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Margi Griebling-Haigh’s The Higgler now on video

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by Daniel Hathaway

The Higgler, a “tragi-comic chamber opera” with music and libretto by Margi Griebling-Haigh debuted at Disciples Christian Church early in June.

Adapted from a romantic English short story by A. E. Coppard about missed opportunities in life and love, the 90-minute opera was recorded live by Enharmonic Records, and is now available for viewing free of charge on Griebling-Haigh’s YouTube channel.

Directed by Marla Berg and conducted by Steven Smith, the production translates beautifully to a small screen. The sound quality is excellent and reflects a vocally strong cast that includes tenor Brian Skoog as Harvey Witlow, “The Higgler,” soprano Gabrielle Haigh as Mary Sadgrove, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Frey as Mrs. Sadgrove, mezzo soprano Denise Milner Howell as Mrs. Witlow, and soprano Lisl Wangerman as Sophy Dawes.

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Margi Griebling-Haigh’s The Higgler gets a curious, yet charming, world premiere (June 8)

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by Stephanie Manning

The Higgler is an opera about missed opportunities, mixed signals, and difficult decisions. So what awaits its regretful characters once the story ends? Well, your guess is as good as mine.

The ambiguous ending of Margi Griebling-Haigh’s opera is perhaps its biggest paradox. On one hand, when the lights went up not long after a key plot reveal, it left plenty of unanswered questions. On the other, it was hard not to be charmed by the world premiere production at Disciples Christian Church in Cleveland Heights, which I saw on June 8.

The quandary about the ending originates not from Griebling-Haigh’s libretto, but from the original text — A.E. Coppard’s short story “The Higgler,” which the composer follows almost to the letter. Narrator Joseph Hollings occasionally read out verbatim passages, describing certain scenes that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible with the limited set. But director Marla Berg ensured that all transitions were clear, and the rotating backdrops allowed up to three distinct locations to be represented onstage at one time. [Read more…]

Margi Griebling-Haigh’s The Higgler to receive world premiere

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by Mike Telin

When composer Margi Griebling-Haigh happened across English author A.E. Coppard’s The Higgler while in high school, she knew the short story about life’s missed opportunities was fodder for an opera.

On Saturday, June 7 at 7:30 pm at Disciples Christian Church Griebling-Haigh’s tragi-comic chamber opera The Higgler will receive its world premiere, directed by Marla Berg and conducted by Steven Smith.

The cast includes tenor Brian Skoog in the title role, soprano Gabrielle Haigh as Mary Sadgrove, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Frey as Mrs. Sadgrove, mezzo soprano Denise Milner Howell as Mrs. Witlow, and soprano Lisl Wangerman as Sophy Dawes. The production will be repeated on Sunday, June 8 at 3:30 pm. Tickets are available online.

I caught up with conductor Steven Smith and began by asking him how he prepares to conduct the premiere of a new work.

[Read more…]

Voices from the Other Side: a celebratory album release concert full of local talent (Feb. 25)

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by Stephanie Manning

An entire album of pieces for eight cellos and one soprano might seem like a daunting prospect. But Voices from the Other Side clocks in at more than an hour’s worth of music — so there’s more out there for this instrument combination than you might think.

Released in September 2024, the album features soprano Gabrielle Haigh and the Erie Coast Cellists in music by Margi Griebling-Haigh, Arvo Pärt, and Heitor Villa-Lobos, all conducted by Steven Smith. The group made the recording at Federated Church in Chagrin Falls — and on February 25, they gathered in that same venue to present the music in concert for the first time.

Presented as part of the Federated Church Performing Arts Series, with support from the Cleveland Cello Society, the album release concert took its audience on a journey of varied, accessible, and enjoyable contemporary music. [Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Symphony puts its annual spotlight on composing’s next generation

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by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland Chamber Symphony has changed plenty since its founding more than 40 years ago. But some things are still the same.

In addition to the Symphony’s performing work, founder Edwin London “firmly believed that it could be an educational tool as well,” music director Steven Smith said. So in 1983, the Young & Emerging Composers Concert was born — an annual opportunity for the ensemble to play an entire program of new works by local student composers.

This tradition is set to continue on Saturday, March 8 during the Symphony’s “NEOSonicSpring” program, presented at 4:00 pm in Baldwin Wallace Conservatory’s Gamble Auditorium. [Read more…]

“Voices from the Other Side:” a conversation with Margi Griebling-Haigh

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by Mike Telin

When composer Margi Griebling-Haigh was asked to write a companion piece for Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, for cello octet and soprano, little did she know that her 1999 work, Voices From the Other Side, a setting of three poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay, would resurface years later as inspiration for a recording project.

The album, “Voices From the Other Side,” was released in September 2024 on Navona Records.

On Tuesday, February 25 at 7:00 pm at Federated Church in Chagrin Falls, the album will be presented live when conductor Steven Smith leads soprano Gabrielle Haigh and the Erie Coast Cellists in Arvo Pärt’s Fratres and L’abbé Agathon, Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, and Margi Griebling-Haigh’s Cantilena and Voices from the Other Side. Tickets are available online.

During a recent telephone conversation, Griebling-Haigh said that when she composed “Voices,” she had no idea that her daughter would go on to become a singer. “She was a little girl when I wrote that piece. She inherited my love for the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay.”

[Read more…]

Cleveland Chamber Symphony: a tribute to three composing greats (Sept. 15)

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by Stephanie Manning

Last Sunday’s Cleveland Chamber Symphony concert began with an encore and ended with a concerto, flipping the usual program order on its head. The result was quite refreshing, setting the tone for their September 15 program: “NEOSonicFall — Celebrating NEOhio Composers.”

The performance in Baldwin Wallace’s Gamble Auditorium lasted just over an hour, a pleasant surprise when many orchestral programs often double that. And it would have been even shorter had the group not repeated Donald Erb’s Spatial Fanfare. Clocking in at less than two minutes, the opening work was over in a flash — so conductor Steven Smith explained that the group would repeat it to help the audience soak it in.

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NEOSonicFest: Cleveland Chamber Symphony & Verb Ballets at Maltz PAC (April 7)

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by Rory O’Donoghue

The Cleveland Chamber Symphony fused ballet and contemporary music on April 7 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center. Music director and conductor Steven Smith led the Grammy-winning ensemble through an energetic program with guest dancers from two local companies.

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NEOSonicFest: a look back at the beginning, and a peek at what’s on tap in 2019

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by Jarrett Hoffman

When a festival runs for long enough, it becomes interesting to look back and remember that it wasn’t always a staple of the local culture. At one time, it was entirely new.

“Last weekend,” Daniel Hathaway wrote in April of 2014, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony “burst suddenly into bloom like a crocus after a long winter with the first of two concerts anchoring its promising new enterprise, NEOSonicFest…”

Back then, music director Steven Smith had been thinking for years about how to keep the name and activities of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony alive, as Mike Telin reported in our very first preview of NEOSonicFest. The retirement of the orchestra’s founder, Edwin London, and the end of its residency at Cleveland State University had slowed the group’s momentum.

[Read more…]

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