by Daniel Hathaway
The Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s concert brochure presents information about its seven-concert season, neatly organized to include one concert each month, and all of them scheduled for Tuesday evenings.
This season, the Society has invited the Belcea Quartet, the Danish String Quartet, the Takács Quartet with pianist Marc-André Hamelin, cellist Steven Isserlis with pianist Connie Shih, the Pavel Haas Quartet, tenor Matthew Polenzani with pianist Julius Drake, and solo pianist Garrick Ohlsson to perform at Disciples Church in Cleveland Heights.
How did this series of concerts come together? We went right to the source, programming committee chair Steve Somach, for insights into the selection process. We spoke this week by phone.
Daniel Hathaway: I thought it would be interesting to write an article about how CCMS puts a season together, especially since you’ve got over twenty people on your board.
Steve Somach: That’s for sure.
DH: It’s always like solving a jigsaw puzzle, but I think in your case, it’s kind of a special one. [Read more…]
Examining the mailing lists of an arts organization can reveal a lot. First and foremost that list tells you who is attending the events. And when comparing the mailing lists of two like-minded organizations, for example ones devoted to chamber music, one would expect to find more than a fair amount of overlap.
For its 67th season, the Cleveland Chamber Music Society will present its customary lineup of seven world-class chamber music groups — plus a young artists showcase and a young artists competition. You won’t see the names of any new ensembles on the roster for 2016-2017, but there’s a major personnel change and an interesting realignment of musicians that will be of primary interest to chamber music lovers.