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The Kings Brass at Federated Church (Dec. 22)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

The King’s Brass celebrated Christmas in bright and merry fashion with their trademark —  pop-tinged arrangements of Christmas carols, hymns, and sing-alongs — on Sunday, December 22, as part of the Federated Church Performing Arts Series in Chagrin Falls.

The ensemble has been led for 47 years by Tim Zimmerman, who was a genial host and fine trumpeter. The well-blended group of nine musicians — Tim Zimmerman, Gregory Alley, Anthony Sanders (trumpet), Kyle Davidson, Kolbe Schnoebelen (trombone), Nate Petersen (bass trombone), Jacob Fulkerson (tuba), Colton Morris (percussion), and Rebecca Edmiston (piano/organ) — acquitted themselves well under Zimmerman’s leadership.

The arrangements, most of them by Zimmerman himself, suffered a little from sameness, but nevertheless supplied plenty of Holiday zip and opportunities for the brass to shine. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir At Cleveland School of the Arts (Dec. 20) 

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by Peter Feher

Handel’s Messiah wasn’t the only oratorio you could hear in Northeast Ohio over the Holiday season. The Cleveland Chamber Choir offered a brilliant, bracing alternative with two performances of David Lang’s the little match girl passion, December 20 and 21 at Cleveland School of the Arts.

Friday’s concert saw expert singing in service of sincere emotion, vividly realizing this stark Christmas story adapted from Hans Christian Andersen.

There’s no trace of a happy ending in Andersen’s original 19th-century fairy tale. The titular character in “The Little Match Girl” freezes to death on New Year’s Eve after being kicked out of the house by her father, losing her slippers in the street, and failing to sell any matches to passersby who can’t spare so much as a penny. [Read more…]

Jazz vocalist Magos Herrera with her trio at CMA (Dec. 11)

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by Peter Feher

Magos Herrera sang for a full five minutes before uttering a single lyric at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

It was an apt introduction to the artistry of the Mexico City-born jazz vocalist, whose boundary-free style can sometimes beguile and sometimes confuse.

Performing the wordless “Choro de Lua,” a track off her 2023 album Aire, Herrera sounded transcendent in certain moments but less than stellar in others. That pattern would continue throughout the evening in Gartner Auditorium — her set just beginning to coalesce near the end. [Read more…]

Northwest Ohio Vocal Arts Ensemble at Cleveland Heights’ Church of the Savior (Dec. 15)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

The fifteen singers of the Northwest Ohio Vocal Arts Ensemble (NOVA) gladdened the heart at Cleveland Heights’ Church of the Saviour on Saturday, December 15, in a program drawing from Medieval chant, early Renaissance, and 20th-century settings.

Artistic director Kevin S. Foster and his Toledo-based choir presented a comforting and relatable version of the Nativity story in a sequence of hymns, motets, and carols collectively called “Songs of Wonder: The Nativity Through the Ages.”

Even for the non-religious, the antiquity of the repertoire, the grandeur of the building,  and the winsomeness of the singing all worked in combination to evoke a collective sentiment, a shared sense of seasonal memories, and a timeless message of peace and good will. [Read more…]

Canadian Brass dazzles Severance with holiday magic and musical mastery (Dec. 23)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Canadian Brass brought its customary brilliance and easy rapport to Severance Music Center on Monday night, in their holiday program “Make Spirits Bright.”

There was plenty of fun to be had for sure, but unlike the frivolity of Canadian Brass concerts of the 1970s and ‘80s, this was a more disciplined product.

Playing their trademark tune, “Just a Closer Walk,” they marched in New Orleans-style from the back of the hall, dressed in black suits and white Nikes. Then a Christmas carol quickly followed. But that light music — maybe the lightest on the program — was soon unmasked as being not an opening number, but an encore. “You can never take those for granted,” explained tubist Chuck Daellenbach, the group’s only remaining original member.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra delights audiences with the heartwarming ‘Muppet Christmas Carol’ (Dec. 18)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — With a whole week to go, December 18 wasn’t quite “One More Sleep ‘til Christmas.” But for those at Severance Music Center on Wednesday, it was close enough.

That heartfelt ballad about Christmas Eve sung by Kermit the Frog is just one of many gems from The Muppet Christmas Carol — the surprisingly faithful movie retelling of Charles Dickens’ tale that features Michael Caine, the cast of the Muppets, and a healthy dose of holiday cheer. Add to that list The Cleveland Orchestra, who played Miles Goodman’s score live under the direction of Sarah Hicks.

The beloved Disney holiday classic, released in 1992, drew a sold-out crowd. The Orchestra’s performance of Paul Williams’ songs — which many in the audience likely knew by heart — blended almost indistinguishably with the film. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts return with plenty of festive cheer (Dec. 11)

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by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the twinkling lights, leafy green garlands and festive poinsettias didn’t already clue you in, the holidays have arrived at Severance Music Center. ‘Tis the season for annual traditions — including The Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts, which began on Wednesday evening.

Running through December 22, the programs feature plenty of seasonal classics plus some potential new favorites. The first performance proved that this mix is a delightful recipe for festive cheer.

“Look at you all, out on a school night!” conductor Sarah Hicks proclaimed joyfully from the podium. Just as many concertgoers donned red outfits to get into the spirit, Mandel Concert Hall was also decked out with decorations and stage lighting effects.

[Read more…]

Oberlin Conservatory convincingly tells Omar’s story (Dec. 8)

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by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pultizer Prize-winning opera Omar on December 8 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center proved that concert productions of opera can succeed without sets, elaborate costumes and extensive staging. Indeed, the Oberlin Conservatory presentation offered more than enough to keep the audience in the crowded house enthralled.

The Opera, which was also presented at Oberlin’s Finney Chapel two days earlier, is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, the only such work written by an enslaved person during their enslavement, and the only such document written in Arabic.

Rhiannon Giddens’ brilliant libretto chronicles the life of ibn Said, beginning in present-day Senegal and following him through his capture, journey via the Middle Passage, and enslavement in North and South Carolina. [Read more…]

Kirill Gerstein is captivating on piano as Cleveland Orchestra recital series continues (Dec. 4)

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by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s no dearth of first-class piano performances to enjoy in Northeast Ohio, but Kirill Gerstein’s contribution to the collective wealth Wednesday night was extraordinary both in concept and execution.

Playing as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s ongoing recital series at Severance Music Center, Gerstein wove an overarching narrative from the 21 little masked ball portraits in Robert Schumann’s “Carnaval.” Then he helped composer Francisco Coll blow up the idea of the waltz in two striking, brand new pieces written for Gerstein and joined Maurice Ravel in redefining that most civilized of dances in a cataclysmic performance of “La valse.”

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra delivers a stirring night of Shostakovich, Mozart and Chopin with Heras-Casado and Ax (Dec. 5)

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by Peter Feher

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — It’s fitting that conductor Pablo Heras-Casado should be leading The Cleveland Orchestra this week in Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 — the work of a mid-career composer who was looking to make a major statement.

A decade ago, Heras-Casado was regularly touted as a possible candidate for a music directorship at a top U.S. orchestra. Although some of the heat has died down since — the 47-year-old Spaniard is currently between posts and sticking to guest-conducting gigs — he started to get the furnace roaring again at Severance Music Center on Thursday, Dec. 5.

[Read more…]

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