James Meyers Archives - Cleveland Classical

Photo Tribute to James Meyers

January 28, 2010 by ccadmin

James Meyers, well-known and cherished member of Cleveland’s community of classical freelance musicians, died unexpectedly on January 23. This album of photos has been put together by his friends and colleagues. Written reminiscences are here; blog visitors are welcome to add their thoughts.

: Chagrin Valley Studio Orchestra

: Jim Meyers, cello

: Chagrin Valley Studio Orchestra, Jim Meyers, cello

: Chagrin Valley Studio Orchestra, Jim Meyers, cello

: Jim Meyers, Bonnie Maky, Susan DeCamp, Sarah Adams at Joe Quittner’s studio

: Meyers conducting Symphony West and Duo Anime at Baldwin-Wallace

: Jim Meyers at Carol Ruzicka’s house-warming party

: Heidi Albert, Jim Meyers and Mary Beth Ions

: Jim Meyers, 1968

: Jim Meyers, 1969

: Trinity Chamber Orchestra, October 1988

: Jim Meyers and Kent Collier

James Meyers, freelance cellist, conductor & recording engineer (updated 2/3/2010)

January 25, 2010 by Special to ClevelandClassical.com

by Daniel Hathaway & Mike Telin

One of the best-known and most cherished members of Cleveland’s community of classical freelance musicians died suddenly on Saturday evening. James Meyers, 62, was recording a concert at Kent State University, where he served as director of recording services, when he suddenly collapsed and could not be revived.

We knew Jim as a longtime member of Trinity Chamber Orchestra and Trinity Chamber Players who also recorded many of our concerts and conducted on a number of occasions. In the last year, he also become a correspondent for ClevelandClassical.com, writing concert and CD reports for the web site.

But Jim, who studied at Oberlin, Kent State and CSU and spent three years teaching at Haverford College in Bryn Mawr, PA, played in and conducted every conceivable instrumental ensemble in Cleveland’s freelance world.

Among his most recent projects was old time radio drama, and he participated in the development of ‘Radio Boy’ at Geauga Lyric Theater and elsewhere. [Read more…]

Fabio Luisi leads Cleveland Orchestra in fascinating pairing of works by Colasanti and Bruckner (Feb. 13)

by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — An odd but fascinating pairing brought the U.S. premiere of Italian composer Silvia Colasanti’s Time’s Cruel Hand and the 1888 version of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 together on the same program in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center on Thursday, February 13. Fabio Luisi, music director of the Dallas Symphony, led resplendent performances of both works.

In addition to the striking contrast between their musical styles, the two pieces clock in at 20 and 65 minutes respectively — a conundrum for program planners, whose tasks would be much easier if composers would just format their orchestral works in neat, 30-minute packages.

[Read on…]

From “Jaws” to “Harry Potter,” Cleveland Orchestra performs John Williams’ iconic film scores (Feb. 14)

by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — On Valentine’s Day evening, Keith Lockhart ignited the Cleveland Orchestra and wooed the packed house at Severance Music Center in a retrospective, The Music of John Williams.

Friday evening was an indulgence — a trip down movie lane and performances by an orchestra at its most vivid, thanks to Williams’ ingenious scoring and Lockhart’s energized conducting.

Lockhart’s close link to Williams through the Boston Pops Orchestra, having succeeded him there as music director 30 years ago, showed in his innate understanding of the music and sure-handedness on the podium. Excerpts from “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “E.T.” and “Harry Potter,” along with lesser-known Williams scores, made for an impressive showcase. Lockhart also engaged the audience with several amusing stories he had in his back pocket about Williams’ early days as a film composer.

[Read on…]

Youth orchestra, chorus deliver stunning Stravinsky, Brahms in Cleveland (Feb. 16)

by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Many shades of meaning are inherent in the adjective “youth,” some popular ones being “the quality or condition of being young, immature, or inexperienced.” Only the first of those labels applies to the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus, who gave an impressive joint Winter Concert in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center on Sunday afternoon, February 16.

Although these musicians are certainly young, under the direction of music director Daniel Reith they demonstrated musical maturity beyond their years and exuded remarkable confidence and professionalism. Perhaps we should re-label these organisms as an “apprentice” orchestra and chorus, because they polished their ensemble skills with Cleveland Orchestra mentors and conductors after having learned them from distinguished teachers in the community.

Sunday’s performance further advanced the collective gains that COYO showed in its November concert, most notably in the final work, a thrilling account of Stravinsky’s 1919 Firebird Suite. Reith guided the piece with a steady hand while still allowing its many wonderfully played solos to shine.

[Read on…]

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