by Jarrett Hoffman
Internet memes as musical inspiration? Composer Daniel Ruffing has written musical theater songs based on viral videos like Kylie Jenner’s singsong greeting to her young daughter (“Rise and Shine”), a driver’s surprising reaction to a construction sign (“Road Work Ahead”), and one woman’s first impression of a new drink (“Kombucha Girl”).
Ruffing has also written songs inspired by the TV show The Good Place, and he’s working on a musical about YouTube celebrity Jenna Marbles — whose name graces an upcoming show of Ruffing’s music. “He’s Lost His Marbles” takes place on Sunday, February 23 at 7:00 pm at Baldwin Wallace’s Gamble Auditorium, presented by the University’s Arts Management Association. Tickets are available online.
Among the selections on that program will be one of Ruffing’s biggest hits: the hilarious, wacky, and adult-language-heavy I Want To Be Tall. One verse goes like this:
Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt played a recital sponsored by the Cleveland International Piano Competition on Saturday evening, May 18 in Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace University. I do not remember another concert in which every aspect of the performance had the level of technical virtuosity and surpassing taste and musicianship of this program.
The duo piano team of Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe combined virtuosity and entertainment at their afternoon concert on April 13 in Baldwin Wallace’s Gamble Auditorium, as part of the 2019 BW Bach Festival. Johann Sebastian Bach’s works were filtered through the lens of composers as diverse as Heitor Villa-Lobos and György Kurtág, and through the duo’s own arrangements.
When a festival runs for long enough, it becomes interesting to look back and remember that it wasn’t always a staple of the local culture. At one time, it was entirely new.
It’s Valentine’s Day all week this week, and aside from the obvious gifts — flowers, chocolates, and shiny bling — there are a number of ways to take to heart the new advice of gifting your love interest experiences rather than things.
When 
The final event in the Cleveland Chamber Symphony’s 2018 NEOSonicFest gave eight young composers the opportunity to hear their creations played by a professional orchestra led by Steven Smith — himself a composer. The pieces were performed in Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace University on Wednesday, April 11.
Since 2014, the Grammy Award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony has sponsored 
“In reality — in the wild — musics interact,” said Josh Ryan of Africa→West Percussion Trio. “Sometimes we play folkloric music, sometimes we play what sounds like experimental concert music, and sometimes we play a mix of the two. That’s just the reality of being a 21st-century person and percussionist, and it’s really fun.”