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Apollo’s Fire: Alan Choo shines light on Winter Sparks from Bach & Vivaldi

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By Mike Telin

Logging onto Zoom from Singapore, Apollo’s Fire concertmaster and assistant artistic director Alan Choo was in high spirits. “We just finished a dress rehearsal with Red Dot Baroque, Singapore’s first professional Baroque orchestra. It’s been around since 2018.”

Choo was especially excited to talk about his upcoming Apollo’s Fire concerts. He said what unifies the six works on “Winter Sparks” is that the composers take their works’ thematic material and pass it around to different soloists.

“Sometimes the music feels like a friendly conversation, sometimes it feels like a love duet, and sometimes it feels like a duo that is exploring the rhetoric of the conversation between soloists, which I think is quite interesting.”

On Thursday, January 29 at 7:30 pm at First United Methodist Church in Cuyahoga Falls, Apollo’s Fire will debut Winter Sparks from Bach & Vivaldi. The program will be repeated at 7:30 on January 30 & 31 at 7:30 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights and Federated Church in Chagrin Falls, and at 4:00 pm on February 1 at Rocky River Presbyterian Church. A pre-concert conversation with oboist Debra Nagy, hosted by Alan Choo, will take place one hour before each performance. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Relic Ensemble takes a deep dive into The Odyssey

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by Mike Telin

What is there not to like about Homer’s Odyssey? The ancient Greek epic chronicles the warrior Odysseus’s ten year journey home following the Trojan War during which he is confronted by storms, monsters, and temptations.

On Sunday, January 18 at 7:30 pm at Heights Theater, the period instrument Relic Ensemble will present “The Odyssey.” The one-hour, original program will be presented without intermission. Tickets are available online.

I spoke with violinist Aniela Eddy and cellist Cullen O’Neil, two of the group’s founders and began by asking them where their Odyssey begins. [Read more…]

No Exit and Zeitgeist: An Evocation of Our Current Time

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by Mike Telin

NO EXIT evocation_jan_2026This week Cleveland-based No Exit and St. Paul-based Zeitgeist will continue their long-standing collaboration with “An Evocation of Our Current Time.” This 55-minute multimedia experience draws on improvisation, film, artificial intelligence, environmental manipulation, lies, magic, gaslighting and other forms of chicanery.

The 7:00 pm free performances are on Thursday at Trinity Cathedral, Friday at SPACES, and Saturday at Heights Arts.

No Exit’s Laura King spoke with artistic director/composer Tim Beyer about how the ensemble’s recent Surreality season reshaped their creative trajectory, why it’s important for artists to grapple with the foundational instability of “now,” and how audiences might react when confronted with a work that both mirrors and distorts the world we inhabit.

The interview is reposted with the permission of the ensemble and author. 

Laura King: Tim, please talk about how Surreality reshaped your thinking about what a No Exit concert can be, and how An Evocation of Our Current Time has grown out of that evolution.

[Read more…]

Apollo’s Fire to bring back Praetorius Christmas Vespers

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by Mike Telin

On Friday, December 12 at 7:00 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Akron, Apollo’s Fire will revive its popular Praetorius’ Christmas Vespers under the direction of Jeannette Sorrell.

Soloists include sopranos Rebecca Myers, Andréa Walker, and Molly Netter, countertenor Doug Dodson, tenors Michael Jones and Matthew Newhouse, and bass Matthew Dexter along with Apollo’s Singers, and members of Apollo’s Musettes (Treble Youth Choir). The program will be repeated at 7:00 pm on the 18th and 19th at Trinity Cathedral, 7:00 pm on the 20th at First Baptist Church, and at 4:00 pm on the 21st at St. Raphael Catholic Church. Tickets are available online.

I caught up with Jeannette Sorrell on Zoom and began our conversation by asking her when she first created the program.

Jeannette Sorrell: Exactly 20 years ago. So, we’re bringing it back on the 20th anniversary of the premiere. [Read more…]

Arts Renaissance Tremont presents Burning River Brass: a holiday tradition

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by Mike Telin

According to HISTORY.com, “the Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic ‘rebirth’ following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art.”

Founded in 1991 with a mission to enhance the quality and diversity of life in Tremont by providing the fine arts with a greater presence in its neighborhood, Arts Renaissance Tremont has played an important role in creating community and fostering a greater appreciation for the arts through accessible artistic programs.

Although the organization has experienced some setbacks over the past few years, taking a cue from that period in history and their own name, Arts Renaissance Tremont (ART) will return to its founding home, Pilgrim Church UCC, to launch its 34th season with a performance by Burning River Brass on Friday, December 19 at 7:00. The concert is free. [Read more…]

Music at Main presents the Daniel Bennett Group

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by Max Newman

The downtown Cleveland Public Library is no stranger to presenting eclectic musical offerings. Through its Music at Main series, the library’s fine arts department is transformed into a concert space on select Saturday afternoons, a recurring event which has platformed an ever-widening spectrum of genres and styles since its inception.

At 2:00 pm on December 6, the Daniel Bennett Group will continue this trend. the trio, led by their namesake saxophonist, will bring a self-described “mix of jazz, folk, and minimalism” to the third-floor lobby. I spoke with Bennett over the phone about the upcoming performance.

Bennett says his journey with the sax began in his formative years in Rochester, New York. Kickstarted by a particularly striking performance at a high school jazz concert. “I heard a kid play the Pink Panther theme on tenor saxophone, and that was life changing for me.” From that point, Bennett said he did all he could to further his bond with the instrument. “I went through the school band program, concert band and marching band, and I taught myself to play guitar on the side. I was writing songs and singing and  playing in church 2 or 3 times a week. I was doing everything.”

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra’s Messiah: a conversation with soprano Liv Redpath

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By Mike Telin

“One of my favorite things to do is to sing with the Cleveland Orchestra,” soprano Liv Redpath said during a telephone conversation. “There’s really no better orchestra — it’s kind of freakish how great they are.”

On Thursday, December 4 at 7:30 at Severance Music Center, Redpath will join her solo quartet colleagues — countertenor Tim Mead, tenor Andrew Haji, and bass-baritone Philippe Sly — when Bernard Labadie leads The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus in Handel’s Messiah. The program will be repeated on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available online.

Redpath looks forward to once again working with Labadie, who she said brings a great balance to classical and Baroque music. “Bernard has a huge heart and passion for this music and making it alive. But behind that is a deep knowledge of the structure that makes the music tick like a really beautiful Swiss clock. I’m excited to once again sing with The Cleveland Orchestra, but I have not performed with them together with Bernard, so that’s going to be a treat.”

[Read more…]

“The Great Comet” Starts Something New

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by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

When the characters in Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace saw the Great Comet of 1812, “they thought either the world was ending or a new life was beginning,” says Professor of Music Theater Victoria Bussert.

That symbolism of change resonated with the director and professor, who joined the Oberlin faculty this fall to launch the Music Theater program. “For all of us, this is a new life beginning,” she says, “and I really wanted to use that image in our inaugural production.”

No better show for that than Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, which was created by Dave Malloy and adapted from a small section of Tolstoy’s famously lengthy novel. The Tony Award-winning musical follows the separate stories of the romantically conflicted Natasha and the disillusioned Pierre, combining an eclectic blend of musical genres with an intimate staging. Oberlin’s upcoming production will run at the Wurtzel Theater December 3-7 and December 9-10. [Read more…]

Pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi shows his support for Ukraine with a performance in Kyiv

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by Stephanie Manning

Pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi is no stranger to the life of a traveling musician. When I spoke with the pianist via Zoom earlier this month, he was wrapping up performances in his home country of Italy and preparing for a few days in Germany and then Cleveland, where he is Distinguished Professor of Piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

But his next destination will bring some new challenges — and new rewards. On Saturday, November 29, Pompa-Baldi will perform Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, conducted by Theodore Kuchar. The concert takes place in Kyiv’s historic Lysenko Hall, and getting there requires the pianist to fly to Warsaw before taking a 16-hour train ride across the border.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra: a conversation with James Feddeck

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by Mike Telin

“I’ve always had a special place in my mind and in my heart for The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra,” James Feddeck said during a Zoom conversation. “These young people are so exceptional — they humble me.”

On Friday, November 21 at 8:00 pm, James Feddeck, who served as COYO’s music director for four seasons from 2009-2013, will return to Severance Music Center to lead the ensemble in a program that includes his own suite from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet, and César Franck’s Symphony in D minor. Tickets are available online.

Feddeck, who is currently serving as principal conductor and musical advisor of The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, said that he chose Romeo and Juliet because it is a compelling story. “I’ve selected several movements and different sections from Prokofiev’s full ballet to create a suite that’s about a half hour long. What’s appealing about it is the color and the energy that is in the music. There is literally something colorful and virtuosic for every section of the orchestra to play.”

Feddeck said that while the Prokofiev is a great exploration of rhythm, Franck’s Symphony is a beautiful exploration of sound. “It’s a thick orchestration, so it gives the players an opportunity to work on their tone quality, articulation, and blending — creating a sense of ensemble.”

[Read more…]

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