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Canton Symphony: “Celtic Celebrations” (Jan. 20)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

“Celtic Celebrations” was the theme for the program comprising two Gaelic-themed symphonies performed by the Canton Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, January 20 at Umstattd Hall. A nice ring to it, even if actual Irishness or Scottishness was sometimes more in the mind than in the scores.

Gaelicism is present, of course, in the symphony nicknames — Felix Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” and Amy Beach’s “Gaelic” — as well as their respective germs of inspiration: Mendelssohn’s almost mystical giddiness after a trip to the Scottish countryside (though not realized in music until over a decade later), and Beach’s methodical use of Irish tunes (added to her own) to create an original (and American) synthesis. More concoctions of mind than authenticities, perhaps, but still — what’s not to like?

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Canton Symphony enters a new era:
a conversation with music director designate Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz

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by Mike Telin

When Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz was appointed Music Director Designate of the Canton Symphony in August of 2020, the plan was for him to assume the role of Music Director in 2026. But with the passing in June of Gerhardt Zimmermann, the Orchestra’s longtime Music Director, Jaroszewicz suddenly found himself tasked with filling some big shoes sooner than expected.

On Saturday, October 7 at 7:30 pm, the young conductor will lead the Orchestra’s season-opening concert at Zimmermann Symphony Center. The program, titled “Ode to Freedom,” includes Joan Tower’s Made in America, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, and two works that will feature Seohyun Kim, winner of the 2022 Thomas and Evon Cooper International Violin Competition: Maurice Ravel’s Tzigane and Jeff Scott’s Song of the Uirapuru, receiving its world premiere. Tickets are available online.

I caught up with Jaroszewicz by phone and began by asking him how he is managing during this period of transition.

Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz: It’s been difficult for a lot of reasons. Obviously, in six years serving as Gerhardt’s assistant and then associate, I built a professional and personal relationship with him, and with his wife Sharon as well. The plan was for me to take over as Music Director in 2026, and after that Gerhardt would still be around as the Music Director Emeritus for five more years. So to not only be thrust into the role three years early, but to not have Gerhardt there as someone I could lean on as a mentor was a shock.

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Zimmermann Remembered (Sept. 10)

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by Kevin McLaughlin

The late Gerhardt Zimmermann was remembered with affection by family and friends in a concert given by the Canton Symphony Orchestra at Umstaddt Hall on Sunday, September 10.

Former conducting students and colleagues took turns at the podium, and soloists whose careers Zimmermann had touched also took part in a program of works by Mahler, Brahms, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky, among others.

Possibly the most shining example of Zimmermann’s legacy is the orchestra that he developed and led for 43 years. In an age of peripatetic conductors and short-lived musical directorships, the Canton Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble of ninety mostly young professionals, has remained remarkably excellent and intact over the years.

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A Magnificent Feast from the Canton Symphony (Apr. 30)

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by Tom Wachunas

Talk about perfect timing. In this abysmal era so saturated with our blood and tears, along comes the Canton Symphony Orchestra (CSO) with its inspiring April 30 concert, called Music For Humanity, presenting a lavish feast to feed yearning souls.

The first half of the evening featured two works conducted by the vivacious associate conductor Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz, beginning with Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No.1. Composed in 1986 by Joan Tower, the work was inspired by Aaron Copland’s iconic fanfare and employed the same instrumentation of brass and percussion.

Tower dedicated this surprisingly brief work to “women who take risks and are adventurous.” Adventurous to be sure. While the opening theme is a subtle echo of Copland’s, the CSO brass was remarkably bright, crisp and crackling in its relentless morphing of the motif into quick, layered variations, both delicate and discordant, robustly spiced with startling bursts of timpani. [Read more…]

Canton Youth Symphony joins the Pros in a side-by-side (Feb. 16)

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by Tom Wachunas

Unlike some other MasterWorks concerts by the Canton Symphony Orchestra, there was no single, dominant musical theme or concept uniting the selections on its February 16 program. There certainly was, however, a unifying energy working from the podium — CSO Assistant Conductor Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz. [Read more…]

Canton Symphony & Youth Symphony to play side-by-side this weekend

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by Mike Telin

For those of us who had the good fortune to be part of a youth symphony system, we cherish those days fondly for the rest of our lives. We remember the first time when, while still young students, we were invited to join the ranks of a professional orchestra. All of a sudden, you realized that you had entered a whole new ballgame.

On Sunday, February 16 at 3:00 pm in Umstattd Hall, members of the Canton Youth Symphony will have that opportunity when they join with the Canton Symphony for side-by-side performances of Sibelius’ Finlandia and Walton’s Crown Imperial Coronation March, under the direction of Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz. The program will also include Nicolai’s Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”) performed by the Canton Symphony. A concert prelude with Jaroszewicz begins at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

“I am very excited about this opportunity,” CYS concertmaster Karl Helmuth said in a conference call during his morning study hall at Hoover High School, where he is a junior. [Read more…]

Jaroszewicz leads Canton Symphony with organ soloist Heather Cooper (Jan. 25)

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by Tom Wachunas

Among many fascinating aspects of the January 25 performance by the Canton Symphony Orchestra was the ensemble’s untiring attentiveness to the conductor. Here was a remarkable connectivity, a sharpened focus, a palpable state of eager readiness. The musicians were always alert, ever poised to respond instantaneously and with riveting precision to signals from the podium. Those signals were transmitted in delightfully animated fashion by assistant conductor Matthew Jenkins Jaroszewicz. [Read more…]

Canton Symphony: A circuitous path to Haydn’s Mass in Time of War (Mar. 23)

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by Tom Wachunas

It would seem that the timing of the March 23 MasterWorks concert by the Canton Symphony Orchestra — a few weeks into Lent — was no accident. If the mission of the program was to leave the audience awed enough to ponder and savor heavenly matters, it was ultimately accomplished with glorious panache. But the road to get there was paved with strange intentions. [Read more…]

Giggles and grace from the Canton Symphony (March 2)

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by Tom Wachunas

Imagine watching a very fine orchestra as it begins to perform the stirring final movement of a symphony. After only a few bars, the violinists abruptly stop playing and start to tune their instruments. Oh, the indignity! Nervous giggles ripple through the audience as the conductor, clearly mortified by such a cacophonous interruption, glares incredulously at his rude ensemble before continuing. [Read more…]

Canton Symphony: A Christmas gem from Benjamin & a timeless gift from Beethoven (Dec. 3)

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by Tom Wachunas

Benjamin-EricIn the beginning, I thought that the Canton Symphony’s December 3 MasterWorks program, called “Gifts of Fate,” was a peculiar, even arbitrary pairing of very disparate works: The Secret Gift, a Christmas-themed symphonic poem of sorts, written in 2013 by American composer Eric Benjamin, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s iconic 1807 masterpiece, Symphony No. 5. But by evening’s end, I heard the connective light. [Read more…]

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