David H. Stull, who was appointed dean of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 2004 (after four years as associate dean) will become the next president of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in July. An Oberlin graduate, he worked at Lawrence University’s conservatory of music and at the Juilliard School before returning to his alma mater. Stull presided over many new initiatives at Oberlin including the new Kohl Building to house Jazz Studies, the Cooper International Competition, the Creativity & Leadership Project, Music in America, the creation of an Oberlin record label, national and international tours of the Oberlin Orchestra, and the Rubin Institute for Musical Criticism, helping generate some $40 million in donations for construction, project and program support. On behalf of Oberlin Conservatory, Stull accepted the National Medal of Arts from President Obama in 2010.
Review: CMA VIVA! & Gala: Naseer Shamma and Al-Oyoun Ensemble (March 15)
by Daniel Hathaway
Now that United States forces have ended their occupation of Iraq, oud virtuoso Naseer Shamma has returned to touring in this country after a ten-year, self-imposed absence. He brought his excellent Al-Oyoun ensemble to the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium on Friday, March 15 for a remarkable performance on its VIVA! & Gala series that included one dramatic testimony to the events of the last decade during an 11-piece set that otherwise treated the large audience to both strange and familiar sounds and a wide range of musical forms.
Once a rarity, the expressive voice of the oud has become better known in the West — it recently evoked the Arabic music of Spain in the late fourteenth century during a performance by the Broken Consort at St. John’s Cathedral. In the hands of Naseer Shamma, it speaks eloquently both as a solo instrument and as a member of the traditional Iraqi takht or ensemble, which in Gartner last Friday included the Qanun, an 81-string zither, the Nay or end-blown flute in several sizes, the Riqq or Arab tambourine, a bass viol and two violins (19th century latecomers from Europe). [Read more…]
Preview: “Clocks in Motion” percussion ensemble to play at Baldwin Wallace and Cleveland State Universities
by Mike Telin
If you have never had the opportunity to hear the magic that a percussion ensemble can bring to a stage, here is your chance. On Sunday, March 24th in Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace University and Monday, March 25th in Waetjen Auditorium at Cleveland State University, Clocks in Motion presents concerts featuring the works of Reich, Cage, Xenakis and Brün. The program also features violinist Evan Kleve as soloist in Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra.
Formed in 2011, Clocks in Motion is a contemporary percussion ensemble dedicated to performing modern chamber music and commissioning new repertoire. The group were the featured performers at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery 2012 Science Fair and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMOCA) Gallery Night for the opening of a new exhibit by painter Robert Lostutter. In addition, the group served in residency at Rhapsody Arts Center (Verona, WI) in January of 2013 to teach students in grades K-12 about contemporary music and percussion and will be the ensemble in residence at the Interlochen Arts Academy in May 2013. [Read more…]
Preview: No Exit: three upcoming concerts from March 21-23 feature flutist Carlton Vickers and composer Matthew Ivic
by Mike Telin
Beginning on Thursday, March 21 and continuing through Saturday, the new music ensemble No Exit presents concerts at MOCA, Drinko Auditorium at Cleveland State University and Spaces Gallery. All three programs include Brian Ferneyhoughʼs Cassandraʼs Dream Song and the U.S. premiere of Sisyphus Redux, Andrew Rindfleischʼs Trio for Piano, Violin and Violincello, and Alberto Ginasteraʼs Puneña No. 2 for Cello (“Hommage à Paul Sacher”). Also featured on the program is the world premiere of Matthew Ivicʼs Piano Quartet No. 2. We spoke to Carlton Vickers and Matthew Ivic by telephone.
Chamber Music Society announces its 64th season
The Cleveland Chamber Music Society will present nine concerts during its 2013-2014 season at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights.
October 15, 2013: Susanna Phillips, soprano, Anne Marie McDermott, piano & Paul Neubauer, viola.
October 29: Cuarteto Casals with Manuel Barrueco, guitar.
December 3: the Daedalus Quartet.
February 4, 2014: the Albers Trio with Orion Weiss, piano.
March 17 & 18: the Takács Quartet (complete Bartók Quartets in two concerts).
April 8: the Pavel Haas Quartet. April 29: eighth blackbird at Waetjen Auditorium, CSU.
The date for a young artists showcase performance will be announced.
Preview: CMA VIVA! & Gala: a conversation with Fado singer Ana Moura
by Mike Telin
Why is it that Fado, the traditional soulful music of Portugal, has been embraced by audiences around the world? “I think more people are trying to discover new musical sounds that can make them feel different things and Fado has [a way of doing that],” says Fado superstar Ana Moura. On Friday, March 22nd beginning at 7:30 pm in Gartner Auditorium, Ana Moura will share the music from her latest album Desfado and other traditional Fado songs as part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s VIVA! & Gala series.
We spoke to Ana Moura by telephone in California, and talked about her new album, growing up in a musical family, and her past musical projects with the Rolling Stones and Prince. We began by asking her how she describes the Fado sound? [Read more…]
Preview: Newberry Consort to celebrate Church of the Covenant’s new Richards, Fowkes & Co. organ on March 20: a chat with Ellen Hargis
by Daniel Hathaway
Chicago’s Newberry Consort will mark the arrival of the new 17th-century-style gallery organ at the Church of the Covenant in Cleveland’s University Circle with a concert entitled “Celestial Sirens” on Wednesday, March 20 at 7:30 pm. “It all came about with a handshake in the parking lot”, Ellen Hargis said in a phone conversation from her home in Chicago. Hargis is also on the faculty at Case, whose music department shares parking with the church. “One day I ran into Jonathan Moyer who told me about the new organ and I said ‘you need my Celestial Sirens concert.’”
That program, which features choral and instrumental music from 17th century Italian and Mexican convents, was itself the result of a chance encounter. Hargis was already thinking of constructing an Italian program drawing on the vast collections of unpublished music in convent libraries — partly suggested by Craig Monson’s book, Nuns Behaving Badly: Tales of Music, Magic, Art, and Arson in the Convents of Italy. [Read more…]
Review: Cathartic moments from the Canton Symphony Chorus (March 15)
by Tom Wachunas
The Canton Symphony Orchestra “casual series” concerts presented in Cable Recital Hall are generally chamber music affairs featuring small instrumental ensembles – duos, trios, quartets or quintets. For scaled-down concerts of this sort, the acoustics in this modest hall, which can seat an audience of approximately 140 listeners, are more than suitable.
So the first surprise about the concert on March 15 was that it featured a full chamber orchestra – some 30 pieces – as well as the superb 53-member Canton Symphony Chorus. One might have reasonably anticipated a sound far too deafening for this intimate venue. Surprise number two: Orchestra and chorus, both separately and together, delivered a deeply satisfying aural experience that was clear and balanced in every way. [Read more…]
Review: Tuesday Musical: Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at E.J. Thomas Hall (March 14)
by Nicholas Jones
The Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the western world, was active for two millennia from before Alexander to the late Middle Ages. Across that highway traveled not only silks and spices but also inventions from gunpowder to printing and ideas from mathematics to Buddhism.
The Silk Road Ensemble, founded by American cellist Yo-Yo Ma over a decade ago, takes that East-West route as a metaphor for cultural exchange today, bringing western and non-western musicians into a vibrant, innovative, and deeply collaborative musical experience. The result is an evening of strange and wonderful sounds that might have delighted Marco Polo or Genghis Khan. [Read more…]
Review: Contemporary Youth Orchestra’s “Singer/Songwriters” — an embarassment of riches (March 16)
by Timothy Robson
Sometimes good ideas run amok, despite the best of intentions and excellent execution. Such was the case with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra’s “Singer / Songwriters” concert at CSU’s Waetjen Auditorium on March 16. The orchestra’s brilliantly inventive music director Liza Grossman hit on the idea of having singer/songwriters present their songs in full orchestral arrangements commissioned by the orchestra.
The performer/composers participated in a competition to have their songs chosen. There was a wealth of talent from Cleveland, Michigan, New York, Connecticut and California. And there’s the flaw: fourteen performers (some soloists, some groups) were chosen to perform two songs each. Then there was set up time and spoken commentary in between each performer. The concert was more than three hours long, and many in the audience fled long before the end, which was regrettable, because there were fine performances right through to the end of the evening. [Read more…]