Peter Evans Archives - Cleveland Classical

Syndicate for the New Arts: triple bill at the Bop Stop (April 9)

April 20, 2016 by Daniel Hathaway

by Mike Telin

Variety is the spice of life and on Saturday, April 9 a large crowd gathered at the Bop Stop to hear a triple bill performance that demonstrated how much variety exists within the confines of contemporary music. Presented by the Syndicate for the New Arts, the evening kicked off with Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Particles (2007). Beautifully performed by Syndicate percussionist Ben Rempel and harpist Caitlin Mehrtens, the work’s quiet, ethereal lines seemed to float through the room. [Read more…]

The Syndicate for the New Arts presents triple bill at the Bop Stop April 9

April 4, 2016 by Daniel Hathaway

by Mike Telin

On Saturday, April 9 at 8:00 pm at the Bop Stop, The Syndicate for the New Arts will continue their season with a triple bill evening that highlights the diversity of today’s contemporary classical music scene.

The evening will kick off with Costa Rica-born composer Julio Zúñiga’s 24 (2014) performed by Syndicate members Ben Rempel (percussion), Caitlin Mehrtens (harp), and Austin Lewellen (contrabass). The Syndicate set will also include Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Particles (2007) — a duo for harp and percussion performed by Rempel and Mehrtens. [Read more…]

Oberlin Opera stages a Cendrillon of professional quality (Nov. 10)

by Daniel Hathaway

Any regional opera company would be popping its buttons with pride to have produced such an impressive performance of Jules Massenet’s Cendrillion (Cinderella) as Oberlin Opera did in Hall Auditorium on Sunday afternoon, November 10.

Imaginative staging by Stephanie Havey, skillful pacing by conductor James Feddeck, beautiful set design and costuming by Laura Carlson-Tarantowski and Chris Flaharty, respectively, plus dramatic and — for the fairies — enchanting lighting by Jeremy K. Benjamin provided a supportive environment for splendid singing by the cast and brilliant playing by the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra.

Literally thousands of versions of the Cinderella tale exist in cultures around the globe, but many of the details of Massenet’s opera date back to Charles Perrault’s 1697 Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre, which adds what have now become essential elements to the tale: a young girl mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, who temporarily attracts the attention of a handsome prince at a royal ball and is eventually reunited with him to become a princess herself. [Read on…]

Seraph Brass dances through musical travels in Rocky River (Nov. 11)

by Stephanie Manning

Before Seraph Brass arrived in Ohio on November 11, the group’s fall touring season had taken them on the road to Missouri, Florida, New York, and even Peru. And at the Rocky River Chamber Music Society, they gave the audience a taste of the traveling life right from the first piece.

The “Prelude” from Edvard Greig’s Holberg Suite whisked listeners away to Norway, with a melody surely familiar to many. It was extra familiar to the brass quintet themselves, who launched into their opening number without sheet music. Playing memorized is part of the group’s trademark, and they smoothly alternated using music and no music throughout the evening. Either way, the wide-ranging program had those at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church spellbound.

Trumpet players Mary Elizabeth Bowden and Raquel Samayoa, horn player Layan Atieh, trombonist Lauren Casey-Clyde, and tuba player Robyn Black sounded equally comfortable in Romantic and contemporary repertoire, flipping between both with practiced ease. [Read on…]

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