by Kevin McLaughlin | Cleveland Classical
Originally published on Cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Two forest-themed works and a picture of a noir-suffused city that never sleeps formed a riveting Cleveland Orchestra program on Thursday evening April 4 in Mandel Concert Hall at Severance Music Center under the direction of guest conductor John Adams.
A good way to convince someone to care more about trees is to take them on a hike. American naturalist John Muir, who hiked with common folk and presidents alike, encouraged everyone to “climb the mountains and get their good tidings.”
Another way is to bring the trees to the people. Gabriella Smith did just that with Breathing Forests, her mesmerizing 30-minute organ concerto, composed in 2021 for James McVinnie, who was soloist on Thursday.
CityMusic Cleveland presented the first concert in its current five-program set on Wednesday, October 15 to a good-sized crowd at Lakewood Presbyterian Church. Under the direction of music director Avner Dorman, the chamber orchestra played symphonies by Mozart and Haydn and gave the Cleveland premiere of Dorman’s Saxophone Concerto with Timothy McAllister as soloist. 
“The saxophone is a very versatile instrument. It’s powerful, it’s expressive, and very close to the human voice. Still, it’s not an instrument we’re used to hearing in concert halls,” composer and CityMusic artistic director Avner Dorman said during a telephone conversation. On Wednesday, October 15 at 7:30 in Lakewood Congregational Church, Dorman will conduct the Cleveland premiere of his Saxophone Concerto featuring Timothy McAllister as soloist. The concert, the first of five performances in different venues around Cleveland through October 19, will also include works by Mozart, Haydn and Dvořák. See our 
CityMusic Cleveland will present four programs during 2014-2015 in multiple venues around metropolitan Cleveland, three of them conducted by the chamber orchestra’s artistic director and composer Avner Dorman, one by CWRU’s Peter Bennett.