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Tuesday Musical: Brownlee & Owens at E.J. Thomas Hall (Feb. 12)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Stepping off on a multi-city tour, tenor Lawrence Brownlee and bass-baritone Eric Owens brought their wide-ranging duo recital to the Tuesday Musical series in Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall on February 12. The two longtime friends joined pianist Craig Terry in a heartwarming demonstration of camaraderie that spilled over into a love fest. Tag-team opera arias, traditional spirituals, popular songs, and gospel numbers filled the two-hour program laced with friendly banter and commentary. [Read more…]

Oberlin Artist Recital Series:
Craig Terry talks about “Songplay”

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by Mike Telin

Last week, pianist Craig Terry shared Akron’s Thomas Hall stage with opera stars Lawrence Brownlee and Eric Owens for a Tuesday Musical concert — it was fantastic. On Wednesday, February 27 at 7:30 pm, the pianist will return to Northeast Ohio for a performance on the Oberlin Artist Recital Series, where he will share the Finney Chapel stage with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.

The evening, titled “Songplay,” is based on DiDonato’s recently released album of the same name, with arrangements by Terry. It features songs from the early Baroque to American Classics, and from pure classical to improvised jazz. Tickets are available online.

“This tour has six stops, and the one with Larry and Eric has eight,” Terry said during a recent telephone conversation. “On Sunday I perform with Larry and Eric in Seattle, and on Monday the Joyce tour starts in the same theater. I’ve never played consecutive dates in the same space with different artists before, but this is a really fun time for me.”   [Read more…]

Tuesday Musical: a conversation with tenor Lawrence Brownlee

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by Daniel Hathaway

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee will join bass-baritone Eric Owens in a wide-ranging duo recital with pianist Craig Terry on the Tuesday Musical series at Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall on February 12 at 7:30 pm. The program includes opera arias and duets, traditional Spirituals, American popular songs, and Gospel favorites.

Born in Youngstown, Brownlee has established a distinguished international career as a bel canto tenor. We caught up with him on the road in Dallas, where he was returning from an appearance in Bizet’s Pearl Fishers with Houston Grand Opera.

Daniel Hathaway: We were sorry to miss hearing you in January when you were in Cleveland to sing a Rossini aria for the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration with The Cleveland Orchestra.

Lawrence Brownlee: I told somebody I wasn’t sure if I was in Siberia or Cleveland, but it was good to be back in Northeast Ohio, my neck of the woods. My parents would have come, but the weather was a little bit too bad. I hope things will clear up next week so I can get a chance to see some of my people and they can support me.

DH: You have a long tour ahead with Eric Owens and this duo recital. I count eleven performances between now and summer. [Read more…]

May 14 recital by Owens and Huang marks Art Song Festival’s return to CIM

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by Daniel Hathaway

OWENS-EricAfter a fourteen-year sojourn at Baldwin Wallace, the Cleveland Art Song Festival will return to the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2018, the school where it was founded by longtime voice faculty George Vassos in 1985. The every-other-year Festival involves ten singer-pianist teams in a week of intensive coaching, including master classes and artist recitals by well-known singers and collaborative pianists.

In alternate years, the Festival brings in a renowned singer for a solo recital. On Sunday, May 14 at 4:30 pm in Kulas Hall, CIM will celebrate the Art Song Festival’s homecoming with a concert by Metropolitan Opera bass-baritone Eric Owens and pianist Myra Huang. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra in Dvořák’s Stabat Mater: a conversation with bass soloist Eric Owens

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by Mike Telin

OWENS-EricIn a promotional video, Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst explains that Antonín Dvořák’s Stabat Mater is “the composer’s personal reflections after having just lost a child.” (Click here to watch the video: the Dvořák starts at 2:52.)

On Thursday, May 26 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, May 28 at 8:00 at Severance Hall, The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, under the direction of Welser-Möst, will conclude their 2015-2016 season with the Czech composer’s setting of an emotional medieval poem that sums up the thoughts of Mary standing at the foot of the cross when Jesus is crucified. The performances will feature vocal soloists Erin Wall, soprano, Jennifer Johnston, mezzo-soprano, Norbert Ernst, tenor, and Eric Owens, bass.

The Orchestra has extended a special $25 ticket offer for readers of ClevelandClassical.com for this week’s concerts. Purchase tickets here using promo code 26082. [Read more…]

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