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A Trio of Messiah Sings
will take place this week

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by Daniel Hathaway

Although Handel wrote his most famous oratorio for performance in Dublin at Eastertime of 1742, Messiah has become irrevocably associated with Christmas in the United States. And what would that season be without the opportunity to participate in do-it-yourself Messiah Sings? Here are three occasions when you can lift up your voices in the next week without auditions or rehearsals.

On Sunday, December 15 at 3:00 pm, the Master Singers Chorale will hold their first annual Sing at First Congregational Church in Akron. Edward Arthur Shure conducts, and Kent State student vocalists  Heather Morrison, soprano, Natalie Butchko, mezzo-soprano, Benjamin Hayes, tenor, and Charles Austin Piper, baritone, will take the solos. James Mismas will be at the organ, supplemented by a brass quartet. [Read more…]

Credo Music joint faculty/student concert in Oberlin (July 19)

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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…]

Credo Music celebrates
20 years in Oberlin

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by Daniel Hathaway

Among the several distinguished chamber music programs in Northeast Ohio that welcome young musicians each summer, Credo Music is unique for its parallel emphasis on providing professional-level music instruction to students ages 13-23, and on serving others — both through outreach concerts and in volunteering opportunities in food banks, park districts, churches, Habitat for Humanity, and homeless shelters.

Oberlin Conservatory viola professor Peter Slowik, who founded Credo in Chicago in 1999, said in a recent telephone conversation that this summer is a time to reflect on the last two decades. “Twenty years is a big milestone. Musical generations turn over every three, four, or five years. This is an opportunity to look back and see what we’ve done in the past, and to pivot toward where we’re going to be in the future.”

Slowik said that Credo has been “blessed from the beginning” to have virtually all of its faculty return every summer. “We were all in our early 40s at the beginning, and now we’re all in our 60s, so we have to think about refreshing ourselves. Because we’re probably not going to keep doing this when we’re in our 90s, this is an inflection point.” [Read more…]

Credo Chamber Music: Arianna String Quartet (July 3)

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by Delaney Meyers

The Arianna Quartet returned to Credo Music at Oberlin Conservatory for a week of coaching, teaching, and a performance on Tuesday, July 3rd. The sold-out audience in Kulas Recital Hall was treated to a lovely escape from the summer heat with an evening of first-class chamber music. [Read more…]

Credo Chamber Music Festival in Oberlin: Arianna String Quartet & faculty concert

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by Delaney Meyers

Credo Music’s official summer concert season of over 12 performances will kick off on Tuesday, July 3 at 7:30 pm with a performance by the Arianna String Quartet at Oberlin Conservatory’s Kulas Recital Hall. Returning as festival faculty for the third time, the Quartet has programmed chamber music fan favorites as well as some less-often heard pieces.

The first piece will be Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 1. In a recent phone conversation, Arianna violist Joanna Mendoza said that this quartet is “not so well known.” She explained that the early composition was written “during a good time in Shostakovich’s life, when he’d just had his first baby, Maxim. It has a real freshness and brightness to it that his later works don’t.” She added that, out of his fifteen quartets, “it sounds least like the Shostakovich many listeners have come to expect.”

The Quartet will be also be performing a new work composed for them by jazz pianist, Webster University professor, and friend Kim Portnoy. This commission came about after first violinist John McGrosso heard Portnoy’s jazz trio perform a version of it at a house concert and thought, “What would this be like for string quartet?”

[Read more…]

Credo brings The Cleveland Orchestra, CIM & Oberlin Conservatory together for Hurricane Harvey Benefit September 8

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by Daniel Hathaway

HelpAfterHarvey_Sept8_SeveranceMembers of The Cleveland Orchestra will join Credo Music, as well as students from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory for “Help After Harvey: an American Red Cross Benefit Concert” on Friday, September 8 at 7:00 pm in Severance Hall. Former Cleveland Orchestra Assistant Conductor and Oberlin graduate James Feddeck will conduct.

All seats are $20 ($10 for students), and all proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross for disaster relief services related to Hurricane Harvey. Reserve seats online or call the Severance Hall Box Office at 216.231.1111.

Executive Director Henry Peyrebrune said that the idea of a benefit concert originated in a Credo staff meeting a week ago. “We thought we should do something for the people of Houston. What if we organized a concert?” [Read more…]

Make Music Day comes to Cleveland on summer solstice, June 21

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by Daniel Hathaway

r3_09_instagramSince the first Fête De La Musique was launched by Jack Lange and the French Ministry of Culture in 1982, some 5 million people — 8% of the population of France — have played or sung in public on June 21, the summer solstice. During the last 34 years, the idea of sponsoring a free day of live music of every genre in every possible location has spread to 700 cities in 120 countries. There are no auditions and no application requirements: everyone is invited to perform or to host performances.

Make Music Day is now about to debut in Cleveland on June 21 under the sponsorship of Credo Music, in partnership with the Make Music Alliance, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and The Music Settlement.

The idea is to bring communities together through music. As Peter Slowik, Credo’s executive director said, “In our day-to-day lives, we put barriers between ourselves and our neighbors, we live very much in our own worlds. [Read more…]

Review: John Nelson Leads the Credo Festival Orchestra and Chorus in Haydn’s The Creation (July 19)

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by Daniel Hautzinger

Overhead

Joy, wonderment, thanksgiving, love. These are the feelings Haydn sought to express toward the Divine in The Creation, but they apply equally well to the work itself. Haydn’s bliss and awe in the face of nature, his gratitude for the world, and the love between Adam and Eve are embodied so perfectly in music that an audience can’t help but be overwhelmed by them as well. It’s impossible to come away from a performance of The Creation without a happy heart.

This was certainly true on July 19th in Severance Hall, when John Nelson conducted the Credo Festival Orchestra and Chorus in a rousing performance of The Creation with soprano Lisette Oropesa, tenor John Tessier and bass Adam Lau. [Read more…]

Lamentation, Collaboration, Supplication, Celebration: Credo Faculty Recital in memory of Stephen Clapp

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By Daniel Hautzinger

Clapp-(Peter-Schaaf,-The-Strad)Constructing memorial concerts is a tricky affair. They have to strike a balance between mourning and celebration, incorporating personal stories and meaningful pieces without becoming maudlin. On July 11 in Oberlin Conservatory’s Warner Concert Hall, the faculty of Credo Music successfully navigated these pitfalls for a moving tribute to their friend and fellow faculty member, violinist Stephen Clapp.

Oberlin, under the auspices of Credo, was the perfect venue to honor Clapp’s memory. He graduated from the conservatory in 1961, returned to teach there from 1978-1994, founded the Oberlin Trio, was acting dean of the conservatory in 1985, and was presented with an honorary doctorate in 2011. He served on the faculty of Credo Music from its genesis, fifteen years ago. Beyond Oberlin, Clapp taught at Juilliard from 1987-2007, as well as serving as its dean from 1994-2007. [Read more…]

Grammy-Winning Conductor John Nelson Leads Haydn’s Creation at Severance Hall

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By Daniel Hautzinger

John-Nelson_BWConductor John Nelson has had a long career. Born in Costa Rica to American parents in 1941, he has been Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Orchestre de chamber de Paris, has become a renowned opera conductor and interpreter of large Romantic and sacred choral works, won a Grammy for his recording of Handel’s Semele, and helped found Soli Deo Gloria, an organization which commissions sacred choral music from such respected composers as Christopher Rouse and Augusta Read Thomas.

On July 19 at 7:00 at Severance Hall, Nelson will lead the Credo Festival Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of Haydn’s late oratorio The Creation, which was inspired by Haydn’s visits to England where he heard Handel’s oratorios. [Read more…]

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