by Nicholas Stevens
Much of the magic of summer festivals remains forever hidden from the outside world. The masterclass that permanently rewires a student’s artistic circuitry, the rehearsal that converts a passing interest into a lifelong specialty, the practice-room collaboration that sows the seeds of a friendship or ensemble: these all elude public view. However, communities do have one point of access: concerts. If the recent Faculty Concert on the 2019 Credo Festival is any indication, then this Oberlin institution has maintained a steady rhythm over its twenty years in operation. [Read more…]
Every week, Cleveland Orchestra audiences look forward to hearing the cello section’s lush sounds emerging from the surrounding group. On Friday night at CWRU’s Harkness Chapel, listeners had the unique opportunity to hear the section showcased outside of its orchestral setting in a remarkably delightful concert. iCellisti is an annual event organized by the Cleveland Cello Society and headed up by Ida Mercer, but this is the first year that the entire Cleveland Orchestra cello section was able to take part — except for one player who had a conflict. 
The Cleveland Cello Society’s annual “iCellisti” concert on Friday, January 30 at CWRU’s Harkness Chapel might set a local record for the number of cellists to appear onstage at the same time. At the end of a program featuring members of The Cleveland Orchestra cello section in various solos, duets and quartets, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra cello section will join their senior counterparts in a work that calls for an ensemble of twelve performers.
Carlton Woods and BlueWater Chamber Orchestra had a fine time celebrating the Halloween weekend in their concert at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights on Saturday evening. The featured work on the program was Jon Deak’s The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, an action-packed concerto for string quartet and orchestra, with narration read by WCLV president Robert Contrad. 
It’s that time of year when jack-o-lanterns are seen illuminating front porches, and scary tales of ghosts and goblins are told. One of those tales is “The Headless Horseman,” which has been popularized in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” On Saturday, November 1 at 7:30 pm in Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, Carlton R. Woods will lead the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra in Jon Deak’s Concerto for String Quartet, Narrator and Orchestra, The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, featuring violinists Kenneth Johnston and Charles Morey, violist Kirsten Docter, cellist Bryan Dumm and narrator Robert Conrad. 
“When Dvořák came to the United States, he changed as a person and a composer, but I believe he also had a profound impact on the American music scene,” Broadway School of Music board member and Cleveland Orchestra cellist Bryan Dumm said, during a recent telephone conversation. “He was very comfortable mixing together as many stylistic elements as possible because of his experience in America.”