by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: Assembly for the Arts’ 1:00 session on the Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 study, and concerts this evening by Apollo’s Fire, Singers’ Club, The Cleveland Orchestra, and CityMusic
•Interesting read: the effects of music (including improv) on dementia in “the here and now”
•Almanac: the Christmas carols of Jean Sibelius
by Jarrett Hoffman
Do you prefer your holiday programs to span several genres — and to have that special glint in the sound that only an array of brass can provide? Trumpeter Rodney Marsalis and the Philadelphia Big Brass will check both boxes when they visit Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall on Tuesday, December 13 at 7:30 pm as part of the Tuesday Musical series. Tickets are available here.
The band’s holiday mix is wide-ranging: there’s swing, classical, big band, musical theater, carols, and R&B, ranging from Messiah and Nutcracker selections to Silent Night, When the Saints Go Marching In, and a medley from Earth Wind & Fire. Not just any old holiday program, as I pointed out to Marsalis when we spoke last year over Zoom. (The group’s 2021 visit to Northeast Ohio was canceled.)
Jarrett Hoffman: Bringing together different genres is something that’s been intentional about this group from the start, is that right?
Rodney Marsalis: Yes, we do it with all of our programs. We’ve had a chance to test out this holiday program over the last few years. It’s not just Christmas music, but it’s in the spirit of Christmas, so that’s been our goal.
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
. Today: Case Historic Performance Department at the Covenant, and Apollo’s Fire does Messiah
. Composers in the news: Reena Esmail (pictured), Julian Anderson, and Tania León
. Almanac: Bright Sheng, Lead Belly, Dave Brubeck, and the history of jazz at Oberlin
HAPPENING TODAY:
Today’s Tuesday Noon Organ Plus Concert from Church of the Covenant features the Case Historic Performance Department in music by Johann Gottfried Goldberg, Jean-Féry Rebel, and Handel — a composer who stands on his own at 7 tonight when Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire present Messiah at Federated Church in Chagrin Falls. A freewill offering will be taken up at the Covenant, while tickets are available here for Apollo’s Fire.
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
. Tonight: contemporary chamber music, choir, and orchestra
. Cleveland Orchestra news, and in the news
. Almanac: the circumstances behind Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra
HAPPENING TODAY:
This evening presents three varied options.
At 7:00 pm, No Exit heads to Praxis Fiber Gallery in Cleveland for a program that includes world premieres by David Glaser, Frank Wiley, and Max Friedman, as well as music by Henry Cowell. And there’s a special guest: pianist Shuai Wang (pictured), who will be featured in Cowell’s Tiger. Admission is free.
At 7:30, Jay White leads Quire Cleveland in the twelfth edition of the “Carols for Quire” programs, this one titled “Angels and Shepherds.” The free program takes place at Our Lady of Peace Church in Cleveland. Read a preview article by Mike Telin here.
And at that same hour, Vasily Petrenko will lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a concert that features Behzod Abduraimov in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Also on the program: Edward Elgar’s Cockaigne (In London Town) and William Walton’s Symphony No. 1. Get tickets here.
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: organist Jonathan Moyer at the Covenant
•Tonight: Oberlin ensembles preview U.N. performance
•All-Italian Almanac: Donizetti’s joyful high C’s, a cavernous bass role from Monteverdi, and tearjerking Puccini
HAPPENING TODAY:
At noon, the Church of the Covenant’s Tuesday Noon Organ Plus series will feature Jonathan Moyer performing on both the Newberry Organ (music by J.S. Bach) and the Chancel Organ (works by C.H.H. Parry, David Conte, and Charles-Marie Widor). A freewill offering will be taken up.
And at 7:30, Raphael Jiménez will lead three Oberlin ensembles — the Orchestra, Musical Union, and College Choir — in music by Adolphus Hailstork, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Beethoven at Finney Chapel. It’s a program with a little extra significance in that it will be repeated for the 77th United Nations General Assembly at Carnegie Hall on December 2. It’s free.
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Ohio Arts Council grant applications open
•Jeffrey Mumford (pictured) featured in a documentary series
•News from NY: a Ukrainian bassoonist playing with the Youth Symphony, and women outnumbering men in the Philharmonic
•Three pieces for Thanksgiving, from revelry to gratitude and (hopefully just) a few thunderclaps
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Tonight: CIM Orchestra at Severance
•News: celebrate Cleveland on Google Arts & Culture (pictured), and revisit the combination of orchestra and effects pedals from Akron Symphony and EarthQuaker Devices
•Almanac: the fourteen operas of Britten, and the fourteen operas of Gilbert & Sullivan
HAPPENING TODAY:
One event on our radar tonight. At 7:30 pm, Carlos Kalmar and the CIM Orchestra will perform Olivier Messiaen’s L’Ascension and Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 at Severance Music Center. It’s free.
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Tonight: Black Violin, Cleveland Orchestra, and pianist Kathleen Supové
•News: Grammy nominations, and a new music director at H+H
•Almanac: Tchaikovsky’s Fifth, from its negative reception early on, to being sung by Sinatra, and being featured in an ad for cigarettes (?)
HAPPENING TODAY:
Three options tonight at 7:30.
The duo Black Violin — violinist Kev Marcus and violist Wil B. (pictured), who are known for combining classical arrangements with modern beats and vocals — will visit Powers Auditorium at DeYor Performing Arts Center in Youngstown as part of their Give Thanks tour. Joining the duo will be DJ SPS and drummer Nat Stokes in this program that includes music from their two most recent releases, including holiday tunes from the album Give Thanks. Online ticket sales stay open until 4:30.
The Cleveland Orchestra is joined by a bevy of guests tonight: conductor John Adams, soprano Lauren Snouffer, mezzo-soprano Josefina Maldonado, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, and countertenors Daniel Bubeck, Brian Cummings, and Nathan Medley, as well as the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus. The occasion? An oratorio by Adams himself, his El Niño. Tickets are available online. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Tonight: ACRONYM at Oberlin, Jupiter Quartet at CCMS
•Oberlin announces vacancy in the composition department
•Almanac: Barenboim enters, Reiner leaves
HAPPENING TODAY:
At 7:30 pm, you have the choice between two premiere string ensembles with roots in Northeast Ohio, performing on two of the area’s premiere concert series.
Over at Plymouth Church under the banner of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society, the Jupiter Quartet will play music by Charles Ives, Florence Price, Steven Andrew Taylor, George Walker, and Johannes Brahms. (ClevelandClassical.com’s Daniel Hathaway will give a 6:30 pre-concert lecture.)
And at Warner Concert Hall, the Oberlin Artist Recital Series will present the Baroque string band ACRONYM in a program titled “Dreams of the Wounded Musketeer” exploring “a military trumpeter’s final moments as he relives the swirling music of his childhood.”
Read an article by Daniel Hathaway previewing both concerts here. Get tickets here for CCMS and here for Oberlin.
by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Tonight: Apollo’s Fire conjures up a storm in Akron, singer-songwriter Candace Campana visits the Canton Symphony, and Oberlin Opera Theater presents a pair of one-acts
•Interesting read: learn about the documentary film scores of Case student Rafique Illyas-Watson (pictured)
•Almanac: from France to Mexico, François Couperin to Salvador Contreras