Tuesday, September 29, 2009
I have a song to sing, O! Sing me your song, O!
I had the great pleasure to attend the opening night performance by The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 this past Saturday. As many of you know, the Orchestra was celebrating its Community Music Initiative as well as returning to Severance Hall for another season of glorious music. The Orchestra is an unparalleled treasure for all of us and it is great to have our neighbor back in residence, just two blocks away.
For me, the “joy” of the evening was multifold. First, there was the pleasure of the music itself, still vibrant and affecting, despite being 185 or so years old and so frequently performed and recorded. Then there was the gala spirit of the event itself - the anticipation and excitement of opening night, drawing an audience primed for enjoyment, sharing a communal experience together. The Orchestra even invited the Jazz @ The Music Settlement [J@MS] combo to perform in one of the foyers before the show - they were awesome, and it added greatly to the celebratory nature of the evening. I also trace part of my enjoyment of orchestral music to the interplay of the artists, a preference that may have originated from my roots in theatre stage management, so my house right orchestra seats allowed me a great view of the “action.” I was able to watch Music Director Franz Welser-Möst’s interaction with various members of the orchestra and the chorus very closely. I especially enjoyed his connection with Concertmaster William Preucil, in which the most imperceptible of gestures and nods spoke volumes.
Then there was the task of getting one’s arms around the massive undertaking being presented that evening. With the full chorus, orchestra, and four soloists all sharing the floor, there wasn’t an open space anywhere on the stage. Just being witness to the scope of the event immediately put one in mind that they were going to experience something very grand indeed.
But what really defined the evening for me was the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, an all-volunteer ensemble from nearly fifty communities around Northeast Ohio. I spent much of the fourth movement (with the well-known “Ode to Joy”) with my eyes glued to the members I could see of the chorus, and found their intensity and proficiency mesmerizing. To me, their commitment crystallized the impact and legacy of music in our community. Their task was not for the faint of heart, and they rose to the occasion magnificently.
Throughout the fourth movement, I found myself wondering what the experience was like for a member of the chorus, and as I read my program later on, I realized that several members were (not surprisingly) employees of The Music Settlement. I determined then and there that I needed a first-hand account to share with all of you today from their point of view, so I have asked two staffers - Music Therapist Dwyer Conklin, and Emily Catalano, receptionist from the Early Childhood Department - to share their thoughts while the glow of the evening remains. I’ll start first with Dwyer’s thoughts:
Listening to great performances is always a good experience but being a part of one takes the cake. Beethoven's Ninth is challenging in many ways, especially as it is such a well known piece, that it can be hard to "live up to the hype". But being a part of such a focused ensemble that strives to ensure a high quality of musicianship pushes one to another level altogether. This concert was a fabulous experience from the music listener in me that enjoyed hearing a masterpiece played and sung in a masterful way. And from the performer in me, to be a part of making the experience was truly a joy. Freude!
I’ll let Emily have the final word:
The only problem with talking about Cleveland Orchestra Chorus is that I feel like the first couple of lines of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways.” Where do I start, and stop? It’s hard to put in a nutshell my feelings about this singing privilege. This begins my 16th season with COC, and I don’t know what I did with my free time before that lucky day in 1994 when I auditioned for Garreth Morrell. We talked a minute or two before I sang, and he said, “You have an accent, don’t you,” and I thought, “I’m done Finished. At least I tried.” Then I got the much hoped for letter that said, “Welcome to the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.”
For me, all of these years later, rehearsals are always exhilarating, and at the end of a rough day, or a long week, the music is salve to my soul and a panacea for everything, without fail. Walking out on stage for a performance is an emotional rush for me like none other I can imagine. The first thing I do when we sit down is to look at all of those faces in the audience who have come there because they need what the music will give them. Next, I look at the lights in the ceiling, and imagine that those are all of my family who are gone, but have the best seat in the house, wherever they want to sit (maybe even next to me). And every single time, without exception, I’m filled with gratitude for all they did to make music such a constant part of my upbringing. The music program in my hometown of Madisonville, Kentucky was outstanding too, and I still call my chorus director there every time we sing at Carnegie Hall. I tell her, “You know, Miss Williams, I hold you partly responsible for this.” She always says, “Thank you, Emily. That’s an accusation that I happily accept.” She’s in her late 90’s now.
Sitting there among 150 of us, and 100 of The Cleveland Orchestra, I’m moved by the fact that we have religious, social, political, and personal differences of all sorts, but when we gather for the purpose of making music, NOTHING else matters but the music. Differences…..canceled. Troubles…..forgotten. Language...one. And Emily, on top of the world.
Thank you, Dwyer & Emily, we are all very lucky to have the gift of music in our lives, in whatever form it takes. While many of us have lifestyles (or levels of talent) that prevent us from doing much more than singing in the shower, we should never fail to thank those who give of their time to bring joy to our hearts through live performance. That is an “Ode” whose chorus we can all enjoy.
Have a great week!
Posted by Charlie Lawrence at 10:16 AM
http://themusicsettlement.blogspot.com/
ReBlog: Music Settlement President/CEO Charles Lawrence on Opening Night
Local Sugar Artist Takes Severance Hall to War
When local award winning sugar artist Anna Weisend was asked to participate in WEtv’s Wedding Cake Wars with the theme “location” the first place she thought of was Severance Hall. Anna said that the beauty of the building makes it her favorite place to deliver wedding cakes.
In her design Anna tried to incorporate as many details of the hall as she could. Her design included the staircase and paintings in the Grand Foyer, blue drapery, vine designs and of course the instruments of the Orchestra.
To find out more about Anna’s cake click here.
Cyro Baptista’s Beat The Donkey comes to Severance Hall October 9!
Friday, October 9, at 7 p.m. begins Fridays@7, an exciting new series of five Friday nights at Severance Hall – a Cleveland Orchestra concert plus post-concert world music. On October 9, Brazilian sonic provocateur Cyro Baptista brings his ensemble Beat The Donkey to bring down the house.
Beat The Donkey is more than just a band. It is a multicultural, polyphonic, highly creative and entertaining group that takes rhythms beyond their natural frontiers and creates a brand of music too innovative and varied to be labeled. The ensemble’s name, “Beat The Donkey,” comes from the Brazilian expression “Pau Na Mula” meaning “Let’s go, let’s do it!”
Cyro Baptista is internationally recognized as one of most inventive and undefinable percussionists . Cyro’s endless sonic curiosity and intense rhythmic drive has made him the percussionist of choice for some of the world’s biggest stars, including Yo-Yo Ma, Trey Anastasio (Phish), John Zorn, Medeski, Martin&Wood, Laurie Anderson, Herbie Hancock, Paul Simon, Wynton Marsalis and Sting. He also can be seen on the big screen stealing the scene at Jonathan Demme’s acclaimed movie “Rachel Getting Married.” Hear and see more of Cyro Baptista on his MySpace page.
Beat The Donkey in performance at the FMM Sines Festival in Sines, Portugal:
How the evening goes:
@5:30 p.m.
>doors open.
> bars open, have a drink, snacks and light food. maybe dinner at the Severance Restaurant (call ahead for that at 216-231-7373).
@7:00 p.m.
>the music begins, there’s no intermission, it’s straight-through like a movie. exciting and to the point.
@8:15 p.m. (or so)
>applause, and then it’s on for more. music. and drinks, food, relaxing, chatting, Friday fun
@late…
>more music in a different style. ask someone to join you. for dessert, wine, beer, cocktails, and delicious food. drive safely home.
What people are saying about Cyro Baptista:
“...truly one of the greatest musicians in the world...” – Wynton Marsalis
“wild, vivid entertainment.” – The New York Times
“Cyro follows an eclectic muse that helps him balance compositional sophistication with bedrock propulsion.” – New York Magazine
Tickets and more info: click here or call 216-231-1111.
Opinions are in...
Comments about the Lincoln Center Festival announcement from the public and the media are rolling in...
From The Plain Dealer:
Bravo! The Cleveland Orchestra goes to school and to New York
Give the Cleveland Orchestra a standing ovation for its plan to make fine music in New York and in Greater Cleveland's local schools. What could be better?
The New York story is a potential blockbuster. The world-renowned orchestra will take up residency at the prestigious Lincoln Center Festival, an annual summer event, beginning in 2011, and every other year thereafter, through 2015. Its concerts surely will attract faithful fans and make new ones.
And attracting audiences, new and old, is exactly what the orchestra must do. The recession has not been kind to this orchestra or other arts organizations.
The orchestra faces a depleted endowment -- down to under $95 million from $128 million -- and projects a $4 million to $5 million deficit this year. The ensemble has done all of the usual things, such as slicing pay, but it had the foresight to see it needed to do more, so it wisely added the prestigious New York residency tour to its schedule. The broader exposure should result in broader financial support.
Closer to home, the orchestra deserves applause for creating the Community Music Initiative, a program to nurture young, classical musicians and audiences in Greater Cleveland. Last week, the orchestra performed in Cleveland public schools for the first time since 1921.
These concerts are most welcome. Many public school children who wouldn't get a chance to see conductor Franz Welser-Möst and his talented musicians at Severance Hall benefited from their city's acclaimed orchestra coming to them instead.
Teens can be a tough audience, but the orchestra appeared to win their appreciation.
There was no swooning, but there was a lot of applause and cheers. For at least some of the students, maybe this introduction will lead to a fine romance with the classics.
An e-mail to the Orchestra's Executive Director:
I want you to know I was thrilled to pick up the New York Times this morning and read about the new relationship of the The Cleveland Orchestra to New York City. This is great news for the The Cleveland Orchestra community because of the additional performances and financial support. However, the announcement is important for us as well here in Miami. Some doubters of the Cleveland residency hold that our relationship cannot substitute for a full time orchestra. It is highly relevant for us that New York is willing to make a commitment to enhance significantly its music scene by establishing the Orchestra's residency even though it already has a world class orchestra. The announcement this morning reaffirms that The Cleveland Orchestra and Miami are on the right track with a bright future.
Congratulations and best wishes,
Alan, Coral Gables, FL
Cleveland Magazine Blog:
"...out-of-town support is key to the orchestra's plan for future prosperity."
Crain's Cleveland:
"For the orchestra, the arrangement with Lincoln Center Festival helps further broaden its audience..."
The Plain Dealer's Five Things You Should Know: The Week in Review:
"Growth by diversifying: The Cleveland Orchestra announced Tuesday it will soon be a regular feature of the Lincoln Center Festival. Orchestra officials said a new long-term residency with multiple performances at the center's annual summer feast of culture will begin in 2011 and continue every other year through 2015. The Orchestra's decision to enter into a relationship outside Cleveland is part of a strategy to survive tough times by touring."
See The Cleveland Orchestra at John Hay High School
The Cleveland Orchestra routinely appears in the world's great concert halls. If it's not at home at Severance Hall, it's probably abroad, visiting an historic venue in Europe.
But there's one place where the orchestra has not stepped foot in a long, long time, and it's just around the corner: a Cleveland public school. The group hasn't performed for the city's students on their own turf since 1921.
That changed Wednesday when the orchestra and music director Franz Welser-Most presented a short concert titled "Meet the Orchestra" at John Hay High School. In attendance were about 800 students from all three divisions of John Hay as well as the nearby Cleveland School of the Arts.
Read more in The Plain Dealer.
Orchestra Members playing House Concerts
On November 22 Miho Hashizume, Isabel Trautwein, Sonya Braaten and Tanya Ell, will take you on a wild and crazy ride with the music of Hungarian master Gyorgi Ligeti. Yu Jin will join in to round off the evening with the masterful Quintet in A major by Felix Mendelssohn.
February 5 Cleveland Orchestra Principal Oboe Frank Rosenwein performs one of Johann Sebastian Bach's most beloved works: the Concerto for Violin and Oboe.And April 2 Cleveland Orchestra Principal Clarinet Franklin Cohen and Orchestra flutist Marisela Sager join guitar soloist Jason Vieaux for an evening of mixed ensembles and solo works.
Click here for more information on Heights Arts concerts.
Lincoln Center Festival and Cleveland Orchestra Announce Residency Including Future Collaboration with Vienna State Opera
Music Director Franz Welser-Möst was in New York today with Cleveland Orchestra Executive Director Gary Hanson, Lincoln Center Festival Director Nigel Redden, and the incoming Vienna State Opera General Director Dominique Meyer to announce a new partnership for The Cleveland Orchestra with Lincoln Center Festival and the Vienna State Opera. In 2011, the Orchestra will perform at the Festival in concerts featuring Bruckner symphonies juxtaposed with works by John Adams. In 2013 and 2015, the Orchestra will collaborate with the Vienna State Opera to present ballet and/or opera during the summer Festival.
Read the details and breaking news in The New York Times and The Plain Dealer.
View a video interview with Franz about Bruckner and Adams and read more about the partnership at LincolnCenter.org.
Comments from the public and the media are rolling in...
An e-mail to the Orchestra's Executive Director:
I want you to know I was thrilled to pick up the New York Times this morning and read about the new relationship of the The Cleveland Orchestra to
Congratulations and best wishes,
Cleveland Magazine Blog:
"...out-of-town support is key to the orchestra's plan for future prosperity."
Crain's Cleveland:
"For the orchestra, the arrangement with Lincoln Center Festival helps further broaden its audience..."
The Plain Dealer's Five Things You Should Know: The Week in Review:
"Growth by diversifying: The Cleveland Orchestra announced Tuesday it will soon be a regular feature of the Lincoln Center Festival. Orchestra officials said a new long-term residency with multiple performances at the center's annual summer feast of culture will begin in 2011 and continue every other year through 2015. The Orchestra's decision to enter into a relationship outside Cleveland is part of a strategy to survive tough times by touring."
Cleveland Orchestra Violist Eliesha Nelson on growing up in Alaska and her recent recording
William J. Zick, of the blog AfriClassical, recently interviewed Cleveland Orchestra violist Eliesha Nelson about her recent recording of pieces by Quincy Porter, to be released on September 29. Ms. Nelson discusses growing up in Alaska, motherhood, and standing in Lake Erie for a photo shoot for the recording. Read part one and part two of his inteview to get the whole story.
You can also listen to excerpts from the recording on her website.
Ms. Nelson grew up in North Pole, Alaska, and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music, with a bachelor's degree in violin and a master's degree in viola. She also studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Caroline Goulding reflects on debut with Cleveland Orchestra
17-year-old violinist Caroline Goulding made her debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in May 2006. She recently reflected on performing with the Orchestra in an essay posted to her blog. An excerpt:
Nights with the Orchestra
Ever since Bill and Nancy Stellhorn were in high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, classical music has attracted them. Nancy (violin) and Bill (tuba) both worked in the computer field as adults, but the Lyndhurst couple found their bliss ushering at concerts at Severance Hall – and they have 25-year service pins to prove their loyalty to The Cleveland Orchestra. After a recent assignment, they talked about their ushering careers.
When did you start volunteering as ushers at Severance Hall?
Nancy: A friend pressed me into service for Lorin Maazel’s last concert in 1982. It was the Verdi Requiem—I remember that! It was the first time I ever sat in the dress circle and I was blown away. I was used to sitting in other seats. We started as substitutes when we still had our two children at home. Bill did Saturdays and I did Thursdays.
Bill: Now we do about half the subscription season, every other Thursday night. We’re assigned to a team upstairs.
What do you get out of ushering?
Nancy: I enjoy helping the patrons, who are always here to have a good time.
Bill: Generally the patrons are a lot of fun. Once in a while they get a little upset about something. But there’s a sense of giving back to the Orchestra and being part of the organization.
Nancy: And they’ve been very nice about end-of-season parties and recognition.
Any unexpected benefits?
Nancy: We feel like we know the musicians. We always see them like this (shades her hands over her eyes, looking down at a 45-degree angle). We recognize all of them, from that angle!
Bill: We have lots of friends in the Orchestra. They just don’t know it!
Approximately 300 people, from high school students through adults, volunteer as ushers for The Cleveland Orchestra. For information on ushering for The Cleveland Orchestra, call the House Manager’s Office at (216) 231-7425 or email Judy Diehl, jdiehl@clevelandorchestra.com.
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Clevelanders in Miami
Thirteen musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra are in
Visiting
The New World Symphony was established to prepare outstanding graduates of music programs for leadership roles in orchestras and ensembles. More than 1,000 musicians vie for approximately 35 fellowships awarded each year to those entering the three-year training program. This week’s visit expands on the Cleveland Orchestra’s Miami Residency, during which the entire Orchestra performs a series of concerts at the
In the 2009-10 season, the Orchestra will perform subscription concerts in
Click here to learn more about The Cleveland Orchestra’s Miami Residency.
Click here to visit The Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency's facebook page.
Franz is at the Proms - Listen Live Online
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Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst is in London getting ready to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the BBC Proms. The Proms, known more formally as the Promenade Concerts, have taken place annually for more than 1oo years at Royal Albert Hall. The famous music festival includes more than 70 concerts in three months.
Franz was invited late last month to step in for Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who unfortunately withdrew due to illness.
The program includes Haydn's Symphony No. 98 and Schubert's "Great" Symphony No. 9.
You can listen to the concert live at 2:30 EST on Thursday, September 10, or it's available online afterwards until September 18.
The BBC pre-concert interview with Franz (the interview begins at 1:12:25) is also online and features brief clips of The Cleveland Orchestra performing. Franz talked about the beauty and sound of Severance Hall, compares the traditions of the Vienna Philharmonic and The Cleveland Orchestra, his appointment with the Vienna State Opera, and his recent Ring cycle performances there.
Mitsuko Uchida's Mozart
Decca Music Group has just released a live recording of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, K.488, and Piano Concerto No. 24, K.491, conducted and performed by pianist Mitsuko Uchida with The Cleveland Orchestra.
"Mozart himself would certainly have smiled at these performances," writes Laurence Vittes in Audiophile Audition. "Her interpretive voice, of course, is uniquely her own, a thing of beauty and shy caution merging with the orchestra and the recording team in a marriage, like Figaro’s, that places fun before responsibility." Click here to read the full review.
The recording was made during live performances at the Orchestra’s home, Severance Hall in Cleveland, on December 4 and 6, 2008.
Click here to listen to the complete Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, courtesy of The Cleveland Orchestra & Universal Music Classical. Sign up now to receive access to this members-only limited-time event!
Celebrity Series at Severance Hall
On Saturday, November 7, The Cleveland Orchestra is launching a new series that includes movie music, music with a global influence, and cool jazz.
Closing out the series, Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter Chris Botti joins The Orchestra for an evening of legendary standards and contemporary hits from his gold-selling CDs and platinum-selling DVD, Chris Botti Live with Orchestra & Special Guests. George Daugherty talks about Bugs Bunny at Blossom
Ever since Bugs Bunny On Broadway premiered in 1990, I have found myself in an almost perpetual state of amazement – not only that this unlikely conflagration of cartoons and classical music actually came to life, but more so at the incredible places at which we have performed it.
But no place has given us as much pleasure as performing at Blossom. Blossom was one of our very first touring stops in 1990, and since then Bugs has been so delighted to share the Blossom stage with The Cleveland Orchestra on several occasions, and now this summer, The Blossom Festival Orchestra!
During our two-decade run with this concert, the world has changed dramatically. When Bugs Bunny On Broadway was first devised in 1989, the Internet was still a gleam in the eye of some very forward thinking computer geeks, snailmail was still the norm, pagers and fax machines were high technology, a cellular phone was the size of a shoe box and permanently connected to your car, words like email(ed), Google(ed), and Ebay(ed) were neither nouns nor verbs, the word “Amazon” conjured up a rainforest not books or CD’s, a website was a spider’s domicile, DVD’s were unheard of, people were still deciding between Betamax and VHS, and the word IPod would have brought to mind an alien lifeform from another planet.
Now, in this 9th year of the 21st Century, technology continues to soar, pop culture continues to move and shake, but one thing remains the same . . . the timeless brilliance of these classic Warner Bros. Studios cartoons.
Because of these incredible cartoons and their spectacular music, Bugs Bunny On Broadway provides a rabbit warren of surprises, not only for the audience, but even for the performers.
Bugs is most certainly the only singer I know who effortlessly – and flawlessly – sings Rossini and Wagner in the same evening, while at the same time dancing en pointe with the aplomb and finesse of a prima ballerina. And if that weren’t enough of a tour de force, he also conducts, acts, recites Shakespeare, Irish step dances, masquerades as a variety of fetching females, plays piano (as well as tuba, harp, banjo, drums, and God knows what else), tortures operatic baritones, and destroys The Hollywood Bowl . . . all in one performance!
Bugs Bunny On Broadway has brought joy and laughter to well over one and a half million concertgoers on five continents since its invention in 1989. Somehow, it is incredibly fitting that Bugs has pursued a 19-year concert schedule of performances on the world’s greatest concert stages, and with the world’s greatest orchestras, that would be the envy of MANY a major human concert star.
As we go back for return engagements we are now meeting the children of the baby boomers who first came to see us in 1990. And it is all so fitting, because these brilliant cartoons have always been beloved, and passed down, by generation after generation since they were first created. That is the not-so-secret of their success. They are so magical, so funny, so brilliant, so unique, so enduring. So musical! And, of course, as fresh and timely as the day they were first hatched.
So here’s a HUGE toast to our 20th year . . . and to “BUGS BUNNY AT BLOSSOM!” I can think of NO WHERE on the planet where we would rather mark the start of our 20th anniversary season!
George Daugherty
August, 2009
Click here to listen to George talk about Bugs Bunny at Blossom on WMJI and WEOL.
Amazing Blossom
One group's backstage tour with architect Peter van Dijk offers a glimpse at the "natural harmony" that makes Blossom An Amazing Cleveland Asset.
