by Jarrett Hoffman
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
A roundup of the classical categories from the 2024 Grammy Awards, presented last night in Los Angeles, can be found here from Philadelphia’s WRTI.
Among the notable highlights for Northeast Ohio: Shaker Heights’ Elaine Martone (pictured, left) won “Producer Of The Year, Classical” for a list of albums that included three from The Cleveland Orchestra and one from the ensemble Sirventés, which features several members of the Orchestra. And the award for “Best Classical Compendium” went to Passion for Bach and Coltrane, an album featuring Oberlin Conservatory horn professor Jeff Scott’s work of the same title, performed by orator and poet A.B. Spellman, the Imani Winds (founded by Oberlin alumni), the Harlem Quartet, and the jazz trio of Alex Brown, Edward Perez, and Neal Smith.
See the full list of winners here.
And Oberlin fourth-year soprano Elizabeth Hanje (above, right) has won First Prize and $10,000 at the Houston Grand Opera’s 36th Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers. This came after Friday night’s Concert of Arias, in which Hanje sang “Il est doux, il est bon” from Jules Massenet’s Hérodiade and “Ain’t it a Pretty Night” from Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. Friday’s performances and the awards ceremony were livestreamed and remain available to watch on YouTube.
