by Stephanie Manning
In a typical year, the ENCORE Chamber Music Festival is not somewhere audiences would expect to hear bluegrass playing. And yet, on July 4, Michael Cleveland and his band Flamekeeper took the stage at the Dodero Performing Arts Center in Gates Mills for a wildly fun concert that truly encapsulated the spirit of chamber music.
by Stephanie Manning
As has been the case throughout this season, on July 4, the ENCORE Music & Ideas Festival will once again try something new. In a celebration of American music, classical and bluegrass will share the stage at the Dodero Center for Performing Arts in Gates Mills. The 4:30 pm concert will begin with Copland’s Appalachian Spring performed by ENCORE artists, before shifting to Michael Cleveland and his band Flamekeeper, who will deliver what is certain to be a high energy performance.
“We’re gonna get up there and jam out,” Cleveland said in a recent phone interview. “That’s what we do.” The band won’t formally decide on a set list until concert day, but the fiddler said the performance will last 30 to 45 minutes and will include songs from their records.
With six albums to their credit, Flamekeeper has a lot of music to choose from. Their most recent release, Tall Fiddler, won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. Cleveland, who is blind and partially deaf, has wowed audiences with his fiery playing from a young age. He formed the group in 2006, which includes Chris Douglas on bass, Nathan Livers on mandolin, Josh Richards on guitar, and Jasiah Shrode on banjo.
by Stephanie Manning
Though this past year took a lot from musicians, it also gave many the rare gift of time. Jinjoo Cho, artistic director of ENCORE Chamber Music Institute, decided to use that time to bring a long-held idea of hers to fruition — but first, it would require a lot of research. Starting June 6, ENCORE will present its 2021 Music & Ideas Festival, a reimagined format that makes the organization’s sixth season its most ambitious yet.
Combining classical music with innovative ideas, Cho curated programs “sparked by” eight individuals she considers her personal inspirations. This group includes scientists and activists as well as a writer, visual artist, jazz singer, and former president. Each concert will be paired with a preceding panel discussion, with topics ranging from “The Power of Introverted Minds” to “Gen Z’s Crumbling Earth.”
After two YouTube Live events, the concert season, titled FIRE, kicks off on June 11 with a program from the Ariel Quartet inspired by Marie Curie. The pioneering scientist won a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 — the same year Maurice Ravel composed his String Quartet in F, which will be paired with works by Robert Schumann and Amy Beach.