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Soprano Katherine Jolly, BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, and Cleveland Chamber Choir unite for “I Believe!”

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by Stephanie Manning

Since joining the Oberlin Conservatory voice faculty in 2019, soprano Katherine Jolly has kept up with her performing career. But doing so usually takes her outside of Northeast Ohio.

“ I travel a lot for my outside engagements,” she said in a recent interview. So, being the featured soloist on a program with both the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra and Cleveland Chamber Choir “is pretty special.”

On Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 pm, the two local ensembles will collaborate to present “I Believe! Knitted Voices of Justice and Faith.” The concert at Cleveland’s Trinity Cathedral concludes both groups’ anniversary seasons: the 15th for BlueWater and the 10th for the Chamber Choir. Pay-what-you-wish tickets are available online, and the event will also be live streamed. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra: Allison Loggins-Hull’s Grit. Grace. Glory.

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by Mike Telin

When Allison Loggins-Hull was named The Cleveland Orchestra’s Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow, she hoped that the three-year fellowship would culminate in a large work informed by the city the Orchestra calls home. And she thought the best way to do that was to get to know its people and community organizations.

“It takes time to do this kind of work in a meaningful way,” she told ClevelandClassical.com during a May 2023 interview. “During my initial visit last fall, which was the first time I was ever in Cleveland, I spent time at museums, the Fatima Family Center, Global Cleveland, Karamu House, Cleveland School for the Arts, and The Baseball Heritage Museum. All of these offered very different tastes of Cleveland in an effort to introduce myself and let people know what I was envisioning.”

On Thursday, May 8 at 7:30 pm at Severance Music Center, under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra will present the world premiere of Loggins-Hull’s Grit. Grace. Glory — a musical story inspired by the people and history of Cleveland. The concert also includes Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 and Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 4. The program will be repeated on Friday at 11:00 am (no Prokofiev) and Saturday at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra: a conversation with pianist Saya Uejima

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by Mike Telin

Saya Uejima has served as keyboardist of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra since 2023, a position she enjoys very much. “I love having fun and collaborating with other people, whether it’s being part of the orchestra or playing chamber music,” she said during a telephone conversation.

Her position with COYO has also provided her with such opportunities as learning how to play the celesta and Severance Hall’s Norton Memorial Organ. “That was very new to me, because I did not know how to use the pedals or how to set up the stops.”

On Sunday, May 4 at 3:00 pm, Saya Uejima will move to the front of the Severance Music Center stage when she performs Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. Under the direction of Daniel Reith, the program also includes Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Something for the Dark and Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. [Read more…]

No Exit Presents: pianist Geoffrey Burleson

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by Mike Telin

“I’ve been compelled by mid-century American modern music for some time,” pianist Geoffrey Burleson said during a Zoom conversation. “I’ve recorded all of Roy Harris’ piano music and Vincent Persichetti’s twelve piano sonatas. I recently played some of Irving Fine’s music at Mills College under the auspices of Other Minds. I’m always saddened when people dismiss the mid-century neoclassic style. I just love it, and I’m doing all that I can to revive it.”

On Friday, May 2 at 7:00 pm, “No Exit Presents” will host Geoffrey Burleson for a concert at the Bop Stop. The program, which will include works by mid-century and 21st-century American composers, will be repeated on Saturday at 7:00 pm at Heights Arts. Both events are free. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s 75th birthday party (Part 2)

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by Mike Telin

The Cleveland Chamber Music Society will continue its 75th anniversary with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Quartets Nos. 10 through 12 on April 29, and Nos. 13 through 15 on April 30, performed by the Jerusalem Quartet —  violinists Alexander Pavlovsky and Sergei Bresler, violist Ori Kam, and cellist Kyril Zlotnikov.

The 7:30 pm concerts will be held in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art. James Wilding will give pre-concert lectures at 6:30 pm before each event. Tickets are available online. Click here for more information and to view a full schedule of events.

CCMS’s concerts would not be possible without the dedicated volunteers who have kept the well-oiled machine operating for 75 years. I had the pleasure of speaking to Board President Fern Jennings and Chair of the Programming Committee Steve Somach.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Classical Guitar Society: Duo Chinoiserie performs music inspired by folklore

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by Mike Telin

When classical guitarist Hu Bin was earning his doctorate at the University of Arizona, he crossed paths with Xia Jing, a visiting scholar from China who played the guzheng.

As Bin recalled during a recent Zoom conversation: “We were having a guitar competition and my professor, Tom Patterson, invited her to perform a piece after one of the sessions so people could enjoy some music while the jury made their decisions. The first time I heard Jing play it was wonderful. Actually, it was the highlight of the day.”

On Saturday, April 26 at 7:30 pm at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society will present Duo Chinoiserie — Bin Hu, guitar, and Jing Xia, guzheng. Their Cleveland debut program features music inspired by ancient folklore and legends. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

CIM Opera Theater presents Don Giovanni (Part 2)

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by Mike Telin

On April 23 and 25 at 7:00 pm in Playhouse Square’s Mimi Ohio Theatre, CIM Opera Theatre will present Mozart’s masterpiece Don Giovanni. The show is directed by JJ Hudson and conducted by Harry Davidson. Tickets are available online.

In this article, Hudson introduces CIM alum Brian Myer, who will sing the title role, and Andrew Hiers, who plays the Commendatore. We also hear from cast members Kiana Lilly (Donna Anna) and Caroline Friend (Zerlina).

[Read more…]

Contemporary Collaborations with Third Coast Percussion

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by Stephanie Manning

Reposted with the permission of Oberlin Conservatory

“Strum,” “Strike,” and “Bend” are all evocative references to the physicality of string and percussion instruments. And one is especially significant.

Put all three together, and you get the title of Third Coast Percussion’s (TCP) upcoming program with violinist/composer Jessie Montgomery. “ I think the ‘Bend’ part is maybe the most interesting,” says ensemble member Robert Dillon. “Something we really have enjoyed about Jessie’s percussion writing is this twisting, warping, or bending of sounds.”

Whether that’s blowing through a tube into a tom-tom or hitting a crotale before dipping it into water, these manipulations are ubiquitous in Montgomery’s music. And her recent piece for TCP is no exception.

[Read more…]

CIM Opera Theater presents Don Giovanni

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by Mike Telin

“He is like the great seducer — Don Juan — and there is cosmic revenge taken on him. But he does his best to ruin many lives in the process.” This is how JJ Hudson, interim artistic director of CIM Opera Theater, described the title character of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni.

On April 23 and 25 at 7:00 pm in Playhouse Square’s Mimi Ohio Theatre, CIM Opera Theatre will present Mozart’s masterpiece. The show is directed by Hudson and conducted by Harry Davidson. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Seán Dagher’s sea shanties return for Les Délices “The Mermaid”

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by Stephanie Manning

Sea shanties might make you think of the ocean, not Lake Erie. But the freshwater ships that sailed the Great Lakes in the 19th century held a rich musical tradition of their own. So when Les Délices artistic director Debra Nagy found a song that mentioned Cleveland in the book Windjammers: Songs of the Great Lakes Sailors, she knew the group had to perform it.

“ When I was learning it, I really fell in love with the tune,” said Seán Dagher, a shanty singer and guest performer with Les Délices. The lyrics of “Red Iron Ore” tell the tale of a ship setting out from Cleveland to pick up some of the ore before returning home. “ Debra found a different set of lyrics and melody than people usually sing. So it’s nice to come up with something new with old source material.”

After his special appearances with the group in March, Dagher returns to Cleveland next week for a regular season program with Les Délices “The Mermaid,” a family-friendly concert combining classical and folk traditions, visits Akron on April 25, Cleveland Heights on April 26, and Rocky River on April 27. Tickets are available online. [Read more…]

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