by Daniel Hathaway
May 4, 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of the tragic shooting of Kent State students by Ohio National Guard members during protests around the Vietnam War, but COVID-19 upstaged KSU’s plans for a memorial.
Two years later, the University will be ferrying more than 300 performers from Kent to Cleveland for an extraordinary event at Severance Music Center on Monday, May 2 at 7:00 pm.
Musicians, dancers, singers, and poetry readers will commemorate the events of that day in 1970 in a mammoth concert. According to a press release, Stories of Peace, Protest and Reflection “explores social justice, civil rights and the complex emotions felt before, during and after tragedy.”
Having read the press materials, I was eager to learn more about how this event was put together — a feat of human choreography and logistics that seemed comparable to staging a small version of D-Day. Happily, I was referred to an old colleague, clarinet professor Amitai Vardi, who was charged with coordinating the event. In a phone call, I asked him how it all came about. [Read more…]
Through a partnership with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Cleveland Chamber Music Society is offering the steamed CMS Front Row National series free of charge.
In almost every interview with a musician, there’s some special piece of conversation that later falls flat when put on a page. For those elusive moments — some inflection of voice, some bit of body language, or a laugh that’s nice and genuine — you can’t beat long-form interviews captured on video.
