Sam Guarnaccia Archives - Cleveland Classical

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra and Cleveland Chamber Choir to premiere Guarnaccia’s Emergent Universe Oratorio

June 27, 2017 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

Cleveland Chamber Choir founding artistic director Scott MacPherson will lead his expanded chorus and the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra in the world premiere of Sam Guarnaccia’s Emergent Universe Oratorio at the Maltz Performing Arts Center at Case Western Reserve University on Friday, June 30 at 7:30 pm. Designed to underline humanity’s responsibility to protect and preserve planet Earth, the work relates the scientific story of the journey of the Universe from the Big Bang to the emergence of the evolutionary force of human consciousness.

The new work will be performed in conjunction with a congress of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni at John Carroll University — held every four years but meeting in North America for the first time since its founding in 1956. [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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