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Cleveland Classical Guitar Society Showcase at Maltz PAC (September 15)

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by Nicholas Stevens

Concerts that feature multiple players on a single instrument come with a risk: the consistency of tone across the evening can come across as a lack of variety. Some instruments, such as the piano, evade this thanks to centuries’ worth of diverse repertoire. Classical guitarists have additional advantages: their community boasts a strong tradition of writing new transcriptions and original works, and each great player has a unique sound. Both of those were in full evidence at last weekend’s Showcase Concert for the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society.

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Cleveland Classical Guitar Society to present Showcase Concert Sept. 15

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by Mike Telin

What are musicians to do when the piece of music they are looking to present simply doesn’t exist in the repertoire? In the case of guitarists Stephen Aron and Jeremy Collins, they decided to fill that void by writing their own.

On Saturday, September 15 at 7:30 pm in the Maltz Performing Arts Center, Aron and Collins will be joined by fellow guitarist Colin Davin during the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s annual Showcase Concert. The program will include Mauro Giuliani’s Rossiniana No. 1 along with selections from Aron’s Menagerie, Sixteen Concert Studies for Guitar (2018) and the premiere of Collins’ Impressions for Viola and Guitar. The free event is part of the inaugural Silver Hall Concert Series.

Aron, who has been teaching at the Oberlin Conservatory since 1992 (he also taught at the University of Akron for thirty-four years), has often felt “boxed in” by the limited number of concert studies available to him as a teacher. “Then it finally hit me — I should just write my own,” he said during a telephone conversation.

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Akron’s Urban Troubadour takes a sneak peek at Blutique Hotel (Apr. 24)

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by Nicholas Stevens

UT BlutiqueThe musicians’ collective Urban Troubadour offers not mere concerts, but adventures. In a cultural moment when encounters with chamber music range from formal recitals with traditional programs to party-like gatherings in living rooms, bars, and galleries, alternative formats have become common in Northeast Ohio and across the country. Yet even in the crowded field of efforts to “disrupt” the world of staid programming, Urban Troubadour’s multi-part evenings feel distinct and vital.

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Oberlin’s Michael Lynn to demonstrate ten historical flutes in May 20 program

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by Daniel Hathaway

Lynn with flutes“I always tell my students that performing on different instruments during the same recital is a bad idea,” Oberlin Baroque flute professor Michael Lynn said in a recent lunch interview. Casting aside his own advice, Lynn will host “A Passion for Innovation: A Lecture/Concert on Ten Rare Flutes, 1770-1900” on May 20 at 11:00 am in Kulas Recital Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory. With the assistance of several Oberlin colleagues, he’ll demonstrate just a few of the sixty flutes in his personal collection using period repertoire specially matched to the instruments.

The idea came to him when he acquired a crystal flute made by Claude Laurent in Paris in 1821. Among the most expensive flutes on the market at that time, these instruments were priced well out of the reach of mere musicians and were frequently given as gifts by the wealthy (among their owners were James Madison and Napoleon Bonaparte). Some 120 of these flutes still exist.

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Cleveland Classical Guitar Society: a conversation with executive director Erik Mann

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by Mike Telin

CCGS-ShowcaseThe Cleveland Classical Guitar Society will open its International Series with a “Showcase” concert at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. On Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 pm, two duos will join Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux in a wide-ranging program of pieces for voice and guitar, two guitars, and solo guitar. The performers include Stephen Aron, guitar, and JoNell Aron, soprano, as well as Duo Amaral (Jorge Amaral and Mia Pomerantz-Amaral, guitars). Where else can you find Shine on, harvest moon and a Bach lute suite on the same program? There’s no admission charge, but donations are welcome.

In addition to the great music, CCGS will honor Jason Vieaux during the concert as the first recipient of the Cleveland Classical Guitar Award. “We created the award because we felt that we should recognize the classical guitarists who are spreading the word about our art form throughout the community, and Jason is the perfect fit to receive the first award,” CCGS executive director Erik Mann said during a telephone conversation. [Read more…]

Cuyahoga Valley Chamber Players at Happy Days Lodge (July 26)

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by James Flood

Music-by-Nature-2The Cuyahoga Valley Chamber Players (CVCP) performed last Sunday evening, July 26, at the Happy Days Lodge in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The ensemble comprised flutist Jane Berkner, cellist Miles Richardson, guitarist Stephen Aron, and violist Ann Cirvenic, who arranged themselves in a variety of combinations which included two duets, a trio and a quartet. [Read more…]

Music by Nature in Cuyahoga Valley National Park: an interview with flutist Jane Berkner

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by Jarrett Hoffman

CVNP-Summer-Winds

This July, the Music by Nature series invites audiences to Cuyahoga Valley National Park for two concerts by very different groups. On Sunday, July 12, the Cuyahoga Valley Chamber Players will perform “Summer Winds,” a program of three works for woodwind quintet. Two weeks later, on Sunday, July 26, “A Romantic Summer’s Eve” will feature the Chamber Players in an assortment of works for flute, guitar, viola, and cello. Both concerts are at 6:30 pm at Happy Days Lodge. Audiences are invited to bring a picnic beginning at 5:00 pm and to join the musicians for a post-concert dessert reception. Tickets can be purchased here.

We spoke about Music by Nature with flutist Jane Berkner, interim flute professor at the University of Akron. Berkner has also served on the faculties of Ashland and Muskingum Universities, and she is director of Arts and Enrichment for the Conservancy of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

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Review: Oberlin String Quartet & Intensive — A Viennese Evening (January 10)

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by Daniel Hautzinger

Kulas-Oberlin“Viennese” is often a byword for “light.” It conjures images of bourgeois gentlemen nibbling cream-filled pastries while being entertained by effortless waltzes like “The Beautiful Blue Danube.” The second concert in Oberlin Conservatory’s String Quartet Intensive and Festival, “A Viennese Evening” on Jan. 10 in Kulas Recital Hall, was thus a charming and pleasant affair.

The program began with an oddity, Ferdinand Rebay’s Quartet in d minor for guitar and string trio. Rebay (1880-1953) spent most of his life in Vienna and died in obscurity after being blacklisted by the Nazis, as violist and organizer of the Festival Michael Strauss explained during intermission. Rebay is so unknown that Friday night was the U.S. premiere of the work. Strauss was joined by three other Oberlin faculty members for the piece: violinist David Bowlin, cellist Darrett Adkins, and guitarist Stephen Aron, who suggested the performance.

Guitar is rare in chamber music. Rebay, perhaps understanding its lack of projection, mostly uses the guitar in the d minor quartet to flesh out the harmony or to add rhythmic excitement. [Read more…]

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