by Daniel Hathaway
Blossom Music Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary in the summer of 2018 with concerts by The Cleveland Orchestra, Blossom Festival Band, and Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra; special guests including cellist Yo Yo Ma, Broadway legend Audra McDonald, and Roger Daltrey of The Who; and screenings of Singing in the Rain, The Little Mermaid, and Star Wars: A New Hope with live scores performed by the Orchestra.
For selected events, Image Magnification (IMAG) on LED screens in the Pavilion will display live footage from concerts, giving audience members throughout the Pavilion the opportunity to clearly see the musicians onstage. IMAG is provided in partnership with ideastream.
Since its opening in 1968, Blossom has drawn over 400,000 visitors each summer, a total of over 20 million guests during its first half-century. Now operated by Live Nation under a long-term contract with The Cleveland Orchestra, the facility is home to the Orchestra’s Blossom Festival as well as to a series of events covering a range of rock, country, and other genres.
“Although it was designed and created to be the summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra, it quickly became the place to go in Northeast Ohio to experience not just classical but all kinds of music every summer,” André Gremillet, the Orchestra’s executive director, said in a press release, naming such luminaries of the pop and classical worlds who have appeared at Blossom as Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Pink Floyd, Brad Paisley, Green Day, Leonard Bernstein, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma.
The Orchestra’s family-friendly “Under 18s Free” ticketing scheme will continue at every Blossom Festival concert. A complete list of special events celebrating the 50th anniversary season will be released in the spring.
The J.M. Smucker Company is the Season Sponsor and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is the 50th Anniversary Celebration Sponsor of the 2018 Blossom Music Festival.
2018 Blossom Music Festival Calendar
*Fireworks following the concert, weather permitting.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.*
Wednesday, July 4, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.*
Blossom Festival Band
Loras John Schissel, conductor
Salute to America with a mix of patriotic Sousa marches, Broadway favorites, an Armed Forces Salute, and concluding with the “1812” Overture and fireworks!
Saturday, July 7, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.*
Opening Night
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Stephen Rose, violin
Mark Kosower, cello
Joela Jones, piano
BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto
MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Maurice Ravel)
Sunday, July 8, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.
Special Blossom event – not part of the subscription season
The Cleveland Orchestra
Roger Daltrey, vocalist – Cleveland Orchestra debut
Keith Levenson, conductor – Cleveland Orchestra debut
Simon Townshend, Jon Button, Scott Devours, Loren Gold,
Frank Simes, members of The Who Band – Cleveland Orchestra debuts
TOWNSHEND Tommy (complete album)
Saturday, July 14, 2018, at 8:30 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Richard Kaufman, conductor
HAYTON Singin’ in the Rain (film with live orchestral score)
Sunday, July 15, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
John Storgårds, conductor
Vilde Frang, violin – Cleveland Orchestra debut
ANTHEIL Over the Plains
BRITTEN Violin Concerto No. 1
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 1 (“Spring”)
Start the evening with the Blossom Picnic Contest; registration details to be announced in May.
Saturday, July 21, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Jahja Ling, conductor
Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestr
Blossom Festival Chorus
BERLIOZ Overture to Benvenuto Cellini*
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Serenade to Music*
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”)
Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra performs at 7:00 p.m., conducted by The Cleveland Orchestra’s Assistant Conductor Vinay Parameswaran (Blossom Music Festival debut). The Cleveland Orchestra’s concert (program listed above) begins at 8:00 p.m. featuring the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra performing side-by-side with The Cleveland Orchestra on the works by Berlioz and Vaughan Williams.
Saturday, July 28, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Herbert Blomstedt, conductor – Blossom Music Festival debut
MOZART Symphony No. 41 (“Jupiter”)
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4
Sunday, July 29, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Andy Einhorn, conductor – Cleveland Orchestra debut
Audra McDonald, soprano
VARIOUS Broadway Favorites by Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim,and Leonard Bernstein and others.
Saturday, August 4, 2018, at 8:30 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Sarah Hicks, conductor – Cleveland Orchestra debut
MENKEN The Little Mermaid (film with live orchestral score)
Sunday, August 5, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Michael Francis, conductor
SMETANA “Sárka” from Má Vlast
JANÁČEK Taras Bulba
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7
Saturday, August 11, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Simon Trpčeski, piano
LIADOV Baba-Yaga
RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5
Sunday, August 12, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
J.S. BACH Complete Solo Cello Suites
Saturday, August 18, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
James Gaffigan, conductor
Stephen Hough, piano
BARBER Essay No. 2
MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No. 1
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2
Sunday, August 19, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Randall Craig Fleischer, conductor
Capathia Jenkins, vocalist
Tony DeSare, vocalist and piano
VARIOUS Songs by Frank Sinatra & Ella Fitzgerald
Saturday, August 25, 2018, at 8:00 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Adrien Perruchon, conductor – Cleveland Orchestra debut
Audrey Luna, soprano – Cleveland Orchestra debut
Matthew Plenk, tenor – Blossom Music Festival debut
Elliot Madore, baritone – Blossom Music Festival debut
Blossom Festival Chorus
Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus
COPLAND Statements
ORFF Carmina Burana
Friday, August 31, 2018, at 8:30 p.m.*
Saturday, September 1, 2018, at 8:30 p.m.*
Sunday, September 2, 2018, at 8:30 p.m.*
The Cleveland Orchestra
Vinay Parameswaran, conductor
WILLIAMS Star Wars: A New Hope (film with live orchestral score)
Photos by Roger Mastroianni.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com February 12, 2018.
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