by Rory O’Donoghue
The Maureen Choi Quartet brought joyful energy to the Bop Stop stage during their concert on June 20, performing a fresh and fun set of works from their recent album THEIA.
Re:Sound Festival at Praxis Fiber Workshop and Bop Stop (June 8)
by Jarrett Hoffman
June 8 was the busiest day for the Re:Sound Festival, with three concerts around the city. I heard the first two, beginning in the afternoon at Praxis Fiber Workshop, where the duo Dykes & Young set a high bar for the acts that would follow over the course of the day. Bassist Laura Dykes and violinist Jeffrey Young performed three original works that had their genesis in joint improvisation, but which have solidified over the years into fixed structures. In particular, the second of the three was riveting. [Read more…]
Re:Sound Festival — inside the mind of Joo Won Park
by Jarrett Hoffman
It’s one thing to push yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s quite another to deliberately put yourself in risky situations over and over again — part of the artistic strategy of electroacoustic composer and improviser Joo Won Park. “I like to solve a puzzle in front of the audience,” he said during a telephone conversation from Detroit.
That might include choosing an electronic instrument or gadget that he doesn’t totally understand, and bringing that onstage without knowing what will happen. “That’s the exciting moment,” he said. Likewise performing with another improviser. “I go onto the stage expecting that my partner will do something unexpected. That’s the approach that I love.”
Park and fellow composer/improviser Molly Jones will bring their Detroit-based duo ParkJones to the Bop Stop on Sunday, June 9 during a 4:00 pm concert as part of the Re:Sound Festival. The program opens with the new music ensemble No Exit presenting works by Yoon-Ji Lee and premieres by area high school students Emma Eddy and Mya Vandegrift as part of the CoLab project. Following ParkJones, pianist Ju-Ping Song will perform works by Amy Beth Kirsten and Nicole Lizée based on trauma and fallibility. Tickets are available here.
A look at the 2019 edition of the Re:Sound Festival of New and Experimental Music
by Mike Telin
In summing up last year’s inaugural Re:Sound Festival of New and Experimental Music, ClevelandClassical.com critic David Kulma wrote that “[the] Festival was an ear-opening experience for the musically adventurous …this intense weekend of staggering, high-quality performances showed the virtues of a performer- oriented festival where each act is fully invested in its own chosen music.”
Judging from the stellar lineup of musicians the organizers have assembled, the sophomore edition of Re:Sound — which runs from June 6 through June 9 — promises to once again deliver a musically adventurous experience.
The 2019 edition will include six concerts featuring fourteen soloists and ensembles from across the United States. And once again the concerts will take place in venues that will allow players and audiences to relax and spend time together. In addition to purchasing single tickets, Festival passes are also available.
Here’s a run-down of this year’s offerings.
Les Délices closes 10th Anniversary Season with The Elements
by Mike Telin
Over the past ten years the music of Jean-Féry Rebel has become familiar to Les Délices audiences. The ensemble has performed several of the composer’s violin and trio sonatas, scenes from his opera L’Ulysse which highlighted the Odyssey-inspired program Myths & Allegories, and his early choreographed symphonies such as Caractères de la danse, which have become signature pieces for the group.
This week Les Délices will return to the music of Rebel when they present a program titled “The Elements” which is centered around Rebel’s 1737 masterpiece of the same name. The program also includes music of Rameau and the premiere of a new, nature-inspired piece for period instruments by Theo Chandler.
Concerts take place on Friday, April 5 at 7:30 pm at Akron’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Saturday the 6th at 8:00 pm at Lakewood Congregational Church, and Sunday the 7th at 4:00 pm in Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church. Tickets are available online. On Saturday beginning at 3:00 pm at the Bop Stop, Les Délices will present “Mother Nature Makes Music,” a free 45-minute program designed for children ages 5-12.
NEOSonicFest: a look back at the beginning, and a peek at what’s on tap in 2019
by Jarrett Hoffman
When a festival runs for long enough, it becomes interesting to look back and remember that it wasn’t always a staple of the local culture. At one time, it was entirely new.
“Last weekend,” Daniel Hathaway wrote in April of 2014, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony “burst suddenly into bloom like a crocus after a long winter with the first of two concerts anchoring its promising new enterprise, NEOSonicFest…”
Back then, music director Steven Smith had been thinking for years about how to keep the name and activities of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony alive, as Mike Telin reported in our very first preview of NEOSonicFest. The retirement of the orchestra’s founder, Edwin London, and the end of its residency at Cleveland State University had slowed the group’s momentum.
No Exit: Cleveland Composers Series
by Mike Telin
Since its founding, the inimitable new music ensemble No Exit has regularly given a voice to area composers, and the ensemble will continue that tradition with its upcoming Cleveland Composers Series. The program spotlights five new works by composers who are recognized for their singular and distinctive voices.
On Friday, November 30 at 8:00 pm at Cleveland State University’s Drinko Hall, No Exit will be joined by special guest Patchwork Duo — Noa Even, saxophone, and Stephen Klunk, drum set. The evening will include works by James Praznik, Colin Holter, Hong-Da Chin, Ty Emerson, and Timothy Beyer. The program will be repeated on Saturday, December 8 at 3:00 pm at the Bop Stop and Friday, December 14 at 8:00 pm at SPACES. As always, the concerts are free.
“For a long time, composers have sought inspiration from finding connections between music and other mediums of art,” No Exit artistic director Timothy Beyer said during a telephone conversation. “This series of concerts features a few works that fit that bill.”
CUSP Concert Series: Hynds & Patchwork (Nov. 4)
by David Kulma
After their successful first Re:Sound festival last summer, the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP) opened their new concert series season at the Bop Stop on Sunday evening, November 4. Featuring Aaron Hynds and Patchwork, CUSP continued its focus on combining local acts with more far-flung artists, and deepened its connection to the noise-based tradition of new classical music.
Classical Saxophone Project at Bop Stop (June 23)
by Robert Rollin
Last Saturday night at the Bop Stop saxophonist Javier Oviedo and pianist Ron Palka presented a lively concert of modern works as part of the Classical Saxophone Project. The highlight of the first half was Steven Cohen’s eclectic Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano. The cyclical 3-movement piece used modal elements with lowered second steps including a Hebrew scale. Oviedo displayed excellent dynamic control throughout. [Read more…]
Re:Sound Festival — two shows at Bop Stop and CODA (June 9)
by Alice Koeninger
Many of the sounds heard at the Re:Sound New Music Festival performances at the Bop Stop and CODA on Saturday, June 9 were reminiscent of noises made by ‘90s computers and played on old science fiction space TV shows. Relying heavily on electronics and other sound-manipulation techniques, each artist or group gave festivalgoers a taste of their music in a series of increasingly strange and interesting pieces. [Read more…]