by Daniel Hathaway
IN THIS EDITION:
. Cooper violin competition finals, Harry Potter and The Cleveland Orchestra, Stars of Summer, and Tuesday Musical Passport series
. Canton Symphony names Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz (pictured) as Music Director Designate, Oberlin Artist Recital Series returns, Stambaugh Youth Concert Band auditions announced
. Almanac celebrates August 20 birthdays: Akron-born Queena Mario, British-born conductor Hugh Ross, and mezzo soprano Dame Janet Baker
TODAY’S EVENTS:
Tonight at 7:30 pm the finals of the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Violin Competition will be held in Oberlin Conservatory’s Warner Concert Hall. Three violinists perform complete concertos with the Canton Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Gerhardt Zimmermann.
Sameer Agrawal (17, Chicago, Illinois) and Calvin Alexander (17, Shreveport, Louisiana) have chosen the Tchaikovsky Concerto, while Seohyun Kim (13, Seoul, South Korea) will play the Brahms. Admission is free. You can also watch via stream from Oberlin or The Violin Channel.
On Saturday at 7:00 pm The Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus accompany a screening of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at the Blossom Music Center. The program will be repeated on Sunday — same time, same place. Purchase tickets here.
Also on Saturday at 7:00 pm at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens catch The Stars Of Summer international piano & vocal competition. The program includes the Cleveland premiere of Alexander Peskanov’s Ukrainian Concerto No. 2 performed by winners of the Piano Concerto Prize with the Cleveland Stars Orchestra, Lisa Goldman, conductor, as well as Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers performed by the School of Cleveland Ballet. Reception begins at 6:40 pm at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Centennial Peace Plaza. Free.
On Sunday at 1:00 pm & 3:00 pm, the Tuesday Musical Passport series features musicians of Opus 216, who will take audiences on a musical journey from French Café Jazz to American Ragtime at Barder House in Akron. Click here for tickets.
NEWS BRIEFS:
The Canton Symphony has named its assistant conductor, Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz as music director designate, to succeed Gerhardt Zimmermann upon his retirement in 2026. View a press release here.
Oberlin College and Conservatory has announced the return of the Artist Recital Series. The 2022-23 season opens on October 4 with musical pioneer Rhiannon Giddens, who celebrates her recent album of American, Italian, and Irish traditionals in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi.
The season continues with performances by the Baroque Band ACRONYM (November 15) and Bruce Liu, the first prize-winner at the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition (April 30). The series also includes an additional offering: The Verona Quartet in collaboration with pipa virtuoso Wu Man (February 25). Click here for more information.
The Stambaugh Youth Concert Band, Tyler Husosky, Michael Crist, and Nathan Sensabaugh, directors, will hold auditions for high school wind, brass and percussion students on Tuesday, September 6 and Tuesday, September 13 from 5:00 – 9:00 pm both days in the Concert Hall and the Anne K. Christman Hall at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown. The band rehearses on Tuesday evenings from September 20 to April 11, 2023 and performs two annual concerts in the Stambaugh Auditorium Concert Hall. Sign up for an audition time here.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
Three interesting careers were launched on August 20:
In 1896, American soprano Queena Mario (née Helen Tillotson) was born in Akron, but spent most of her career in Philadelphia (teaching at the Curtis Institute) and New York, (singing at the Metropolitan Opera in a total 345 performances of 27 roles in 25 titles over 17 seasons) and teaching at Juilliard. In her retirement, she wrote mystery novels (notably, Death in the Opera House). Listen to an acetate recording of her performance of the Jewel Song from Faust here.
In 1898, British-American organist and choral conductor Hugh Ross came aboard in Langport, England. He prepared the Schola Cantorum of New York for numerous performances with the New York Philharmonic, and served as chorus master at Tanglewood in Massachusetts from 1942 to 1963. Listen here to a complete Carnegie Hall performance of Janáček’s Jenůfa led by Eve Queler for which Ross prepared the chorus in March, 1988.
And in 1933, beloved English mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker vocalized for the first time in Hatfield, Yorkshire. Watch a Royal Opera interview here where she and fellow mezzo Joyce DiDonato discuss, among other matters, the roles that have inspired them, the technique of singing and advice for the next generation.
