by Mike Telin
A long-overdue collaboration between two of the area’s eminent chamber ensembles yielded divine results when Les Délices and Quire Cleveland came together on Saturday, April 28 at Lakewood Congregational Church for “Let the Heavens Rejoice!” The program showcased celebratory French Baroque psalms for 22 voices, 14 instruments, and a quartet of vocal soloists, all under the direction of guest conductor Scott Metcalfe.
by Mike Telin
Creating mutually beneficial partnerships is the key to survival for arts organizations. As a result of seed grants from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, FiveOne Experimental Orchestra (51XO) and Ensemble Theatre have formed a strategic partnership that will allow both organizations to better serve their community-building goals.
The partnership will be celebrated at Ensemble Theater on April 8 and 9 at 7:30 pm when 51XO presents “Art Music in the Dark.” The program will feature classical musical works, all of which have been composed since 2010, accompanied by projected video art, largely manipulated in real time using iPad apps. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Since 2008, the Cleveland-based music collective FiveOne Experimental Orchestra (51XO) has built a sizeable audience base because they have never steered away from their mission to experiment. Part of the ensemble’s draw is their passion for presenting of concerts in non-traditional venues. “We feel more at home in a post-industrial setting,” 51XO’s executive director Jeremy Allen told ClevelandClassical.com during a recent interview. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
“We feel more at home in a post-industrial setting, and we’re happy to have found Rising Star Coffee Roastery,” Five One Experimental Orchestra executive director Jeremy Allen said during an interview. “We always try to create a unique concert experience in collaboration with a non-traditional venue that benefits all parties — there are Rising Star patrons that are yet unfamiliar with what 51XO is all about, and I’m sure some of our fans will be newly introduced to this fabulous coffee roastery that’s right here in our great city of Cleveland.”
On Saturday March 5 at 8:00 pm, 51XO will perform works by Nico Muhly, Greg Pattillo, John HC Thompson, Jeremy Allen, Buck McDaniel, and Sarah Kirkland Snider, plus a new “experiment” conceived of and led by 51XO’s Tracy Mortimore at Rising Star Coffee Roastery, 3617 Walton Avenue, Cleveland. The concert is presented as part of the 2016 NEOSonicFest. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Since 2008 audiences have come to expect the unexpected from the Cleveland-based FiveOne Experimental Orchestra (51XO). The ensemble regularly presents concerts in truly non-traditional spaces including warehouses, cemeteries, sculpture gardens, and even at a vintage consignment store. Beginning in January, 51XO will extend their innovative approach to the sustainability side of the organization with a new outreach program that enables Cleveland-area employers to hire the ensemble to perform for their employees onsite.
“Sustainability is the holy grail of non-profit organizations,” 51XO cofounder and executive director Jeremy Allen said during a telephone conversation. “We are constantly tasked with finding new and increasingly sustainable ways to share art with our community. Grants are wonderful when you get them, but you can’t build a revenue model around them.”
Allen said that 51XO has learned a lot about sustainability during the past couple of years through the training they’ve received from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. “We’re creative people and we should be using those creative energies to develop new programs in both artistic and organizational capacities. I anticipate that we will have a good bit of interest in this program once the word gets out.” [Read more…]
by Timothy Robson
A concert of “new music” conjures up for some listeners the works of the atonal and twelve-tone works of the likes of Arnold Schoenberg and his disciples, the austere works of Pierre Boulez, or the dense modernist Harrison Birtwistle. But these days composers of contemporary “classical” music are no longer bound by such musico-political considerations. There is no “accepted” modern style. Instead composers now draw upon a wide variety of inspiration: old works, pop and rock music, jazz and world music, among other influences. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
Since May of 2008, the Cleveland-based FiveOne Experimental Orchestra (51XO) has presented concerts featuring an eclectic mix of repertoire that bridges the gap between pop and art music at out of the ordinary venues such as the Sculpture Garden and the East Cleveland Cemetery. On Saturday, September 26 at 8:00 pm, 51XO will push the envelope of unusual venues even further with their latest program, “Dream House,” a guided labyrinth of solo works performed by the ensemble’s eight members throughout the two floors of Cleveland’s premier retro vintage shop, Flower Child, located at 11508 Clifton Boulevard.
“This is going to be a cool concert,” 51XO’s executive director Jeremy Allen said enthusiastically during a telephone conversation. “We’re asking people to arrive at 8:00 pm and spend the first half hour exploring the space. I’ve talked to a lot of people who know where it is but have never been inside, so we want to give everyone a chance to get a feel for the space, and do some shopping if they want to.” [Read more…]