative at the hospital.

Read Erich Burnett’s article here. [Read more…]

In memoriam:
Stephen T. Griebling, 87

by

by Margi Griebling-Haigh

Stephen T. Griebling, 87, of Akron, OH, passed away peacefully at home after a brief but rapid decline, on March 20, 2020.

He was born during a snowstorm in a small house on the Portage Lakes in Akron on December 10, 1932, to Louis George Griebling and Genevieve Eleanor (né Wilson) Griebling. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary Ann (né Rimmel), his daughters Karen Griebling (Robin Brown) and Margi Griebling-Haigh (Scott Haigh), and granddaughter Gabrielle Haigh (Mark Nelson). He was an affectionate, gentle, and playful patriarch who was deeply committed to the happiness, security, and dreams of his family.

[Read more…]

Canton Youth Symphony joins the Pros in a side-by-side (Feb. 16)

by

by Tom Wachunas

Unlike some other MasterWorks concerts by the Canton Symphony Orchestra, there was no single, dominant musical theme or concept uniting the selections on its February 16 program. There certainly was, however, a unifying energy working from the podium — CSO Assistant Conductor Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz. [Read more…]

In Memoriam:
J.D. Goddard, a tribute

by

by Mario Buchanan

On Friday evening, February 14, we lost a great, Dr. J.D. Goddard. We have many teachers who influence our decisions, but there is always one who helps solidify what we want to do with our lives. J.D. was mine.

I first met J.D. when I was in high school. Nancy Ulrich,  my voice teacher at the time, told me about a choir she sang in: Master Singers Inc., of which J.D. was the Founder and Artistic Director. Nancy and I recorded an audition tape to send to J.D. He accepted me and told Nancy to bring me along to rehearsals. My first meeting with J.D. was probably typical — I was intimidated by his tall stature, but immediately put at ease by his calm and caring nature.

The first concert I sang with the group was the Verdi Requiem. I was 14 years old. Throughout high school and the beginning of college, I got to sing some of the greatest pieces of choral literature: Brahms’ and Mozart’s Requiems, Vierne’s and Widor’s Messes Solennelles, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Schumann’s Requiem, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, and the list goes on and on. [Read more…]

In memoriam
George Vassos: a tribute to a
teacher, mentor, and friend

by

by Joanne Uniatowski

At the crossroads of music and words, one finds inspiration in song. Meeting George Vassos in 1992 at the Cleveland Institute of Music was for me the beginning of an incredible journey into a life filled with song. As I began my doctoral studies at CIM, George not only became my teacher, but also my mentor, and most significantly, my friend.

George’s number one gift to his students was an infectious love for words and music, whether in art song, opera, or oratorio. He continually encouraged us to honor the words, infuse them with meaning, and share them with our audience. He encouraged us to soar. He allowed us to fail. And in all things he opened his heart to each one of us.

Over the years, I know that George saw in me far more than I saw in myself. He provided opportunities for me to teach his younger students, to teach young artists in the Lyric Opera Cleveland summer season, and eventually to serve as executive director of the Art Song Festival from 2001-2016. [Read more…]

Jaroszewicz leads Canton Symphony with organ soloist Heather Cooper (Jan. 25)

by

by Tom Wachunas

Among many fascinating aspects of the January 25 performance by the Canton Symphony Orchestra was the ensemble’s untiring attentiveness to the conductor. Here was a remarkable connectivity, a sharpened focus, a palpable state of eager readiness. The musicians were always alert, ever poised to respond instantaneously and with riveting precision to signals from the podium. Those signals were transmitted in delightfully animated fashion by assistant conductor Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz. [Read more…]

Follow ClevelandClassical.com

Contact us