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In Memoriam:
J.D. Goddard, a tribute

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by Mario Buchanan

On Friday evening, February 14, we lost a great, Dr. J.D. Goddard. We have many teachers who influence our decisions, but there is always one who helps solidify what we want to do with our lives. J.D. was mine.

I first met J.D. when I was in high school. Nancy Ulrich,  my voice teacher at the time, told me about a choir she sang in: Master Singers Inc., of which J.D. was the Founder and Artistic Director. Nancy and I recorded an audition tape to send to J.D. He accepted me and told Nancy to bring me along to rehearsals. My first meeting with J.D. was probably typical — I was intimidated by his tall stature, but immediately put at ease by his calm and caring nature.

The first concert I sang with the group was the Verdi Requiem. I was 14 years old. Throughout high school and the beginning of college, I got to sing some of the greatest pieces of choral literature: Brahms’ and Mozart’s Requiems, Vierne’s and Widor’s Messes Solennelles, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Schumann’s Requiem, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, and the list goes on and on. [Read more…]

Michael Tilson Thomas returns to Severance Hall as composer & conductor

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by Mike Telin

Since winning the Koussevitzky Prize at Tanglewood in 1969, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas’ celebrated career has been well documented. His relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra dates back to August of 1974, when he led two programs at Blossom Music Center. He made his Severance Hall debut in November of 1978 —  his most recent appearance was in March of 2018.

On Thursday, February 20 at 7:30 pm, Michael Tilson Thomas will return to the Severance Hall podium to lead performances of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique as well as his own Meditations on Rilke, featuring mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and bass-baritone Dashon Burton. The program will be repeated on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

“I recently heard Cleveland give a staggeringly virtuoso performance of Mahler 5 and I’m eager to make some great music with them,” Thomas said by telephone from Miami, where he founded the New World Symphony in 1987 and serves as its artistic director. [Read more…]

fp Creative: Melanie Emig’s surround-sound gallery of music

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Imagine the thrill of sampling ice cream without being a burden on the person scooping it, and without the sighs of people in line behind you. Now switch out the flavors for different types of music performed by area vocalists, and you have a good idea of the next concert from fp Creative.

“Samples” is in fact the name of the show at Snap House Studios on Thursday, February 20. Designed by guest producer Melanie Emig, the program ranges from Medieval music to hip hop, R&B, folk, global music, blues, soul, contemporary classical, and guided listening — each short performance coming from a different spot around the edges of the room, as the audience sits in the center and takes it all in.

The evening’s vocalists include Elena Mullins, Case Bargé, Amanda Powell, Liz Bullock, Rayna, Seyu, Naomi Columna, and Emig herself. Also featured is theorbist Jeremy Bass. Doors open at 7:00 pm, music begins at 7:45, and tickets between $0-15 are available onsite.

[Read more…]

Schola Antiqua Chicago to explore Renaissance music in Prague at St. John’s

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by Daniel Hathaway

In 2013, the last time Schola Antiqua of Chicago visited the Helen D. Schubert concert series at St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Cleveland, the vocal ensemble took a look inside the world of Guillaume de Machaut. On Friday evening, February 21 at 7:30 pm, Michael Alan Anderson will lead his eight singers in “Slavic Routes: Music from Renaissance Prague.” A freewill offering will be received.

In a telephone conversation from Rochester, NY, where Anderson teaches musicology at the Eastman School of Music, the conductor noted that his singers have already performed the program in Chicago in 2016. “It’s been curated by Erika Honisch, a professor at SUNY Stony Brook, and is based on research that is soon to be released as a book.”

Anderson said that part of the mission of Schola Antiqua is to explore the canon of early vocal music, but also to draw on recent research and “to package programs under themes.” The Prague program, for example, seeks to serve up a slice of musical life in that important capital of the Holy Roman Empire around the year 1600. [Read more…]

In memoriam
George Vassos: a tribute to a
teacher, mentor, and friend

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by Joanne Uniatowski

At the crossroads of music and words, one finds inspiration in song. Meeting George Vassos in 1992 at the Cleveland Institute of Music was for me the beginning of an incredible journey into a life filled with song. As I began my doctoral studies at CIM, George not only became my teacher, but also my mentor, and most significantly, my friend.

George’s number one gift to his students was an infectious love for words and music, whether in art song, opera, or oratorio. He continually encouraged us to honor the words, infuse them with meaning, and share them with our audience. He encouraged us to soar. He allowed us to fail. And in all things he opened his heart to each one of us.

Over the years, I know that George saw in me far more than I saw in myself. He provided opportunities for me to teach his younger students, to teach young artists in the Lyric Opera Cleveland summer season, and eventually to serve as executive director of the Art Song Festival from 2001-2016. [Read more…]

Akron Symphony Chorus: a conversation with assistant director Karen Ni Bhroin

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by Daniel Hathaway

Through a lucky series of encounters, Irish conductor Karen Ni Bhroin (pronounced Knee VRIN) found her way first to graduate studies at Kent State University, then to the assistant conductor’s position with the Akron Symphony Chorus, and most recently — the news came down just this morning — to her appointment as assistant conductor with the Winston-Salem Symphony.

In that second capacity, the 29-year-old conductor is preparing the Akron Symphony Chorus for its performance of the Mozart Requiem under Christopher Wilkins on Saturday evening, February 22 at E.J. Thomas Hall.

I reached Ni Bhroin by telephone to ask how that chain of events got started. “I had been freelancing in Dublin for five years after my undergraduate degree at Trinity College, and in 2013 I met Jungho Kim, who was finishing his doctorate at Eastman,” she said. “We were Facebook friends, and he posted in 2018 that he was looking for an assistant at Kent State, and that’s how it all started. I applied and I won the position. [Read more…]

Contemporary Guitar Duo FretX to play at Transformer Station 

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by Mike Telin

There are many reasons musicians decide to form an ensemble. For the contemporary guitar duo FretX, Mak Grgic and Daniel Lippel, it was the need to borrow an instrument. “I first met Mak through Peter Robles of Serious Music Media,” Lippel said during a telephone conversation. “He needed to borrow an electric guitar for a performance. I knew Peter and he hooked him up with me. We started talking and Peter suggested that we play a duo concert sometime and we thought it was a cool idea. The thing is, Mak lives in Los Angeles and I’m in New York, so this is a both coasts duo. The logistics have a way of framing the nature of the group, but it’s working out.”

On Monday, February 24 at 7:30 pm at Transformer Station, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Performing Arts Series will present FretX. The concert will include works by Courtney Bryan, Laura Schwartz, Gity Razaz, Miroslav Tadić, Daniel Lippel, and Helmut Lachenmann. Tickets are available online.

Recognizing the fact that there were already plenty of great guitar duos in the United States, on the advice of Robles, the two guitarists decided to go in a different direction. [Read more…]

Coming to BW: musical theater songs of Daniel Ruffing, inspired by the Internet

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Internet memes as musical inspiration? Composer Daniel Ruffing has written musical theater songs based on viral videos like Kylie Jenner’s singsong greeting to her young daughter (“Rise and Shine”), a driver’s surprising reaction to a construction sign (“Road Work Ahead”), and one woman’s first impression of a new drink (“Kombucha Girl”).

Ruffing has also written songs inspired by the TV show The Good Place, and he’s working on a musical about YouTube celebrity Jenna Marbles — whose name graces an upcoming show of Ruffing’s music. “He’s Lost His Marbles” takes place on Sunday, February 23 at 7:00 pm at Baldwin Wallace’s Gamble Auditorium, presented by the University’s Arts Management Association. Tickets are available online.

Among the selections on that program will be one of Ruffing’s biggest hits: the hilarious, wacky, and adult-language-heavy I Want To Be Tall. One verse goes like this: 

[Read more…]

Canton Symphony & Youth Symphony to play side-by-side this weekend

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by Mike Telin

For those of us who had the good fortune to be part of a youth symphony system, we cherish those days fondly for the rest of our lives. We remember the first time when, while still young students, we were invited to join the ranks of a professional orchestra. All of a sudden, you realized that you had entered a whole new ballgame.

On Sunday, February 16 at 3:00 pm in Umstattd Hall, members of the Canton Youth Symphony will have that opportunity when they join with the Canton Symphony for side-by-side performances of Sibelius’ Finlandia and Walton’s Crown Imperial Coronation March, under the direction of Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz. The program will also include Nicolai’s Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”) performed by the Canton Symphony. A concert prelude with Jaroszewicz begins at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

“I am very excited about this opportunity,” CYS concertmaster Karl Helmuth said in a conference call during his morning study hall at Hoover High School, where he is a junior. [Read more…]

Cleveland Classical Guitar Society to present Beijing Guitar Duo

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by Mike Telin

If you’re looking for something special to share with your significant other for Valentine’s Day, why not take in a classical guitar concert? On Saturday, February 15 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church, the Beijing Guitar Duo — Meng Su and Yameng Wang — will return to the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society stage with a program of music by J.S. Bach, Debussy, Tan Dun, Chen Yi, and Piazzolla. Buy your tickets in advance here. 

“We’re looking forward to being back in Cleveland,” Meng Su said by telephone from Knoxville, Tennessee, the sixth stop on their month-long, twelve-city tour. I began our conversation by asking her about their eclectic program. 

Mike Telin: You and Yameng are getting down to business from the beginning with Bach’s “Chaconne.”

Meng Su: Yes. This arrangement is after the Busoni arrangement for piano — he added a lot of harmonies and made it more Romantic, but kept the essence of Bach’s writing. The arrangement we’re playing is by the German guitarist Ulrich Stracke. It works very well. We’ve been playing it for many years. The “Chaconne” is such a big task but as you get older you begin to understand it more. Now that Yameng has become a mother — she has a two-month old daughter — and I have started teaching in Hong Kong at the Academy for the Performing Arts, I think we have a deeper understanding of it. I’m sure we will be playing it for the rest of our lives.

[Read more…]

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