by Neil McCalmont
On Sunday evening, July 17, The Cleveland Orchestra celebrated the centenary of the National Parks Service with an Americana-themed concert titled “An American in Paris” at Blossom Music Center — their own venue located in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The night’s program consisted of works by Ravel, Copland, and Gershwin conducted by Bramwell Tovey, with guest pianist Javier Perianes.
by Neil McCalmont, Mike Telin, & Daniel Hathaway
On August 25, one hundred years ago, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Organic Act of 1916 that established the National Park Service, building on the conservationist legacy pioneered in 1872 with the creation of the first National Park at Yellowstone.
Since 1933, the Service has also managed National Memorials, Military Parks, Cemeteries, and Historical Areas. A latecomer to the national parks family in 2000, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the only national park in the state of Ohio, a large chunk of land that includes sites not owned by the federal government — including the Blossom Music Center. [Read more…]
by J.D. Goddard
On Sunday, June 19, I put on my hiking boots, picked up my backpack, filled my canteen, loaded up on beef jerky, and journeyed out into the wilds of Cuyahoga Valley National Park to hear the Cuyahoga Valley Chamber Players present a program of works by Jacob, Quantz, Dvořák, Roussel, Mozart, and Piazzola in the Happy Days Lodge. [Read more…]
by James Flood
The Cuyahoga Valley Chamber Players (CVCP) performed last Sunday evening, July 26, at the Happy Days Lodge in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The ensemble comprised flutist Jane Berkner, cellist Miles Richardson, guitarist Stephen Aron, and violist Ann Cirvenic, who arranged themselves in a variety of combinations which included two duets, a trio and a quartet. [Read more…]
by Jarrett Hoffman
This July, the Music by Nature series invites audiences to Cuyahoga Valley National Park for two concerts by very different groups. On Sunday, July 12, the Cuyahoga Valley Chamber Players will perform “Summer Winds,” a program of three works for woodwind quintet. Two weeks later, on Sunday, July 26, “A Romantic Summer’s Eve” will feature the Chamber Players in an assortment of works for flute, guitar, viola, and cello. Both concerts are at 6:30 pm at Happy Days Lodge. Audiences are invited to bring a picnic beginning at 5:00 pm and to join the musicians for a post-concert dessert reception. Tickets can be purchased here.
We spoke about Music by Nature with flutist Jane Berkner, interim flute professor at the University of Akron. Berkner has also served on the faculties of Ashland and Muskingum Universities, and she is director of Arts and Enrichment for the Conservancy of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
by Mike Telin
When Music by Nature presents the River Bottom Quartet on Sunday, July 7 beginning at 6:30 in the Happy Days Lodge in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, audiences will have the unique opportunity to hear a performance by an ensemble of instruments far too often neglected on the concert stage. As with all Music by Nature concerts, audiences are invited to bring a pre-concert picnic beginning at 5 and invited to stay for a dessert reception and an artist meet and greet following the performance.
River Bottom Quartet is comprised of members of the euphonium and baritone horn section of the acclaimed Pittsburgh-based River City Brass. “The quartet is surprisingly capable of producing a variety of sounds,” says River Bottom Quartet member Matthew Murchison. “Some of the guys will double during the performance so for example I’ll play tuba and a couple of the guys will play trombone.” The moment I heard some of the quartet’s music and met Matthew I knew we had to have them on the series” says Jane Berkner of Music by Nature.“They’re a fantastic group and very funny.” [Read more…]