The Cleveland Orchestra announces Perfect Blossom Picnic contest

July 31, 2017 by Samantha Spaccasi

by Samantha Spaccasi

The Cleveland Orchestra has announced the Perfect Blossom Picnic contest to take place on Saturday, August 5 at Blossom Music Center before the ensemble’s performance of the “Tchaikovsky’s Favorites” program.

Participants, who must enter by Thursday, August 3 and will receive one free lawn ticket for the evening, are invited to set up a picnic on the lawn. The soon-to-be-announced judges, including an Orchestra member, local Chef, and Radio personality, will select two winners — best food and best presentation — based on taste, creativity, and style. Entrants must make a plate for the judges and will be given numbered balloons for location purposes. Judging will take place from 6:30-7:30 pm, and winners will be announced via Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at intermission.

The grand prize is a pair of tickets to an upcoming Cleveland Orchestra concert of the winner’s choice at Severance Hall during the ensemble’s 2017-2018 Centennial Season.

Click here for more details and to enter the contest.

Click here to see details on Facebook.

Published on ClevelandClassical.com July 31, 2017.

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Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts return with plenty of festive cheer (Dec. 11)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the twinkling lights, leafy green garlands and festive poinsettias didn’t already clue you in, the holidays have arrived at Severance Music Center. ‘Tis the season for annual traditions — including The Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts, which began on Wednesday evening.

Running through December 22, the programs feature plenty of seasonal classics plus some potential new favorites. The first performance proved that this mix is a delightful recipe for festive cheer.

“Look at you all, out on a school night!” conductor Sarah Hicks proclaimed joyfully from the podium. Just as many concertgoers donned red outfits to get into the spirit, Mandel Concert Hall was also decked out with decorations and stage lighting effects.

[Read on…]

Oberlin Conservatory convincingly tells Omar’s story (Dec. 8)

by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pultizer Prize-winning opera Omar on December 8 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center proved that concert productions of opera can succeed without sets, elaborate costumes and extensive staging. Indeed, the Oberlin Conservatory presentation offered more than enough to keep the audience in the crowded house enthralled.

The Opera, which was also presented at Oberlin’s Finney Chapel two days earlier, is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, the only such work written by an enslaved person during their enslavement, and the only such document written in Arabic.

Rhiannon Giddens’ brilliant libretto chronicles the life of ibn Said, beginning in present-day Senegal and following him through his capture, journey via the Middle Passage, and enslavement in North and South Carolina. [Read on…]

Kirill Gerstein is captivating on piano as Cleveland Orchestra recital series continues (Dec. 4)

by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s no dearth of first-class piano performances to enjoy in Northeast Ohio, but Kirill Gerstein’s contribution to the collective wealth Wednesday night was extraordinary both in concept and execution.

Playing as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s ongoing recital series at Severance Music Center, Gerstein wove an overarching narrative from the 21 little masked ball portraits in Robert Schumann’s “Carnaval.” Then he helped composer Francisco Coll blow up the idea of the waltz in two striking, brand new pieces written for Gerstein and joined Maurice Ravel in redefining that most civilized of dances in a cataclysmic performance of “La valse.”

[Read on…]

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