Jessica Osborne Archives - Cleveland Classical

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: Edgar Moreau & Jessica Osborne (Apr. 17)

April 24, 2018 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

In conjunction with Young Concert Artists and with the support of Maison Française de Cleveland, the Cleveland Chamber Music Society brought the young French cellist Edgar Moreau and American pianist Jessica Osborne to Plymouth Church on Tuesday, April 17 for spirited performances of sonatas by Prokofiev, Poulenc, and Franck. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Music Society: a conversation with cellist Edgar Moreau

April 12, 2018 by Mike Telin

by Mike Telin

When Edgar Moreau was four years old he saw a girl playing the cello in an antique shop he was visiting with his father. “That was a long time ago even for me,” the 24-year-old said by telephone from Gainesville, Florida, where he had been performing.

“But I do remember the feeling — It was physical. I heard the sound and saw the cello, and the little girl who was playing it had her legs and arms wrapped around it. I said to my father that I need to play this instrument. I didn’t know that name of it, I just knew that it was important for me to play it. Since that moment I fell in love with the cello, and every day I spend with the instrument is wonderful.”

On Tuesday, April 17 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church, Shaker Heights, the Parisian-born cellist will make his Cleveland Chamber Music Society and Cleveland debut, joined by pianist Jessica Osborne. [Read more…]

Singers’ Club of Cleveland: To Dwell in Harmony (Dec. 9)

by Kevin McLaughlin

The Singers’ Club of Cleveland brought the joy of the season to Trinity Cathedral on Tuesday evening with a program titled To Dwell in Harmony, a holiday offering both polished and good-humored. The venerable all-male chorus — whose lineage stretches back to 1891 and includes collaborations with conductors from Beryl Rubinstein to Robert Shaw — now finds itself under new leadership.

Christopher Clark, appointed in August as Artistic Director (while serving concurrently as Director of Choirs at Case Western Reserve University), led his first Singers’ Club concert with easy command. The chorus appeared to trust him from the first downbeat, and the audience received him just as warmly.

Trinity Cathedral, whose acoustics can flatter or expose a chorus in equal measure, proved an asset. The evening opened with one of its most effective moments: Veni, Veni Emmanuel in John Englert’s arrangement. Clark placed the choir on three sides of the audience, creating a surround-sound of chant that was silky and assured — a confident beginning. [Read on…]

Les Délices welcomes the festive season with “Noel, Noel” (Dec. 7)

by Stephanie Manning

Once December kicks in, an almost overwhelming number of holiday programs pop up around Northeast Ohio. But Les Délices’ offering should draw your attention.

While other festive concerts may create the atmosphere of a bustling party by the fireplace, “Noel, Noel” is like observing a snowy evening from the warmth of the indoors. This is music best enjoyed in quiet contentment, and especially live — so it’s no surprise that the early music ensemble brought back this signature program for three performances this month.

On December 7 at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, the six-member group presented a lovely ninety-minute program, which is also available on CD and via streaming until the end of the year. [Read on…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir: In Four Voices (Dec. 3)

by Kevin McLaughlin

Renaissance polyphony can bloom in resonant spaces, but the Donna and James Reid Gallery at the Cleveland Museum of Art presents particular challenges: hard surfaces and a long reverb tend to blur consonants into watercolor. The Cleveland Chamber Choir’s four-voice ensemble met those conditions head-on during its “In Four Voices” program on December 3. What emerged was an evening of consistently beautiful vocal timbre shaped by a group navigating the sonic characteristics of the room.

The concert, to be followed in January and March by appearances of various-sized ensembles, is part of a new development for the Cleveland Chamber Choir, called the Camerata Series — more information here.

To improve their chances of hearing one another, the quartet — soprano Lauren Vanden Broeck, mezzo-soprano Kira McGirr, tenor Joel Kincannon, and bass Dominic Aragon — stood in a traditional “part book” formation, like a diamond, facing inward. This meant that their sound was directed toward each other, rather than outward to the listeners around them. [Read on…]

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