[VIDEO] The Cleveland Women’s Orchestra at 90 Years

October 20, 2025 by Stephanie Manning

by Stephanie Manning

The oldest surviving women’s orchestra in the country — the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra — turns 90 years old this year. They’ll celebrate this milestone on Sunday, October 26th at 2:30 pm with a concert at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tickets available online.

Learn more in this video profile of violinist Joan Ferst and bassoonist Charlotte Hines, who have both been with the group for more than 50 years. Music director Eric Benjamin also talks about one of the featured pieces, Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1.

Also on the program is Fanny Mendelssohn’s Overture in C, Edward Elgar’s Sea Pictures (featuring mezzo-soprano Kira McGirr), and Clara-Jane Maunder’s The Coast (U.S. premiere).

Watch the video below and find it on Instagram and Facebook.

About Stephanie Manning

Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Stephanie Manning trained as a bassoonist at Oberlin Conservatory before finding her way into journalism as a classical music critic. She completed a graduate diploma in journalism at Concordia University before recently returning to NE Ohio to continue writing for ClevelandClassical.com. Her writing has appeared in The Montreal Gazette, CBC Montreal, Early Music America, and more. When not writing, you can find her either working on her latest cross-stitch project, watching Formula 1, or exploring local bookstores.

Pianist Yuja Wang creates magic with The Cleveland Orchestra (Nov. 28)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Thanksgiving weekend concerts by The Cleveland Orchestra often center around a big-ticket soloist or a popular piece.

This year’s program offers both, thanks to star pianist Yuja Wang and Maurice Ravel’s brilliant orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

On Friday November 28, the snow cleared just in time for the crowds to arrive at Severance Music Center for the evening event. Led by conductor Petr Popelka, the resulting concert equally displayed the prowess of Orchestra and soloist over the course of three fascinating works.

György Ligeti’s Piano Concerto stood out in contrast to the lush textures and easy-to-follow melodies of the works that surrounded it. Premiered in 1988, its dissonant and avant-garde music might have come from another world. But both Wang and the Orchestra rose to meet the challenge of its devilishly tricky rhythms with an assured confidence.

[Read on…]

Les Arts Florissants make Vivaldi’s Four Seasons feel fresh and inspired (Nov. 18)

by Stephanie Manning

Performing a work as ubiquitous as Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons requires a delicate balance. At its best, the musicality and intention must be crystal clear, so that the end result feels as fresh as it does familiar. It’s a high bar, but one that Les Arts Florissants cleared with the utmost ease.

On November 18, the renowned French baroque ensemble visited Tuesday Musical to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s famous quartet of violin concertos. Soloist Théotime Langlois de Swarte led the spirited group in the Vivaldi-focused program, which also included works by Marco Uccellini and Claudio Monteverdi. [Read on…]

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra with violinist David McCarroll in Rocky River (Nov. 23)

by Daniel Hathaway

Let’s cut to the chase and simply say that it would be difficult to imagine a more perfect and moving performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto than the one David McCarroll gave with Daniel Meyer and BlueWater Chamber Orchestra on Sunday afternoon, November 23 at Rocky River Presbyterian Church. We’ll come back to that thought.

The straight-through performance preceded the Beethoven with works by Cleveland composer Margaret Brouwer and a youngish Aaron Copland.

Brouwer’s engaging and popular The Art of Sailing at Dawn evokes memories of growing up on the Great Lakes. A flute conjures sonic images of gulls, and subtle waves support a lovely oboe solo before the wind kicks up and dark clouds assemble. A storm erupts, but soon passes, leading to a quiet ending. [Read on…]

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