by Jarrett Hoffman
IN THIS EDITION:
•Today: Canton Symphony principal keyboard Dean Zhang (pictured) solos in Rhapsody in Blue with Canton Youth Symphony, CSU presents Hsin-Ni Liu and Shuai Wang in “Music for One and Two Pianos,” and Les Délices revisits the Orpheus myth in SalonEra
•Announcements: Apollo’s Fire seeks a Managing Director, and a CSO children’s concert combines music and nutrition
•Interesting read: Cincinnati Opera announces The Black Opera Project
•Almanac: Howard Hanson and Marie-Claire Alain
HAPPENING TODAY:
At 7:00 at Umstattd Hall, the Canton Youth Symphony Advanced Orchestra will feature Canton Symphony principal keyboard Dean Zhang as soloist in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The program also contains music by Williams, Borodin, and Albert. Tickets are available here.
At 7:30 at Drinko Recital Hall, the Cleveland State University School of Music presents “Music for One and Two Pianos.” Pianists Hsin-Ni Liu and Shuai Wang collaborate in a program including Mao-Shuen Chen’s Ballade, Greg D’Alessio’s Elements, Keith Fitch’s Le Tango Maudit, Corey K. Rubin’s Sweet Pea, and Andrew Rindfleisch’s Mirages. It’s free.
Also at 7:30, the latest episode of Les Délices’ SalonEra series drops on YouTube — and the audio version is already available as of this morning. “Orpheus Revisited” centers around French Baroque portrayals of the Orpheus myth, and includes performances of music by Rameau, Courbois, and Jonathan Woody from Les Délices’ digital catalog, paired with new interviews. Click here to watch or listen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Apollo’s Fire seeks a Managing Director to lead business and fundraising efforts. To apply, send an email with a cover letter, resumé, and three references. Click here for details.
The Canton Symphony Orchestra will turn its attention to music and nutrition for four children’s concerts on April 17 and 18 — three of which are already sold out. The performances are aimed at ages 3-6 and include instrument demonstrations as well as co-curricular connections to Ohio Music Education Standards. Send an email with questions. Attendance is free. Register with your school here or as an individual here.
INTERESTING READS:
Cincinnati Opera has announced a new $5 million commissioning initiative titled The Black Opera Project, in which Black composers, librettists, and directors will create three new operas celebrating Black stories. The first of those works, the Afrofuturist-themed Lalovavi, is by composer Kevin Day and librettist Tifara Brown, and will be directed by Kimille Howard (pictured above, left to right). The premiere will take place on Juneteenth 2025 as part of Cincinnati Opera’s Summer Festival. Read the press release here.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
by Daniel Hathaway
Howard Hanson, American conductor, composer, and longtime director of the Eastman School of Music, died on this date in 1981 in Rochester, NY.
An unrepentant Romantic, Hanson left a legacy of expressive works that deserve more performances than they receive these days. His Second Symphony, subtitled “Romantic” sets the tone here in a performance by the Peabody Symphony led by Joseph Young.
Flutist Erika Boysen illustrates a performance of his Serenade for flute, harp, and strings with American artwork here, and organist Thomas Sheehan is featured in his Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Harp in a concert from Harvard’s Memorial Church led by University Organist Edward Elwyn Jones.
And here’s a performance of Hanson’s mystical Cherubic Hymn led by the composer.
On February 26 of 2013, French organist Marie-Claire Alain made her sortie at the age of 86 in the Paris suburb of Le Pecq. She succeeded her father as organist of the church of Sain-Germain-en-Laye, playing there for 40 years.
Among her 260 recordings are three complete cycles of the works of J.S. Bach. Watch a brief documentary here, and hear her perform his Fantasia in G (aka Pièce d’Orgue) here. And be a fly on the wall as she gives a lesson to a Czech organ student in 2006.