Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson Archives

DIARY: Thursday, March 9, 2023

March 9, 2023 by Jarrett Hoffman

by Jarrett Hoffman

IN THIS EDITION:

•Today: Apollo’s Fire, The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project, and Oberlin Opera Theater

•Announcements & job listings: Janet Barlow (pictured) retires from Stocker Arts Center, Credo Music seeks an executive director, and Lima Symphony holds horn and flute auditions

•Almanac: Zakir Hussain, Anna Clyne, and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson

HAPPENING TODAY:

At 7:30, you have your choice between Apollo’s Fire in a new program titled “Exile: Music of the Jewish & African Diasporas,” and The Cleveland Orchestra, who will be joined by the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus for a playlist that includes Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen and Mozart’s Requiem.

And at 8, you can check in with the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project for a program featuring The Evolution of the Arm (a quartet made up of oboe, piano, violin, and cello) with cellist Khari Joyner as the opener. Or you can head to Oberlin Opera Theater for Bernstein’s Candide in director Jonathon Field’s final production before retiring. (Read an interview with Field here.)

Ticket links and more details in our Concert Listings.

[Read more…]

DIARY: Tuesday, June 14, 2022

June 14, 2022 by Jarrett Hoffman

by Jarrett Hoffman

IN THIS EDITION:

•No Exit tonight at Cain Park

•Akron Community Foundation grants, an Oberlin Conservatory Global course on music theory, and five new categories for the 2023 Grammys

•Almanac: Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson

[Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts return with plenty of festive cheer (Dec. 11)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the twinkling lights, leafy green garlands and festive poinsettias didn’t already clue you in, the holidays have arrived at Severance Music Center. ‘Tis the season for annual traditions — including The Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts, which began on Wednesday evening.

Running through December 22, the programs feature plenty of seasonal classics plus some potential new favorites. The first performance proved that this mix is a delightful recipe for festive cheer.

“Look at you all, out on a school night!” conductor Sarah Hicks proclaimed joyfully from the podium. Just as many concertgoers donned red outfits to get into the spirit, Mandel Concert Hall was also decked out with decorations and stage lighting effects.

[Read on…]

Oberlin Conservatory convincingly tells Omar’s story (Dec. 8)

by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pultizer Prize-winning opera Omar on December 8 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center proved that concert productions of opera can succeed without sets, elaborate costumes and extensive staging. Indeed, the Oberlin Conservatory presentation offered more than enough to keep the audience in the crowded house enthralled.

The Opera, which was also presented at Oberlin’s Finney Chapel two days earlier, is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, the only such work written by an enslaved person during their enslavement, and the only such document written in Arabic.

Rhiannon Giddens’ brilliant libretto chronicles the life of ibn Said, beginning in present-day Senegal and following him through his capture, journey via the Middle Passage, and enslavement in North and South Carolina. [Read on…]

Kirill Gerstein is captivating on piano as Cleveland Orchestra recital series continues (Dec. 4)

by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s no dearth of first-class piano performances to enjoy in Northeast Ohio, but Kirill Gerstein’s contribution to the collective wealth Wednesday night was extraordinary both in concept and execution.

Playing as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s ongoing recital series at Severance Music Center, Gerstein wove an overarching narrative from the 21 little masked ball portraits in Robert Schumann’s “Carnaval.” Then he helped composer Francisco Coll blow up the idea of the waltz in two striking, brand new pieces written for Gerstein and joined Maurice Ravel in redefining that most civilized of dances in a cataclysmic performance of “La valse.”

[Read on…]

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