by Mike Telin
Growing up, composer Margaret Brouwer spent many wonderful summers enjoying the beauty of Lake Erie at her family’s cottage in Huron, Ohio. But when dangerous levels of algae blooms in the Lake’s western basin caused a water crisis in Toledo in 2014, the ensuing national conversation about environmental pollution and the state of the country’s drinking water became the source of inspiration for her Voice of the Lake. We spoke with the composer before the work’s premiere in November of 2017.
The revised version will be presented on Friday, October 19 at 7:00 pm at Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music (above, rehearsal photo). The performance features soprano Angela Mortellaro, mezzo-soprano Sarah Beaty, tenor Brian Skoog, bass Bryant Bush, the Blue Streak Ensemble and Chamber Singers, and the Cleveland Institute of Music Children’s Choir, all under the direction of Domenico Boyagian. The performance will be video-recorded for future broadcast. Tickets are available online.
Written in four parts, the oratorio is a musical description of Lake Erie during the first quarter of the 21st century. While the work portrays the Lake’s magical side — waves splashing on the rocks, walks on the beach, children playing in the water, and the pleasure of a fisherman in his boat — it also highlights the Lake’s many environmental problems as well as the innovative attempts that are being made to combat those problems.
The prize-winning young pianist Drew Petersen gave an excellent guest recital for an appreciative crowd in Mixon Hall on Monday night, June 4, as part of the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists. His chronologically organized program stretched from repertory mainstays by Beethoven and Chopin to two wonderful American works by Griffes and Barber.
On Thursday, June 7, pianists Ran Dank and Soyeon Lee returned to Cleveland for a dazzling program of solo and duo music, performing as part of the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall. 
Beginning on Friday, June 8 and continuing through Sunday, June 10 at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the 2018 edition of the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival will feature thirteen artists and ensembles, five concerts, nine master classes, and three lectures. 
This Friday, ENCORE Chamber Music begins its 2018 summer season, titled “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” ENCORE will present concerts every Friday and Sunday from June 8 to July 15. 
It’s a familiar feeling for musicians: to have mastered a difficult piece, then discover someone a quarter their age playing it twice as well. “It’s amazing from year one to now,” Marc Damoulakis said in a recent conversation about the Modern Snare Drum Competition. “Stuff that we used to think was hard, these kids are coming in younger and younger and playing with ease. And I honestly don’t think it would’ve happened without this competition.”