ClevelandClassical.com Header
Ad
Ad

Syndicate for the New Arts: Rehearsing for the Rust Belt Tour

by

by Mike Telin

Syndicate-Rust-Belt-PerformersSummer is a time when many new music ensembles focus on the creation of new works. Some go off to out-of-the-way places such as Banff, Aspen, and even Columbia, Missouri to spend time putting the final touches on new compositions and projects.

Here in Cleveland, The Syndicate for The New Arts have been spending the past week at Historic St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ohio City learning six new pieces that were written especially for the Ensemble’s upcoming seven-city Rust Belt Tour. The Cleveland concert will be held on Sunday, July 16 at 7:00 pm in Historic St. John’s. [Read more…]

Oberlin Cooper Violin Competition: conversations with director Gregory Fulkerson and competitors Kiarra Saito-Beckman and Christina Nam

by

by Mike Telin and Samantha Spaccasi

gregory_fulkersonLater this week, 24 young violinists representing eight U.S. States and eight countries will arrive in Oberlin to participate in the eighth edition of the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition. Events begin with the semifinal rounds on Saturday, July 15 at 1:30 pm in Warner Concert Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory.

The Competition will continue into next week and culminate with the three finalists playing concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Jahja Ling in Severance Hall on Friday, July 21 at 7:30 pm. (See our concert listings for details about the semi-final, concerto and recital rounds that will determine who plays in the finals.) [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: Two Concerts and a toast (June 29 & July 1)

by

by Mike Telin

CFCJune29Mixon-1Last weekend ChamberFest Cleveland presented the final three concerts of its 2017 edition. I attended two of the performances which exemplified why the Festival has become a crown jewel in the area’s rich classical music scene. The inventive programming ranged from the almost never heard, to the seldom heard, to music by giants of the repertoire. Above all, the performances of the five works were beyond reproach. [Read more…]

ENCORE Chamber Music: the Milton String Quartet (June 30)

by

by Mike Telin

Milton-FischoffIt’s always a pleasure to hear performances by young musicians who are at the beginning stage of their professional careers. This was the case on Friday, June 30 when ENCORE Chamber Music presented an outstanding recital by the Milton String Quartet in the Tudor House at Gilmour Academy. [Read more…]

Chautauqua Opera: a conversation with director Steve Osgood

by

by Mike Telin

norton_hallNow that summer is officially upon us, it’s time to take profit of the many cultural activities that Northeast Ohio offers. But if you’re searching for something just outside the region, why not follow the lead of many area residents and head toward Jamestown, New York to the Chautauqua Institution?  A two-and-a-half-hour drive from Cleveland, Chautauqua is the perfect summer getaway.

Located on 750 acres on Chautauqua Lake, the Institution was founded in 1874 by inventor Lewis Miller and Methodist Bishop John Heyl Vincent as a teaching camp for Sunday school teachers. Today it offers a variety of public programs that explore the important religious, social and political issues of our times. The Institution also offers recreational and cultural activities including popular entertainment, theater, symphony, ballet, and visual arts exhibitions. [Read more…]

Kent/Blossom Festival: a conversation with Kulas Guest Artist Jennifer Koh

by

by Mike Telin

Koh-Jennifer-2017Violinist Jennifer Koh is fascinating. Born in Chicago of Korean parents, she made her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 11. In 1994, while she was pursuing a degree in English Literature at Oberlin, she won the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

After furthering her musical studies at Curtis, the violinist began carving a career path that has led to collaborations with artists from many disciplines, and creating projects that bridges music from all eras — traditional to contemporary. She has also premiered more than 60 works written especially for her.

This week Jennifer Koh will return to Northeast Ohio as this year’s Kent Blossom Music Festival Kulas Guest Artist. On Wednesday, June 28, at 7:30 pm in Ludwig Recital Hall, Koh will perform a solo violin recital featuring J.S. Bach’s Sonata No. 2 in a, BWV 1003 and the Partita No. 2 in d, BWV 1004. [Read more…]

Anderson & Roe to be guest artists for Kent State Piano Institute June 16

by

by Mike Telin

22-AndersonRoe-by-Woodrow-LeungWhen pianists Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe left their respective hometowns in the Midwest to pursue their undergraduate studies at the Juilliard School, the two found themselves by happenstance assigned to the same floor of the famed music school’s dormitory.

The two became fast friends and soon discovered that they had a shared mission for their musical lives: to make classical music a relevant and powerful force in society. And both had big dreams of how to do that — by presenting programs that represent the vast range of the human experience.

On Friday, June 16 at 7:30 pm in Ludwig Recital Hall, Kent State Piano Institute will present a guest recital by the always entertaining piano duo Anderson & Roe. [Read more…]

ChamberFest Cleveland: a chat with pianist & CIM grad Andrius Žlabys

by

by Mike Telin

ZlabysOn Thursday, June 15 at 7:30 pm in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Diana and Franklin Cohen’s always imaginative ChamberFest Cleveland kicks off its sixth season with a concert titled “Cycles — Phases” featuring Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and Elgar’s Piano Quintet in a. The evening will also include John Adams’ playful Hallelujah Junction for two pianos. “This is quite a piece,” pianist Andrius Žlabys said during a telephone conversation. “It’s amazingly challenging, and I’m looking forward to working with Roman Rabinovich for the first time.”

Thursday’s concert marks Žlabys’ first-ever ChamberFest performance as well as a sort of homecoming — the Lithuanian-born pianist spent five years studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music where he was a student of Sergei Babayan. [Read more…]

New director Ricardo Sepulveda talks about 2017 Kent/Blossom Festival

by

by Mike Telin

SepulvedaBeginning next week, 43 young classical musicians from around the globe will gather on the campus of Kent State University to begin five weeks of intensive chamber music study with members of The Cleveland Orchestra as well as other renowned artists in the field. Alumni of the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, founded in 1968 by George Szell and Louis Lane, have gone on to hold positions in many of the world’s major orchestras and ensembles.

“This summer we have twelve international students, as well as participants from Juilliard, Rice, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin, the University of Akron, Northwestern, and Kent State as well as others,” KBMF Director Ricardo Sepulveda, who was appointed to his position in late March, said during a recent telephone conversation. “It’s exciting, and I look forward to this season. This Festival is close to my heart, and I’m excited and honored to be leading it.” [Read more…]

Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival welcomes David Russell for his festival debut

by

by Mike Telin

Russell-DavidWhen David Russell last performed in Cleveland in March of 2014, James Flood wrote in ClevelandClassical.com that the celebrated guitarist produced “just the right tone color for a given phrase or, in some cases, a single note, all done with such naturalness it’s as if his fingers instinctively know just where to go.”

On Saturday, June 10 at 8:00 pm in Mixon Hall, Russell will return to Cleveland for his debut performance on the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival. He will also present free public masterclasses on Friday, June 9 at 3:00 and Sunday, June 11 at 4:30 in CIM’s Studio 113. [Read more…]

Follow ClevelandClassical.com

Contact us