Sheku Kanneh-Mason Archives - Cleveland Classical

DIARY: Tuesday, April 4, 2023

April 4, 2023 by Jarrett Hoffman

by Jarrett Hoffman

IN THIS EDITION:

•Today: organist Jonathan Moyer at the Covenant, and Apollo’s Fire’s European tour sendoff concert

•Applications & honors: CIM Young Composers Program, KSU’s Roy Minoff Composition Competition, CityMusic’s Diversity Fellowship open to violinists, and wind ensemble honors for three groups

•Almanac: composer Chen Yi, violinist Augustin Hadelich, and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason

HAPPENING TODAY:

A freewill offering will get you into the Church of the Covenant at 12 pm to hear organist Jonathan Moyer on the Tuesday Noon Organ Plus series (program to be announced).

And Apollo’s Fire will give its European tour sendoff concert at 7:30 at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. The program, titled “Exile: Music of the Jewish & African Diasporas,” celebrates the connections of Sephardic, Ashkenazy, Palestinian, and African traditions. Jeannette Sorrell (pictured) directs, and the featured soloists include Rachel Weston (mezzo-soprano), Jacob Perry and Haitham Haidar (tenors), Jeffrey Strauss (baritone), and Daphna Mor, (recorder, ney, vocals). Tickets are available here.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Orchestra welcomes the return of a conductor and the debut of a soloist

November 3, 2021 by Mike Telin

by Mike Telin

On Thursday, November 4 at 7:30 pm The Cleveland Orchestra will welcome the return of guest conductor Jakub Hrůša and welcome cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason to the Mandel Concert Hall stage for the first time.

The program features Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in a, Elgar’s Cello Concerto and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6. The program is repeated on Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 8:00 pm, and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.

We caught up with Jakub Hrůša at his hotel and began our conversation by asking him what it’s like to be able to return to the States? Our conversation with Sheku Kanneh-Mason is below.

Jakub Hrůša: This is the first time I’ve flown overseas since the beginning of the pandemic and I’m very happy that it was to Cleveland — it’s a very special feeling. Because of the history of my visits — for a while I was coming almost every year — I think of Cleveland as my American home. It’s great that after this pandemic pause the first people I see are these musicians. And that feeling connects to the public as well, so I’m very happy that after that period of absence I can be here again. [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…]

Kirill Gerstein is captivating on piano as Cleveland Orchestra recital series continues (Dec. 4)

by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s no dearth of first-class piano performances to enjoy in Northeast Ohio, but Kirill Gerstein’s contribution to the collective wealth Wednesday night was extraordinary both in concept and execution.

Playing as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s ongoing recital series at Severance Music Center, Gerstein wove an overarching narrative from the 21 little masked ball portraits in Robert Schumann’s “Carnaval.” Then he helped composer Francisco Coll blow up the idea of the waltz in two striking, brand new pieces written for Gerstein and joined Maurice Ravel in redefining that most civilized of dances in a cataclysmic performance of “La valse.”

[Read on…]

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