ClevelandClassical.com Header
Ad
Ad
Ad

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra: “Exploration CLE” at the Breen (Nov. 20)

by

by Daniel Hathaway

One of the latest instrumental ensembles to announce a new season of concerts, BlueWater Chamber Orchestra began 2021-2022 with an imaginative program on November 20 at the Breen Center at St. Ignatius High School in Ohio City. The time was unusual — Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm.

Music director and conductor Daniel Meyer built his playlist around Cleveland themes and scenes. “Exploration CLE” made use of engaging selections from the classical canon and beyond that celebrated “what makes Cleveland so special.” Happily, he and his musicians avoided constructing a visual slide show, choosing to let the music speak for itself. [Read more…]

Margi Griebling-Haigh’s The White Trout: a chamber opera in one act on YouTube

by

by Daniel Hathaway

Commissioned by Peter Gallagher in 2012, premiered in 2013 at the convention of the International Society of Bassists, and revised in 2019, Margi Griebling-Haigh’s 25-minute chamber opera, The White Trout, was released in mid-November on YouTube.

The piece embellishes an Irish folk tale from County Mayo as told by Samuel Lover and collected by William Butler Yeats. Predictably fantastical, the story centers around a beautiful woman whose fiancé, a king’s son, is murdered and thrown into a lake. The grieving bride eventually disappears (the work of fairies?) about the time villagers notice a strange white trout in the water. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom: Pepe Romero and a storm at sea (July 21)

by

by Rory O’Donoghue

When Thierry Fischer stepped onto Blossom Music Center’s stage on July 21, he began conducting so quickly, it was almost like the music started before he got to the podium. The concerts that weekend marked the Cleveland Orchestra debut of the Swiss conductor, who was announced only days before as a last-minute substitute for an unwell Pablo Heras-Casado. He led the Orchestra adeptly through a program of popular pieces.  [Read more…]

Kent Blossom Faculty Concert showcases Cleveland Orchestra musicians (July 17)

by

by Nicholas Stevens

Amid the recent heat wave, the Kent Blossom Music Festival offered refuge with events in cool, tranquil spaces. Rarities, favorites, and unexpected delights packed one concert last week, a showcase for members of The Cleveland Orchestra who also serve as Festival Faculty. The music on Wednesday, July 17 filled Kent State University’s Ludwig Recital Hall without overwhelming it. This may seem unexceptional for a space purpose-built for duos, quartets, and the like, but the program included both whisper-soft moments for cello and a spirited duet for piccolos — noted for their carrying power, but perfectly balanced in this room. [Read more…]

Flute and piccolo featured
at Kent Blossom this week

by

by Jarrett Hoffman

Planning a recital means choosing music, of course, but also choosing people, and at this Wednesday’s faculty concert at the Kent Blossom Music Festival, Mary Kay Fink knew she wanted to play with Jessica Sindell.

The two have worked together in The Cleveland Orchestra for a season now — Fink, principal piccolo, has been in the flute section since 1990, while Sindell joined as assistant principal flute last fall. But their history runs deeper: Sindell studied with Fink in high school, having grown up in Pepper Pike. Later on, when she was preparing for professional auditions, she would sometimes play for Fink.

“I encouraged her to go the piccolo route,” Fink said during a recent interview, “and then she got the job in Rochester [solo piccolo in the Rochester Philharmonic].” Fink noted that she didn’t coach Sindell before the audition in Cleveland, but said that it’s been a great fit this past season. “She had subbed with us, and [principal flute] Josh [Smith] really enjoyed her. And her first teacher was Saeran St. Christopher, who plays second flute. It’s been a pretty easy transition — it’s been really wonderful.”

[Read more…]

Kent Blossom celebrates 51st season

by

by Rory O’Donoghue

The Kent Blossom Music Festival returns this weekend, marking the 51st season of Kent State University’s collaboration with The Cleveland Orchestra. From June 30 to August 4, the Festival boasts a five-concert Faculty Series and a ten-concert Young Artist Series, including its annual side-by-side performance between students and The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Bramwell Tovey. 

“Our faculty concert series will feature fantastic artists from The Cleveland Orchestra, Kent State’s revered faculty, the Miami String Quartet, pianist Spencer Myer and other guest artists,” Festival director Ricardo Sepúlveda said in his letter introducing this year’s season. For these musicians, their tenure at Kent Blossom is more than just performance based — they’ll be working closely with the 43 visiting students accepted this year.  [Read more…]

Follow ClevelandClassical.com

Contact us