Micah Montgomery Archives - Cleveland Classical

Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival: Petra Polácková recital and Final Round of the Stroud Youth Competition (June 7)

June 16, 2026 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

Born in the Czech Republic and now teaching in Weimar, Petra Polácková has become one of the most revered performers at the Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival. Her choice of repertory and her elegant playing using three different instruments on Sunday afternoon, June 7 in Mixon Hall made for a splendid finale to the 2026 Festival.

Polácková began her program,“The Art of Polyphony” with two works by Luys de Narvaez, playing Cancion del Emperador with beautiful tone and phrasing and heartfelt ornamentation, and O Gloriosa Domina with wonderfully transparent passages of counterpoint. [Read more…]

James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition: next generation shines in the final round (June 9)

June 19, 2024 by Max Newman

by Max Newman

Every year, the James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition provides audiences with a look at some of the most talented young musicians aged 13-18 that our nation has to offer. And the competition’s fifth edition did not disappoint.

On the evening of June 9 at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall, the competition’s four finalists went toe-to-toe over the course of an hour that was as much a joyous celebration of music as it was an entertaining competition.

Although Californian Elle Davisson, a 16-year-old native of the Bay Area, eventually came out on top with the grand prize, all the performers showcased astonishing skill and should come away feeling proud. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra opens Blossom Festival with ‘America at 250′ (July 3)

by Kevin McLaughlin

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There is nothing like a picnic, American music and a torrential downpour to bring a Blossom Music Center crowd closer together. On Friday, July 3, the Cleveland Orchestra’s summer season opener offered all three, plus fireworks, making this annual rite feel complete.

The occasion was “America at 250,” a broad sampler of our nation’s music led by Edwin Outwater and presented under the title “Out of Many, One: A Tapestry of American Music.” The evening also marked the loss of Limmie Pulliam, the Oberlin-trained tenor and a favorite of Cleveland Orchestra audiences, who had been scheduled to appear but unfortunately passed away earlier this year.

[Read on…]

ChamberFest wraps up season with “Convergence” (June 27)

by Stephanie Manning

Both parking and seating were at a premium for ChamberFest Cleveland’s June 27 concert, which concluded this year’s festival right where it began less than three weeks earlier. Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music hosted the culmination of the fourteenth season with its optimistic program, titled “Convergence.”

ChamberFest finales often feature a seminal small ensemble work — last year it was the Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor, this year it was Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet. Ultimately, the final concert of 2026 leaned more traditional, a choice that felt a bit anticlimactic after a season that otherwise concentrated a good deal of energy on contemporary works.

Still, the Saturday evening performance did include one piece by a living composer: Olli Mustonen’s Nonet II. As Donald Rosenberg’s program notes reminded us, the three pieces on tap were all generally sunny and upbeat, and the players came dressed in colors to match: yellow, pink, purple, and cream, to name a few.

[Read on…]

Ohio Light Opera’s Damn Yankees has all kinds of heart (June 18)

by Stephanie Manning

Any hardcore Cleveland Guardians fan might say they’d do anything to see their team win. But would they strike a deal with the devil for it?

The character of Joe Boyd makes just that kind of Faustian bargain for his beloved baseball team in Damn Yankees, the second of six shows to open at Ohio Light Opera this season. The 1955 musical, with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, began its run in the College of Wooster’s Freedlander Theater on June 18.

A premiere for the company, this golden age musical has plenty of heart, even if its second half doesn’t quite hit a home run. But with a strong cast and direction by Steven Daigle, it’s a production worth checking out, filled with colorful sets and infectious energy from the performers.

[Read on…]

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