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Cleveland Chamber Choir: “Madrigals of All Times” (May 15 video)

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Musicians are not necessarily known for their acrobatic abilities, but jumping through one or two hoops has become an important part of their job description.

That’s exactly what Scott MacPherson and the Cleveland Chamber Choir did for the second performance of their sixth season. Masked and spaced several feet apart, the ensemble gathered for a recording session in the resonant space of a Train Avenue warehouse on Cleveland’s West Side last month. The resulting video — “Madrigals of All Times,” released on May 15 — is excellent in programming, performance, and production.

Two central threads run through MacPherson’s mosaic of madrigals: world premieres, and pairings of Renaissance and 20th-century pieces, which in several cases are set to the same text. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir:
“Madrigals of All Times” 

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by Mike Telin

When you hear the word madrigal, for many what first comes to mind are those dinners where the performers and guests dress in Renaissance costumes. While those events continue to flourish, especially during the Yuletide season, on Saturday, May 15 at 7:30 pm the Cleveland Chamber Choir will remind us that the writing of these part-songs has never stopped.

“Madrigals of All Times” features works by European and American composers from the 16th century to today and includes premieres of madrigals by Dolores White and Adolphus Hailstork. The pre-recorded concert can be viewed on Facebook and YouTube and following the premiere, will remain available on-demand.

In a recent conference call, CCC artistic director Scott MacPherson and managing director Kira McGirr noted that this is not the first time the Choir has presented madrigals with an updated twist. The first was “March Madrigal Madness” in 2019 where the program was organized in a bracket like the famed collegiate basketball tournament. “It was super successful,” MacPherson said. “The singers and I had a lot of fun putting it together.” [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir  appoints first Assistant Conductor

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On May 19 Cleveland Chamber Choir announced the appointment of Corey Fowler as the organization’s first Assistant Conductor. Now approaching their sixth season under Artistic Director and co-founder Scott MacPherson, Cleveland Chamber Choir has grown to include over ten performances and outreach programs each year, as well as frequent collaborations with other Northeast Ohio organizations, including BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Composers Guild, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Oberlin Choristers, and Kent Roosevelt High School ChoralWorks.

“On behalf of the Board of the Cleveland Chamber Choir, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Corey Fowler as Assistant Conductor,” CCC Board President Melissa Vandergriff said in a press release. “Corey has been an invaluable member of the CCC family since our debut concert in 2015. He is well connected to our community as a Kent State University graduate, as well as being Director of Choirs at Kent Roosevelt High School and Director of Music at Kent United Church of Christ. His strong Ohio roots and links to the community will help CCC strengthen our commitment to being More than Music! in Northeast Ohio.” [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir responds to COVID-19 and releases a new video 

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by Mike Telin

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and ban on mass gatherings, Cleveland Chamber Choir and BlueWater Chamber Orchestra have canceled their May 2 performance of “With Heaven and Earth.”

In response to the overwhelming loss of work that area musicians have experienced, the Cleveland Chamber Choir has created the More than Music Artist Relief Fund to support local performing musicians impacted by the crisis. Click here to donate and here to apply for funding.

In a recent telephone conversation, mezzo-soprano and CCC managing director Kira McGirr said that she became aware that some organizations had indicated whether or not they would be able to pay their musicians for cancelled performances. “I thought it would be a nice gesture if we offered our singers at least a portion of their fee as a thank-you and acknowledgment of the struggles that we are all experiencing. The Board unanimously agreed.”

After McGirr sent the email to CCC members notifying them of the May 2 cancellation and the Board’s intent to pay a partial fee, she immediately received messages from singers saying that they preferred to have the organization keep the money. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir: “We March On! Music of Social Justice” (March 8)

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by Mike Telin

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others. The 50th anniversary of this horrific event was the focal point of Cleveland Chamber Choir’s recent program “We March On! Music of Social Justice.” The thought-provoking concert also poignantly addressed anti-Semitic violence, the civil rights movement, hate crimes, police brutality, and women’s suffrage. [Read more…]

A guide to staying home and streaming videos of concerts

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Live streams, re-broadcasts, digital archives, and YouTube channels — here are some videos of performances to keep you occupied during social distancing.

Beginning locally, some performances are still taking place via live stream, without an audience. On Thursday, March 19 at 4:30 pm, Oberlin Conservatory will stream a faculty and guest concert from Stull Recital Hall. Flutist Alexa Still, cellist Mihai Tetel, and pianist Evan Hines come together in Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Assobio a Játo (“Jet Whistle”) and Valerie Coleman’s 2019 Amazonia.

Piano Cleveland, the presenting organization of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, has announced a new weekly series called The Quarantine Concerts, to be streamed every Thursday at 7:30 pm from Steinway Piano Gallery Cleveland. The first concert, on March 19, will feature pianist Yaron Kohlberg as well as the piano duo of Natsumi Shibagaki and Irwin Shung. Online audience members have the opportunity to offer their support directly to these artists by donating to Piano Cleveland’s Musicians’ Fund.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir to present “We March On! Music of Social Justice”

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by Mike Telin

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others. On June 3, 1970 that tragic event was commemorated when Robert Shaw led a community performance of the Cherubini Requiem in c at Kent United Church of Christ.

On Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 pm at Kent United Church of Christ, the Cleveland Chamber Choir will mark the 50th anniversary of the Kent State shootings with “We March On! Music of Social Justice.” Directed by Scott MacPherson, the concert includes music by Joel Thompson, Ethyl Smyth, Linda Kachelmeier, Catherine Dalton, and Natsumi Osborn. The program will be repeated on Sunday, March 8 at 3:00 pm at Cleveland’s St. Ignatius of Antioch Church. Charles Edward McGuire will give a pre-concert talk 45 minutes before the performances. The concerts are free.

The idea for creating a program around social justice music came about when a group from CCC attended a performance of Craig Hella Johnson’s passion cantata Considering Matthew Shepard at Bowling Green State University. “When we heard the song All of Us, we started talking about how we should sing it,” CCC alto and managing director Kira McGirr said by telephone. “We talked to Scott MacPherson and he said that if we could come up with a concert theme, he’d be happy to program it.” [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir at First Baptist (Dec. 7)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Countering the widespread practice of giving a half-hearted nod to Hanukkah during December choral concerts, Cleveland Chamber Choir dedicated an important chunk of this year’s “Holidays Old and New” programs to the Jewish Feast of Lights, which included this latest pair of annual commissions. At First Baptist Church in Shaker Heights on Saturday, December 7, Scott MacPherson and his 24 professional singers interleaved Hanukkah music by Andrew Rindfleisch, Baruch J. Cohon, Samuel Adler, Judith Clurman, David Chase, and chorister Corey K. Rubin with pairs of old and new versions of Christmas pieces. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir: a conversation with composer and chorister Corey K. Rubin

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by Jarrett Hoffman

“Holidays Old & New” describes Cleveland Chamber Choir’s performances this weekend in more than one way. The main thread that artistic director Scott MacPherson has woven through the program is the pairing of ancient and modern holiday works — from as far apart as the 14th and 21st centuries — that bear the same text. 

The other thread comes in the form of arrangements. That art form is all about old and new, but the emphasis is on the latter here: Hanukkah tunes arranged by Andrew Rindfleisch and Corey K. Rubin will receive their world premieres.

Performances take place on Saturday, December 7 at 7:30 pm at Lakewood Congregational Church, and on Sunday, December 8 at 3:00 pm at First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland. Charles McGuire will talk about the program 45 minutes before both concerts. Tickets are available online.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir at St. John’s Cathedral (Nov. 8)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Conductor Scott MacPherson had two things in mind when choosing repertoire for Cleveland Chamber Choir’s first pair of concerts this season. The program had to reflect this season’s concentration on music by women composers, and the works needed to flourish in the lively acoustic of venues in Cleveland and Akron. The first performance, on Friday, November 8 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, scored high on both counts. [Read more…]

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