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Cleveland Chamber Choir’s weekend concerts to benefit Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence

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by Daniel Hathaway

Scott MacPherson frequently programs concerts for his Cleveland Chamber Choir that deal with current social issues, and its programs at Akron’s St. Sebastian Church on Saturday, June 11 at 6:30 pm (freewill offering, live stream available), and at Chagrin Falls Federated Church on Sunday, June 12 at 5:00 pm (tickets here) have been heavily influenced by recent events.

In a recent telephone conversation, Oberlin Conservatory musicology professor Charles Edward McGuire, who will give pre-concert lectures 45 minutes before each performance, revealed the thought process that led to the choice of repertory for these concerts by MacPherson’s professional singers.

“The concept was really planned around Kent State composition professor Adam Robert’s work, Book of Doubt/Book of Faith.” Written for 16-part choir, viola and percussion, the piece sets secular, feminist ‘psalms’ by poet Claire Schwartz relevant to our time and connected to Jewish history, as well as music by composers who have historically been excluded from the world of classical music. [Read more…]

Kent State moves delayed May 1970 observance to Severance on May 2: 300 to appear onstage

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by Daniel Hathaway

May 4, 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of the tragic shooting of Kent State students by Ohio National Guard members during protests around the Vietnam War, but COVID-19 upstaged KSU’s plans for a memorial.

Two years later, the University will be ferrying more than 300 performers from Kent to Cleveland for an extraordinary event at Severance Music Center on Monday, May 2 at 7:00 pm.

Musicians, dancers, singers, and poetry readers will commemorate the events of that day in 1970 in a mammoth concert. According to a press release, Stories of Peace, Protest and Reflection “explores social justice, civil rights and the complex emotions felt before, during and after tragedy.”

Having read the press materials, I was eager to learn more about how this event was put together — a feat of human choreography and logistics that seemed comparable to staging a small version of D-Day. Happily, I was referred to an old colleague, clarinet professor Amitai Vardi, who was charged with coordinating the event. In a phone call, I asked him how it all came about. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir with McDowall and guest singers at CSU (Feb. 27)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Cleveland Chamber Choir’s hosting of choruses from Kent State and Cleveland State Universities in a joint concert on February 27 in CSU’s Waetjen Auditorium might have been reminiscent of multi-choir powwows from one’s schooldays, but the quality of repertoire, the level of singing, and efficient stage management raised the event to impressive heights.

The catalyst for this particular concert was a visit by British composer Cecilia McDowall, several of whose works were programmed, including the premiere of her On the Air (Dear Vaccine), and culminating in a massed choir performance of her 2016 piece The Presence. Along the way, we also heard McDowall’s Brightest Star, De Profundis (Night Raid), Regina coeli, and When Time is Broke: Three Shakespeare Songs.   [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir hosts composer Cecilia McDowall

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by Mike Telin

During the pandemic, the anxiety caused by an unknown future and the longing to return to normal have been beautifully expressed by thousands of people around the globe who participated in the Global Vaccine Poem project. Lines from these poems served as the inspiration for British composer Cecilia McDowall’s On the Air (Dear Vaccine).

Commissioned by the Cleveland Chamber Choir, the work will receive its premiere on Saturday, February 26 at 7:00 pm at Amasa Stone Chapel and on Sunday, February 27 at 5:00 pm at Waetjen Auditorium under the direction of Scott MacPherson. The program, “Cecilia and Her World,” will feature nine of McDowall’s works along with music by composers who have influenced her style.

Joining CCC will be choirs from Cleveland, Kent, and Youngstown State Universities as well as Case Western Reserve University. A pre-concert talk, “In Conversation: Cecilia McDowall with Charles Edward McGuire,” will begin 45 minutes before each performance. Both concerts are free. Click here to download the program and here for COVID-19 protocols.

The Global Vaccine Poem project is the brainchild of David Hassler, director of Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center, and Tyler Meier, executive director of the University of Arizona’s Poetry Center. So far, the project has received over 2,200 poems from people in 118 countries and every state in the U.S. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir: “Carols Around the World”
(Dec. 11)

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by Peter Feher

“Carols Around the World” doesn’t quite capture the breadth of the Cleveland Chamber Choir’s holiday program. The group sang more than just Christmas music on December 11 at Old Stone Church.

Artistic director Scott MacPherson planned it this way, crafting a concert that combined seasonal tunes with pieces for any time of the year to deliver a larger theme of gratitude and thanksgiving — not restricted to the holidays.

[Read more…]

Holiday music and giving thanks: Cleveland Chamber Choir to premiere two works by Corey K. Rubin

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by Jarrett Hoffman

You know that an organization thinks highly of a composer when one commission turns into three — and then four.

Back in 2018, Cleveland Chamber Choir artistic director Scott MacPherson asked Corey K. Rubin to contribute a Hanukkah arrangement to their holiday program. A member of CCC himself, and now also on the composition and music theory faculty of Cleveland State University, Rubin smartly realized that a set of three Hanukkah arrangements would be more appealing in his catalog than a single one all by its lonesome. MacPherson was “more than thrilled” at the idea, Rubin told me at the time.

Those arrangements have been premiered one at a time over the past few years. The final one, Sevivon — and the set as a whole — will be premiered this weekend when CCC presents “Carols Around the World,” a free program of holiday selections and music on the theme of giving thanks. Performances take place Saturday, December 11 at 7:00 pm at Old Stone Church in Cleveland, and Sunday, December 12 at 4:00 pm at Christ Episcopal Church in Hudson.

Now we come to premiere number four in this tale, also to be performed on this weekend’s program.

[Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir: “Madrigals of All Times” (May 15 video)

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by Jarrett Hoffman

Musicians are not necessarily known for their acrobatic abilities, but jumping through one or two hoops has become an important part of their job description.

That’s exactly what Scott MacPherson and the Cleveland Chamber Choir did for the second performance of their sixth season. Masked and spaced several feet apart, the ensemble gathered for a recording session in the resonant space of a Train Avenue warehouse on Cleveland’s West Side last month. The resulting video — “Madrigals of All Times,” released on May 15 — is excellent in programming, performance, and production.

Two central threads run through MacPherson’s mosaic of madrigals: world premieres, and pairings of Renaissance and 20th-century pieces, which in several cases are set to the same text. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir:
“Madrigals of All Times” 

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by Mike Telin

When you hear the word madrigal, for many what first comes to mind are those dinners where the performers and guests dress in Renaissance costumes. While those events continue to flourish, especially during the Yuletide season, on Saturday, May 15 at 7:30 pm the Cleveland Chamber Choir will remind us that the writing of these part-songs has never stopped.

“Madrigals of All Times” features works by European and American composers from the 16th century to today and includes premieres of madrigals by Dolores White and Adolphus Hailstork. The pre-recorded concert can be viewed on Facebook and YouTube and following the premiere, will remain available on-demand.

In a recent conference call, CCC artistic director Scott MacPherson and managing director Kira McGirr noted that this is not the first time the Choir has presented madrigals with an updated twist. The first was “March Madrigal Madness” in 2019 where the program was organized in a bracket like the famed collegiate basketball tournament. “It was super successful,” MacPherson said. “The singers and I had a lot of fun putting it together.” [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir  appoints first Assistant Conductor

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On May 19 Cleveland Chamber Choir announced the appointment of Corey Fowler as the organization’s first Assistant Conductor. Now approaching their sixth season under Artistic Director and co-founder Scott MacPherson, Cleveland Chamber Choir has grown to include over ten performances and outreach programs each year, as well as frequent collaborations with other Northeast Ohio organizations, including BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Composers Guild, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Oberlin Choristers, and Kent Roosevelt High School ChoralWorks.

“On behalf of the Board of the Cleveland Chamber Choir, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Corey Fowler as Assistant Conductor,” CCC Board President Melissa Vandergriff said in a press release. “Corey has been an invaluable member of the CCC family since our debut concert in 2015. He is well connected to our community as a Kent State University graduate, as well as being Director of Choirs at Kent Roosevelt High School and Director of Music at Kent United Church of Christ. His strong Ohio roots and links to the community will help CCC strengthen our commitment to being More than Music! in Northeast Ohio.” [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Choir responds to COVID-19 and releases a new video 

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by Mike Telin

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and ban on mass gatherings, Cleveland Chamber Choir and BlueWater Chamber Orchestra have canceled their May 2 performance of “With Heaven and Earth.”

In response to the overwhelming loss of work that area musicians have experienced, the Cleveland Chamber Choir has created the More than Music Artist Relief Fund to support local performing musicians impacted by the crisis. Click here to donate and here to apply for funding.

In a recent telephone conversation, mezzo-soprano and CCC managing director Kira McGirr said that she became aware that some organizations had indicated whether or not they would be able to pay their musicians for cancelled performances. “I thought it would be a nice gesture if we offered our singers at least a portion of their fee as a thank-you and acknowledgment of the struggles that we are all experiencing. The Board unanimously agreed.”

After McGirr sent the email to CCC members notifying them of the May 2 cancellation and the Board’s intent to pay a partial fee, she immediately received messages from singers saying that they preferred to have the organization keep the money. [Read more…]

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