by Daniel Hathaway
The new performing arts season at the Cleveland Museum of Art begins on Wednesday, September 21 at 7:30 pm in Gartner Auditorium with a concert by Dona Onete, the septuagenarian singer-composer from the state of Pará in the Amazon, who merges indigenous rhythm and dance with African, European and Caribbean traditions in a style called carimbó chamegado*.
On the first Wednesday of each month beginning on October 5 and continuing through May, free 6:00 pm performances in the galleries — locations to be announced — will feature young performers from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University’s early and baroque music programs.
The British viol ensemble Fretwork will play music by John Taverner, Christopher Tye, Henry Purcell, Robert Parsons and William Lawes, as well as works by contemporary composers Maja Ratkje, Nico Muhly and Gavin Bryars on Wednesday, October 12 at 7:30 pm*.
Pianist Vijay Iyler, a MacArthur Fellow, will join the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) on Wednesday, October 19 at 7:30 pm for Radhe, Radhe: Rites of Holi his collaboration with the filmmaker Prashant Bhargava, described as “a ravishing, impressionistic nod to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring filmed in northern India*.
Oberlin’s Contemporary Music Ensemble, led by Timothy Weiss, will return to CMA for four afternoon performances throughout the season, on Saturday, November 5, Sunday, December 4, Sunday, February 26 and Sunday, April 9, all at 2:00 pm*.
Sunday afternoon organ recitals, free at 2:00 pm, will feature French organists. Jean-Baptiste Monnot, organist of St-Ouen in Rouen, will play on November 13, and Emmanuel Arakélian, organist of Saint Léonce Cathedral in Fréjus will perform on February 19.
Italian violinist Francesco D’Orazio will play music by Luciano Berio, Curt Cacioppo, Salvatore Sciarrino, Ivan Fedele, Luciano Chessa and Michele Dall’Ongaro at Transformer Station on Friday, December 9 at 7:30 pm
From January 6-8, The Crossing will perform David Lang’s Lifespan as part of an installation in Gallery 218, with free performances throughout each day.
On the weekend of January 27-29, CMA will mark Philip Glass’s 80th birthday with a weekend presentation of the Qatsi Trilogy, Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi, films by Glass and Godfrey Reggio that can be seen in one marathon session or over the course of the weekend.
Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble (Elizabeth Pearse (soprano), Kayleigh Butcher (mezzo soprano), Amanda DeBoer Bartlett (soprano) and Carrie Henneman Shaw (soprano) will perform on Wednesday, March 22 at 7:30 pm*.
Norwegian composer and accordionist Frode Halti will join Swedish keyed fiddle player Emilia Amper and percussionists Håkon Stene and Eirik Raude Halti’s concert-length work The Border Woods on Wednesday, March 29 at 7:30 pm*.
Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain and santoor player Rahul Sharma will appear in a genre-defying program on Wednesday, April 12 at 7:30 pm*.
Harpist Brandee Younger and pianist Courtney Bryan will feature the music of Alice Coltrane, as well as Brandee Younger’s original compositions on Wednesday, May 10 at 7:30 pm*.
Still to be scheduled is a performance by cellist Jeffrey Ziegler, to take place at Transformer Station.
Stay tuned for a forthcoming conversation with CMA’s Tom Welsh about details of the 2016-2017 Performing Arts Series.
* Ticketed events in Gartner Auditorium unless otherwise designated.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com September 20, 2016.
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