Mambo Kings Archives - Cleveland Classical

Bring in the New Year with Carl Topilow and the Cleveland POPS Orchestra

December 23, 2014 by Daniel Hathaway

By Mike Telin

In the words of Carl Topilow, “Severance Hall is the place to be on New Years Eve.” On Wednesday, December 31 at 9:00 pm, Topilow and the Cleveland POPS Orchestra will welcome 2015 with their 19th annual concert and dance at Severance Hall. In addition to an eclectic mix of musical styles performed by the Cleveland POPS Orchestra, the evening also includes the Latin Jazz sounds of the Mambo Kings.

“It’s hard to believe this is Year 19,” Topilow said during a telephone conversation. “Keeping with tradition, the first half of the concert will feature the orchestra performing some traditional selections that we always do, plus some new arrangements as well. The first half really is a tribute to the old and the new.” [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts return with plenty of festive cheer (Dec. 11)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the twinkling lights, leafy green garlands and festive poinsettias didn’t already clue you in, the holidays have arrived at Severance Music Center. ‘Tis the season for annual traditions — including The Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts, which began on Wednesday evening.

Running through December 22, the programs feature plenty of seasonal classics plus some potential new favorites. The first performance proved that this mix is a delightful recipe for festive cheer.

“Look at you all, out on a school night!” conductor Sarah Hicks proclaimed joyfully from the podium. Just as many concertgoers donned red outfits to get into the spirit, Mandel Concert Hall was also decked out with decorations and stage lighting effects.

[Read on…]

Oberlin Conservatory convincingly tells Omar’s story (Dec. 8)

by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pultizer Prize-winning opera Omar on December 8 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center proved that concert productions of opera can succeed without sets, elaborate costumes and extensive staging. Indeed, the Oberlin Conservatory presentation offered more than enough to keep the audience in the crowded house enthralled.

The Opera, which was also presented at Oberlin’s Finney Chapel two days earlier, is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, the only such work written by an enslaved person during their enslavement, and the only such document written in Arabic.

Rhiannon Giddens’ brilliant libretto chronicles the life of ibn Said, beginning in present-day Senegal and following him through his capture, journey via the Middle Passage, and enslavement in North and South Carolina. [Read on…]

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