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Dipping into the holidays: chatting with Cleveland Chamber Choir mezzo & managing director Kira McGirr

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by Jarrett Hoffman

One minute, plastic skeletons dangle from rows of porches. Next, the country fixates on turkeys. Then a menagerie of menorahs and evergreens take the scene.

In other words, the last few months can be a lot to handle, even without singing in and managing a choir — or taking care of sick and injured children. “One son has a broken arm, and my other son has pneumonia,” Kira McGirr, Cleveland Chamber Choir mezzo-soprano and the group’s new Managing Director, told me recently over the phone. “So things are a little intense, but they’re both back to school now.”

Speedy recoveries to them. Meanwhile, McGirr and her husband, Oberlin Conservatory musicologist Charles Edward McGuire, will balance caretaking and preparations for the Choir’s first-ever holiday offerings. Their two free concerts led by artistic director Scott MacPherson will take place on Saturday, December 8 at the Church of the Covenant in Cleveland, and Sunday, December 9 at Christ Episcopal Church in Oberlin, both at 7:30 pm. McGuire will talk about the music at 6:45 pm on both dates.

[Read more…]

No Exit continues Cleveland Composers Series this week

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by Tian Yoon Teh

This poem served as inspiration for Hong-Da Chin’s …the arc of a tear…, which depicts a tear flowing down one’s face very slowly.

You can hear Chin’s vivid work when No Exit continues their Cleveland Composers Series on Saturday, December 8 at 3:00 pm at the Bop Stop. Joining the ensemble will be special guest Patchwork Duo — Noa Even, saxophone, and Stephen Klunk, drum set. The evening will include works by James Praznik, Colin Holter, Ty Emerson, and Timothy Beyer. The program will be repeated on Friday, December 14 at 8:00 pm at SPACES. As always, the concerts are free.

What is striking about the Chinese influence in composition is the poetry of images depicted in sound. Chin uses such imagery in his recent works. When asked about …the arc of a tear… during a telephone conversation, Chin laughed. “The title is exactly what the piece is. In fact, I now like to compose with a title first!” [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra: Leila Josefowicz to solo in Scheherazade.2 with the composer on the podium

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by Jarrett Hoffman

In some cases, a compelling background or story is at least half the appeal of a piece of music — and John Adams’ Scheherazade.2 certainly tells an interesting tale. But while violinist Leila Josefowicz fully appreciates that side of the concerto, there’s something else she thinks is important to say.

“We can talk endlessly about the narrative of this piece, and what it means, and what it symbolizes,” she said during a recent telephone conversation. “But man, what I really love is that at the end of the day, it’s just a great, great piece of music. Even if it had no narrative, no political agenda, it would still be a total masterwork.”

Josefowicz, for whom Adams wrote Scheherazade.2, will tackle the concerto this week with The Cleveland Orchestra behind her, and Adams himself on the podium to her side. The rest of the program is fascinating too. Adams will take the Orchestra for a Short Ride in a Fast Machine — another of his own works — in addition to leading two pieces by Copland: the Suite from Appalachian Spring (in its 1945 orchestration) and Quiet City, featuring two Cleveland Orchestra members as soloists, principal trumpet Michael Sachs and solo English horn Robert Walters.

[Read more…]

No Exit: Cleveland Composers Series

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by Mike Telin

Since its founding, the inimitable new music ensemble No Exit has regularly given a voice to area composers, and the ensemble will continue that tradition with its upcoming Cleveland Composers Series. The program spotlights five new works by composers who are recognized for their singular and distinctive voices.

On Friday, November 30 at 8:00 pm at Cleveland State University’s Drinko Hall, No Exit will be joined by special guest Patchwork Duo — Noa Even, saxophone, and Stephen Klunk, drum set. The evening will include works by James Praznik, Colin Holter, Hong-Da Chin, Ty Emerson, and Timothy Beyer. The program will be repeated on Saturday, December 8 at 3:00 pm at the Bop Stop and Friday, December 14 at 8:00 pm at SPACES. As always, the concerts are free.

“For a long time, composers have sought inspiration from finding connections between music and other mediums of art,” No Exit artistic director Timothy Beyer said during a telephone conversation. “This series of concerts features a few works that fit that bill.”

[Read more…]

Wine, doodling, flutes, and jazz piano: Urban Troubadour’s “Concert of Creativity”

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by Jarrett Hoffman

“I’m really excited about the kinds of concerts that we’re making happen,” Urban Troubadour flutist and artistic director Jane Berkner told me during a recent conversation. “They’re not only cultural events, they’re also social events. I’m finding that our audiences are enjoying meeting each other over a glass of wine and cultural activity.”

And for those whose creative juices get flowing after a little bit of vino — as some of us may have experienced, or at least witnessed, during a round of post-Thanksgiving Charades — this next Urban Troubadour concert on Saturday, December 1 at WhiteSpace Creative in Akron might be one to circle on the calendar.

Things start off at 5:00 pm with wine, small bites, and doodling. 6:00 brings the main event: a concert by Berkner (flute and piccolo), George Pope (flute and alto flute), and Eric Charnofsky (piano), who together will take on a wide-ranging program of works by eight composers of five nationalities. Then at 7:30, jazz pianist Theron Brown will play while audience members make something creative to take home. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Collegium Musicum Oberliniense November 30 and December 1

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by Abigail Hakel-Garcia

Choosing works that complement one another is not always an easy task. That is, unless a theme emerges. For this weekend’s concerts, Collegium Musicum Oberliniese director Steven Plank has chosen a program that juxtaposes the music of two composers who are usually cast as polar opposites —  Giovanni da Palestrina and Claudio Monteverdi.

On Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1 at 8:00 pm in Fairchild Chapel, Plank will lead the ensemble in Jean Mouton’s Nesciens mater, Claudio Monteverdi’s Adoramus te, Christe a6, Felle amaro, O stellae coruscantes and Ave maris stella, Giovanni da Palestrina’s Missa Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La, Eric Whitacre’s Lux arumque, and Giovanni Gabrieli’s Cantate domino. The concerts are free and open to the public.

In his program notes, Plank suggests that while Palestrina was the musical icon of Counter-Reformation Rome, on the other hand, Claudio Monteverdi claims an equally iconic status as the master of seventeenth-century musical modernism. [Read more…]

F. Lorée Oboe Day at Oberlin December 2

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by Mike Telin

When you think of instrument makers, certain names immediately come to mind. There are Stradivarius violins and Steinway pianos, but what about the oboe? “I’ve been playing a Lorée since I was fifteen years old,” Cleveland Orchestra solo English Horn and Oberlin Conservatory Oboe Professor Robert Walters said during a recent interview. “It’s an interesting history that goes back many generations of American oboe playing, and it started with that company.”

On Sunday, December 2 Oberlin Conservatory and the Paris-based company will come together for F. Lorée Oboe Day. Hosted by Walters, the day will include a Q&A session with Lorée president Alain de Gourdon, a recital, master class, reed class, and instrument exhibit. The day is free and open to the public. Click here to view a complete schedule.

Founded in 1881 by François Lorée, the company is the oldest firm specializing in the making of oboes. Since 1935, the company has been run by the de Gourdon family. Walters said that Lorée has been part of similar events at music schools around the country. “I’ve always wanted to invite them to do one here at Oberlin. I did, and they were thrilled.  So I invited some of my friends and students who have big jobs.” [Read more…]

New violinist, new piece: Cleveland Chamber Music Society presents the Juilliard String Quartet

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Armed with both a new first violinist, Areta Zhulla, and a new piece by Lembit Beecher, the Juilliard String Quartet will head to Plymouth Church on Tuesday, November 27 for a 7:30 pm concert presented by the Cleveland Chamber Music Society.

Zhulla joined her new colleagues — violinist Ronald Copes, cellist Astrid Schween, and violist Roger Tapping — in September. That same month, the Quartet premiered Beecher’s One Hundred Years Grows Shorter Over Time, commissioned for them to honor the centennial of the South Mountain Concerts series in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Born in Greece, Zhulla went on to study at the Juilliard School and join CMS Two of Lincoln Center, making her name as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician performing across multiple continents. She’s been named “Young Artist of the Year” by the National Critics Association in Greece, and is a recipient of the Triandi Career Grant and the Tassos Prassopoulos Foundation Award.

[Read more…]

Nicholas McGegan returns to Severance Hall for a “terrific concert for families”

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by Mike Telin

Whether it’s the sounds of birds, whales, or summer storms, for centuries humans have turned to the natural world for musical inspiration. While there is a seemingly endless list of nature-inspired works, one that stands out as a perennial favorite is Antonio Vivaldi’s set of violin concertos — Le quattro stagioni (“The Four Seasons”).

This weekend at Severance Hall, you can hear the sounds of chirping birds, rippling creeks, barking dogs, buzzing flies, and storms when violinist Peter Otto, guest conductor Nicholas McGegan, and The Cleveland Orchestra reunite for three performances of Vivaldi’s groundbreaking work. The program, which also includes music by Mozart (Chaconne from Idomeneo) and Haydn (Symphony No. 94), will be presented on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

For McGegan, these concerts are extra-special for a number of reasons. “For me, working with The Cleveland Orchestra is like being given a Rolls-Royce and an infinite supply of gas,” the affable conductor said during a telephone conversation. “I think this is my tenth visit to work with them, so I hope we’re good pals by now. And this will be a terrific concert for families who are looking for something to do during the Thanksgiving weekend.”

[Read more…]

Cellist Seth Parker Woods to present “Dehiscence: A Sonic Radicalisation” on LCCC Signature Recital Series

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by Jarrett Hoffman

There’s nothing like learning a new word you can use to charming effect in conversation with your friends, co-workers, and dates. Like dehiscence — meaning ‘a splitting open,’ often of a surgical wound.

On second thought, best to leave out the wound aspect and focus on the musical side of the word, thought up by cellist Seth Parker Woods. As he told me during a recent telephone conversation, what interests him is the splitting open of divisions between periods of music. “I’m finding an opening, essentially, and fusing two worlds into one.”

Those worlds are the 17th-century Italian Baroque, and the 20th- and 21st-century avant-garde. He’ll set those genres against each other in “Dehiscence: A Sonic Radicalisation,” a free concert of solo cello music on Tuesday, November 27 at 8:00 pm at LCCC’s Cirigliano Studio Theatre, presented as part of the Signature Recital Series.

[Read more…]

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