by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

At noon at the Church of the Covenant, organist Don Verkuijlen will play music by American composer Myron Roberts (1912-2004), who joined the faculty of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1940, where he taught organ and music theory for 34 years and also served as organist of First-Plymouth Congregational Church. Click here for the live stream.

For more performances, visit our Concert Listings.

R.I.P. SIR ANDREW DAVIS:

British conductor Sir Andrew Davis passed away on April 20 at the age of 80 in Chicago, where he was being treated for leukemia.

In an obituary for The Guardian, Barry Millington wrote that Davis “was a familiar presence on the podium, not least through his countless appearances at the BBC Proms in his capacity as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1989-2000). [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:

Orchestra Concerts include the final Cleveland Orchestra performances led by Klaus Mäkelä and featuring pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Saturday at 8), the Contemporary Youth Orchestra (Saturday at 7 pm, Tri-C Metro Auditorium), the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (pictured, Saturday at 7:30 in Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall), and the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra with pianist Donna Lee (Sunday at 3:30 at Severance Music Center.)

Chamber Music performances include the Cleveland Chamber Collective in the premiere of Ty Alan Emerson’s OATH BREAKER (Saturday at 7:30 at Disciples Church), and Cleveland Composers Guild with the Factory Seconds Trio (Sunday at 3 at West Shore Church.)

Vocal Music includes a concert by the vocal ensemble Good Company led by Michael Carney and featuring bassist Tom Flowers and percussionist Andrew Pongracz (Sunday at 4 at Lakewood Presbyterian.)

For more performances, visit our Concert Listings. [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

At 7 pm, the Baldwin Wallace Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Community Arts School Dance Concert includes a staging of Milhaud’s La Creation du Monde ballet.

Tonight at 7:30, guest conductor Klaus Mäkelä continues his second week of Cleveland Orchestra performances featuring pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in George Gershwin’s Concerto in F. Mäkelä begins the program with Darius Milhaud’s Le Boeuf sur le toit, and ends with Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (program repeated Saturday at 8).

At the same hour, the Cleveland Museum of Art presents Sybarite5, “chamber music’s most dynamic ensemble, taking listeners on a musical journey of staggering breadth and depth with new works by living composers as well as the group’s favorite selections from Radiohead, John Coltrane, Komitas, Astor Piazzolla, and Pete Seeger.” [Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Tonight at 7:30, guest conductor Klaus Mäkelä begins his second week of Cleveland Orchestra performances featuring pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in George Gershwin’s Concerto in F. Mäkelä begins the program with Darius Milhaud’s Le Boeuf sur le toit, and ends with Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (program repeated Friday at 7:30 and Saturday at 8).

And tonight at 7, the Avon High School Chamber Orchestra will present Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons featuring professional soloists Mary Beth Ions, Victor Beyans, Samuel Rotberg and Carrie Singler. Proceeds benefit the student musicians and the Avon Local School District music program.

For other forthcoming performances, visit our Concert Listings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

On Wednesday, The Cleveland Orchestra announced details of its 80th international tour. “Over the course of two weeks from August 26 to September 7, the Orchestra will travel to Berlin, Helsinki, Lucerne, Ansfelden, Bratislava, and Vienna, and will be joined by Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson in Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto for four of the performances.” Download a press release here.

Violinist Jinjoo Cho has been appointed to the faculty of the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL beginning in September.

[Read more…]

by Daniel Hathaway

HAPPENING TODAY:

Two of Cleveland’s distinguished pianists will be featured in events today. At noon, Antonio Pompa-Baldi will play in the Atrium of the Cleveland Museum of Art, and tonight at 7:30, faculty pianist Sergei Babyan will solo in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with guest conductor Sarah Hicks and the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra in Mandel Hall at Severance Music Center. Also on the program, Boulanger’s D’un matin du printemps & Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite (1919).

Also today at noon, organist Noah Duckwall will play works by Francisco Correa de Arauxo, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Matthias Weckmann, J.S.Bach & Dieterich Buxtehude at the Church of the Covenant. Click here for the live stream.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Cleveland Orchestra violinist Jessica Lee is leaving the ensemble to take up a position as full time chair of the violin department at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Read a press release here.

“Rhiannon Giddens, the genre-defying singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who trained as an operatic soprano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, will deliver the keynote address for Oberlin College and Conservatory’s Commencement ceremony honoring the Class of 2024 on Monday, May 27. She will also be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree.” Read a press release here.

The Canton Symphony has announced the opening of part-time positions on its administrative staff for marketing & development assistant and personnel manager. Read more here. [Read more…]