by Jarrett Hoffman
Asked to name a piece that uses sounds recorded from nature, many would think of Respighi’s Pines of Rome and the nightingales that end its third movement. Locals especially might remember the calls of the shore lark and whooper swan in Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Cantus arcticus, which the Akron Symphony paired with Pines in a Planet Earth-themed concert last March.
Here’s another one that’s even more technologically ambitious. Stella Sung’s Oceana was premiered by Christopher Wilkins and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra last summer, and will receive its Northeast Ohio premiere in the hands of Wilkins and the ASO on Saturday, February 9 at 8:00 pm at E.J. Thomas Hall.
Oceana was inspired by the issue of ocean noise pollution — like from seismic testing and large ships — which disrupts the ability of many animals to communicate, navigate, and find food. Meshing orchestral sounds with those of whales, dolphins, seals, and other animals, Sung penned an ode to oceanic ecosystems and their importance to all forms of life.
In the music business, we’ve all heard and rolled our eyes at music jokes. Mime jokes might be the breath of fresh air we need.
The audience may have been more restrained than the appreciatively foot-stomping listeners who typically pack into Finney Chapel back home — but not by much. The crowd in New York’s Carnegie Hall gave two ensembles from Oberlin College and Conservatory a warm reception on January 19, with loud cheers and even some shoutouts to the players onstage. All well-deserved.
Violist Ammie Brod embarked on a commissioning project after an almost miraculous encounter with a work of art. Flutist Kenneth Cox is a strong believer in programming music by minority composers.
The music of the prolific film composer John Williams was a staple of Carl Topilow’s programming long before he launched the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. “We were doing 
“This was fun, let’s do it again sometime” — what we all say after any gathering. And sometimes, we really do mean it.
For the past 22 years, Carl Topilow and the Cleveland POPS Orchestra have hosted the best New Year’s Eve party in Cleveland. That tradition will continue on Monday, December 31 beginning at 9:00 pm in Severance Hall with “The Hollywood Songbook: Songs from the Big and Small Screen,” featuring singer Erich Bergen. Then at 11:00 pm you can
The alluring, accessible, and wildly creative music of Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon is the focus of last month’s release from the Oberlin Music label, 
Two risks, one small and one big, make up the concept behind French Baroque ensemble Les Délices’ latest CD,