Neal Todten Archives - Cleveland Classical

Preview: MOCA to hold “Avant-Garde Idol” contest with student composers from BW and CSU

April 7, 2014 by Special to ClevelandClassical.com

Mike Telin

CSU-BW MOCA Cleveland will launch the first edition of a new music competition on Thursday, April 10 beginning at 8:00 pm, when student composers from Cleveland State University and Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music compete for the title of “Avant-Garde Idol.” The contestants are Zach Albrecht, (BW), Joshua Fadenholz, (CSU), Nathaniel Frank, (BW), Sean Hussey, (BW), Jacob Kingzett, (CSU), James Kunselman, (BW), Aubrie Powell, (BW), Buck McDaniel, (CSU) & Neal Todten, (CSU).

The competition is the brainchild of Chris Auerbach-Brown, MOCA’s Media Program Manager, who in a recent telephone conversation said he came up with the idea while thinking of ways to present contemporary music to audiences in different contexts rather then the traditional sit and listen format. “My thought was to take a pre-existing popular television show model and apply it to a contemporary music concert, and this is what I came up with.” [Read more…]

CityMusic Cleveland: Brouwer’s Viola Concerto with Eliesha Nelson in Rocky River (Oct. 27)

by Daniel Hathaway

The peripatetic CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra was founded with the admirable mission of bringing free performances of classical music to various corners of metropolitan Cleveland.

Having already taken their interesting program of works by J.S. Bach, Margaret Brouwer, and Johannes Brahms to Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, St. Noel Church in Willoughby Hills, and the Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus in Slavic Village, CityMusic ended its most recent progress around town at Our Lady of Angels in Rocky River on Sunday afternoon, October 27. The performance attracted a large audience. [Read on…]

Cleveland Orchestra delights Halloween and Christmas fans alike with early holiday concert (Nov. 1)

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com.

By Peter Feher

CLEVELAND, Ohio — This year, the Cleveland Orchestra has virtually every store, shopping mall, and local radio station beat in being the first to break out the Christmas music.

The day after Halloween may be too early for most Ohioans to start getting into the holiday spirit, but it’s the perfect time for Jack Skellington and the charmingly creepy stop-motion cast of the 1993 animated film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Die-hard fans have often debated during which season the movie should be shown – Halloween or Christmas? You could say the Cleveland Orchestra came up with something of a clever compromise, presenting “Nightmare” live in concert along with the airing of the movie on Friday, Nov. 1 at Severance Music Center. It was a single sold-out performance.

[Read on…]

Discovering the magic of water-inspired music with Tan Dun and the Cleveland Orchestra (Oct. 31)

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com.

By Stephanie Manning

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The gusty winds that buffeted Severance Music Center on Halloween night seemed an apt complement for music about the elements. Inside, though, the focus was on a different force of nature: water, both literal and figurative.

On the podium was composer-conductor Tan Dun, making his Cleveland Orchestra debut in a program that will be repeated on Saturday, November 2. With the composer himself present, it was only fitting that the ensemble should give the Cleveland premiere of two of his pieces: the Water Concerto and Concerto for Orchestra.

[Read on…]

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