by Stephanie Manning
Perhaps the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday is not the best time to schedule a concert. So when only a small group of people showed up at Rocky River Presbyterian Church on February 8 to hear the Thorpe Ensemble, scheduling conflicts could be assumed to be the culprit.
The size of the audience said nothing about the quality of the playing, and those who were off preparing for the Big Game missed a lovely afternoon of string duets and trios.
For those of us who did attend, the atmosphere was genial and relaxed. Violinist Hadar Zaidel, violist Michael Strauss, and cellist Julie Myers King all play together regularly in the Akron Symphony, and they clearly enjoyed their inaugural outing as a trio. Strauss, providing occasional commentary, explained that their “Thorpe” name derives from Jim Thorpe, an Olympic gold medalist and important figure in 1920s Cleveland pro football.