by Jarrett Hoffman
This weekend, the Akron Symphony will spotlight two of its own. Concertmaster Tallie Brunfelt will take on the quadruple challenge of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, and principal horn Meghan Guegold will play Richard Strauss’s early Concerto No. 1 on Saturday, November 16 at 8:00 pm at E.J. Thomas Hall.
When Guegold was an 18-year-old student at the University of Akron, she was determined not only to learn the Strauss, but to play it memorized on that uncommon and ambitious event: the freshman recital.
“I thought, you know, I want to perform for a living, so I might as well jump right on in,” the hornist said during an interview.
That work, a pillar of the horn repertoire, wasn’t a surprising choice. “It’s definitely one of the best concertos we have,” Guegold said, adding that it might be the best from the Romantic era. The lyricism and the heroic quality of the writing attracted her. “I think it was the start of my real love of Strauss’s music.”
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in August of 1920, and leading up to the 100th anniversary of that event, the Akron Symphony is highlighting six women composers through a project called “Stand Beside Her.”
What do marriage and an octopus have in common? They both served as inspirations for Gregg Kallor’s new work for string octet. On Wednesday, October 30 at 7:30 pm at E.J. Thomas Hall, Tuesday Musical will present “October Octets” featuring the Dover and Escher String Quartets. The program will include the premiere of Kallor’s 
Akron Symphony music director Christopher Wilkins has long had an interest in theater. “I’ve kept my eye out for theater-related projects for years and years and years,” he said during an interview.
When inclement weather forced the cancellation of the Akron Symphony’s January 2019 concert, the solution was simple: reschedule the all-Russian program as the opening concert for the following season. On Saturday, September 21 in E.J. Thomas Hall, guest conductor Benjamin Zander and the ASO presented that program, and the results were worth waiting for. Throughout the evening the strings were supple and full-bodied. The winds sparkled. The brass were majestic.
To begin this season’s FUZE Series on Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 pm at E.J. Thomas Hall, Tuesday Musical will honor the memory of two local arts icons: jazz pianist and composer Pat Pace, and Ohio Ballet founder and choreographer Heinz Poll, who both passed away in 2006.
When guitarist Jason Vieaux and the Escher String Quartet first performed together at Music@Menlo in 2007, the musicians knew they needed to keep the collaboration going. “Since then the Quartet has played with him many times,” Escher first violinist Adam Barnett-Hart said during a telephone interview. “We’ve performed some duos as part of the Quartet programs,” Vieaux said during a separate conversation, “but next week will be the first full concert as a duo.”
Pianist Lara Downes will bring together two recent projects, one devoted to Leonard Bernstein, the other celebrating women composers, when she visits E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron on Thursday, April 18 at 7:30 pm as part of 
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