by Daniel Hathaway
IN MEMORIAM:
David A. Tidyman, 73, who passed away on August 4, was a significant presence in Cleveland liturgical music for over 45 years as organist, harpsichordist and choral conductor. He was Music Director at Parma Lutheran and Rocky River Presbyterian early in his career. Appointed Director of Music at St. Angela Merici Parish in Fairview Park in 1995, he served there until retirement. For several years afterward, he served at St. Mel Parish in Cleveland. Read an obituary here.
HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND:
FRIDAY: 12:15 Noon – Friends of the McGaffin Carillon Lunchtime Concert by George Leggiero | 7:30 Apollo’s Fire Fencing Match: dueling double concertos at the Bath Church.
SATURDAY: 3 pm & 7:30 Apollo’s Fire Fencing Match: dueling double concertos at Harkness Chapel, CWRU | 3 pm – Cleveland Silent Film Festival. Lorain filmmaker John Baumgartner’s War Story (2001), followed by Charlie Chaplin’s beloved short Sunnyside (1919). both screened with a live original score performed by pianist Mike Petrone. Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium, main Cleveland Public Library | 7:00 pm — The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom, Elim Chan, conductor, and Christiane Karg, soprano. Ravel’s Shéhérazade and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1.
SUNDAY: 4 pm – First Annual Katherine Plank Memorial Benefit Concert featuring the Aidan Plank Big Band. All donations go to the ALS Association. First Church in Oberlin | 4 pm – Apollo’s Fire Fencing Match: dueling double concertos at Rocky River Presbyterian. | 7 pm – The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom. The Music of Billy Joel. Stuart Chafetz, conductor, and Tony DeSare, piano & vocals.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The Cleveland Orchestra has announced its 2025–2026 Family Concert Series and Music Explorers Series at Severance Music Center, “designed to introduce children and families to the magical world of classical music.” Read a press release here.
The Orchestra has also announced that tickets are now on sale for the Severance Music Center debut of the Video Game Symphony on August 24 at 3 pm, “one of the only orchestras in the world that is 100% dedicated to the incredible artform of video game music.” More information here.
WEEKEND ALMANAC:
On August 10,1895, the first Henry Wood Promenade Concert was held in London’s Queen’s Hall, an event that blossomed into the annual Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. Renowned for its often unruly “promenaders” — purchasers of cheap standing-room spots on the main floor of the hall — the series has also given rise to the “Last Night at the Proms,” a traditional blowout that culminates in an effusion of British patriotism.
Click here to watch the second half of Last Night in 1992, conducted by the late Sir Andrew Davis and featuring soprano Kiri Te Kanawa.
