Sneak Peek - Fridays@7

Catch a glimpse of rehearsal for the post-concert performance for Fridays@7 tonight at Severance Hall. Flamenco phenom Nino de los Reyes will entrance.

Hear Franz conduct live today at 2 p.m.

Cellist Johannes Moser's performance with Franz Welser-Möst and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra) will be streamed live on the internet today at 2 p.m. EST.

Click here to listen.

Hot Flamenco and Brazilian rhythms heat up Severance Hall

This Friday, April 30, Severance Hall will be sizzling with Brazilian rhythms and Flamenco guitar!

Following The Cleveland Orchestra’s Fridays@7 performance of an all-Baroque program conducted by Bernard Labadie including Handel’s Water Music and Neruda’s Czech-flavored trumpet concerto (featuring principal trumpet Michael Sachs), the music continues with master percussionist Marcos Santos and Cleveland-based Brazilian drum group Samba Joia, which includes among its ranks Cleveland’s own chef Sergio Abramof.

Then Flamenco guitarist extraordinaire Juanito Pascual takes the stage along with Spain’s rising star, dancer Nino de los Reyes.

After the concert, the music continues at SERGIO’S SARAVA at Shaker Square with a taste of Samba de Mesa (Table Samba), improvised samba percussion! SARAVA hosts this event with Marcos Santos from Salvador Bajia, and members of the Ohio Choro Club for what promises to be a great night! Show your Fridays@7 ticket stub and get a special gift, courtesy of SARAVA.

Watch Nino de los Reyes in action on YouTube.
Read interviews with Michael Sachs and Bernard Labadie by ClevelandClassical.com.

Don’t miss the hottest event of the season!

More info at ClevelandOrchestra.com.

Sachs Signing

Trumpet fans can stop by to have Michael Sachs sign a CD after the principal trumpet of The Cleveland Orchestra performs at Severance Hall this weekend. Sachs is soloist in the Neruda Trumpet Concerto, and he'll be on hand after the concerts on Thursday and Saturday nights (April 29 and May 1) and Sunday afternoon, May 2. (He won't sign on Friday, which is a special Fridays@7 event.) Signings are in the Lerner Lobby, by the Cleveland Orchestra Store.

Bernard Labadie Brings Baroque Treats

Reblog: Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie told the ClevelandClassical.com blog that audiences are in for something special this weekend, April 29-May 2, when The Cleveland Orchestra performs an orchestral suite from a little-known work called Dardanus by the Baroque composer Rameau.

"For people who are more used to the standard names of the Baroque repertoire, for example Bach and Handel, or Telemann and Vivaldi, this will be strikingly different music. The colors, the harmony, the way he uses the orchestra — the bassoons have an important role — it really is a French set up," he said in an interview.

Labadie, known for his touch with Baroque repertoire, leads the Orchestra in a program completed by Neruda's Trumpet Concerto (featuring principal trumpet Michael Sachs) and Handel's Water Music.

Twilight Rustlings in Student Composer's Premiere

Gabrielle Haigh, a Cleveland Heights native and award-winning composer who is now a freshman at Princeton University, has composed a work for symphony orchestra that will have its world premiere at the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra's next concert, on May 9 at 2 p.m. at Severance Hall.

The composer writes in her program note about the piece, "Artemis was the virgin Greek goddess of the moon, wild animals, and the hunt. In paying homage to her, Poème-Rituel begins with the quiet twilight rustling of the forest trees in the strings, harp, and celesta."

Blossom is GREEN

Concerto in Green from Turf Magazine, April 2010
by Curt Harler

Blossom Music Center’s noted lawn area makes it a landmark

Tens of thousands of concertgoers enjoy the Blossom Music Center lawn throughout the summer. Photos by Roger Mastroianni.

Without a doubt, the favorite picnic ground in Ohio is the lawn at the Blossom Music Center. Every summer, guests from all over the Great Lakes area flock to Blossom, located in Cuyahoga Falls, to listen to the Cleveland Orchestra’s summer program, to attend rock concerts or to groove to the sounds of country artists.

Yet, it is other features, including grass-roofed structures and the sweeping beauty of the lawn in front of the pavilion, that makes Blossom a landmark.

“The image of the iconic stage shell and the view across the lawn captivates people,” says Mary Ann Makee, director of facilities management and operations for the Musical Arts Association. MAA is the parent organization of the Cleveland Orchestra, Blossom Music Center and Severance Hall.

What actually goes into the turf mix that makes the lawn at Blossom such a rich experience?

“It is a mixture of annual rye, Kentucky bluegrass and fescues,” says Ron Tynan, general manager of Blossom Music Center. He is an employee of Live Nation, which manages the facilities and oversees operations for the MAA. In the past, MAA did its own management of the turf, but eventually decided they preferred to focus on music and let the day-to-day operations go to someone in the business, Makee says.

Blossom Music Center consists of 780 acres, with about 197 in the lawn and other developed areas. The lawn space in front of the pavilion itself is about 4 acres. With such heavy public use of the lawn, all parties are well aware that their every move is under public scrutiny.

“We have a formal agreement detailing the expectations,” Makee says. “They are the day-to-day site managers, and we are the owners. The arrangement has worked really well,” she adds. If there are major capital projects, like the one undertaken recently to bring the lawn and grounds up to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements, then MAA takes charge.

Tynan has been at Blossom for 10 years in several different capacities. A graduate of Kent State University in recreation and sport management, he has overall responsibility for operation and maintenance of the facility.

There are regularly monthly meetings with MAA, Makee, Live Nation and Tynan to update situations. Practices are reviewed annually. “We create a checklist of items for each of the monthly meetings and ask Live Nation to follow up on them,” Makee explains.

A key point she likes to emphasize is MAA’s desire to reduce its carbon footprint. “We give a lot of consideration to the environment,” Makee says. One way is replacing higher-maintenance turf areas with wildflowers. Ohio Prairie Nursery Group (OPNG) manages the plantings, and also does the annual burns required for the wildflowers to thrive.

Grass roof growing

Some features of the Blossom Music Center might escape notice by the casual observer. One of the more remarkable features is the grass-roofed backstage building. Just as the orchestra is on the cutting edge of music, so too the architectural design at Blossom was on the cutting edge when a grass roof was specified by architect Peter van Dijk as part of the overall design.

“It was way ahead of its time,” Makee says. In fact, the grass roofs are so far ahead of their time that they have lived their useful life and are scheduled for replacement and expansion in about two years.

“They specified grass roofs to maintain the natural setting,” Tynan says. With the huge ocean of grass that comprises the lawn, the top of the building fit right in to the overall look and feel of the place.

The roof, Tynan notes, is low maintenance, and that maintenance is low-tech. “There is some occasional trimming,” he says. “Mowing is done with a push mower.”

The grass roof is on the “house left” side of the pavilion. As currently presented, it sits behind an area with refreshment concessions and a series of several wood buildings that serve as restrooms. Although the wooden structures do blend with the surroundings, the concessions grab the eye abruptly.

In about two years, that will be gone. Preliminary designs say most of the buildings will disappear underground and more grass roofs will appear. The restrooms and the refreshment stands will be sunken into the ground and covered with natural grass, Makee says.

“A gentle contour will roll down the hill, and there will be different sight lines in that area,” she continues. Landscape lighting will be installed to help the entire area blend into the feeling of one large, expansive lawn.

Emily’s Garden was opened in 1992 to commemorate Emily Blossom’s many contributions to Blossom Music Center.

The main lawn

Anyone who has been in northeastern Ohio for any time will recognize the lawn.

The actual mixture of grass varieties on the lawn varies from place to place around the grounds, depending on the degree of shade (Blossom has many areas with trees) or the amount of foot traffic. The site sees a lot of walking from garden to garden, up and down the lawn, from picnic area to pavilion. The lawn regularly is completely blanketed with picnic cloths.

The plans for the lawn require a lawn seed mix of 45 percent 98/95 bluegrass, 25 percent creeping red fescue, 5 percent perennial ryegrass, 15 percent Park or Merit Kentucky bluegrass and 10 percent Boreal or Pennlawn red fescue.

The main Blossom lawn is mowed a minimum of twice a week. “It depends on the show schedule and weather,” Tynan explains.

The height of the grass depends both on the anticipated weather and the volume of guests that are expected. Typically, they maintain the grass at a cut height of 3 to 3.25 inches. “For some shows we mow as low as 2.5 inches,” he adds.

While the schedule is more aggressive than the typical lawn, it is somewhat short of the program on a golf course fairway. Still, the grass is being taxed, and the crew needs a solid fertility program to keep it healthy.

“We fertilize at least four times a year, with additional applications depending on season,” Tynan says. Key parts of the fertility program include applications made both spring and fall. However, unlike some highly managed turf stands, Blossom is not spoon-fed through the summer, even though it is the busiest time of year.

Materials are provided by TruGreen, which provides its natural commercial products on the site. In addition, Tynan applies lime once a year at the beginning of each season. It all adds up to a solid, lush stand of grass for the summer concert season.

“We know we can’t control the weather,” Makee acknowledges. The rock concerts, run by Live Nation, generally get larger and more active crowds. “By mutual agreement, if there is a rock concert and it causes damage to the turf, they have to have the lawn ready for the orchestra the next day.”

There is no question that presents challenges. Many times it has been so bad that repairs required new sod to be rolled out. Where sod is used, the mixture is 50 percent Kentucky bluegrass, 20 percent tall type fescue, and 30 percent perennial ryes. The design specs call for commercially grown sod to be strongly rooted, healthy, mature and not less than two years old. Soggy turf caused by rain is a more frequent problem. Often, straw is used to help with drying.

Tynan also has a chip product that serves as a ground cover in this sort of situation and works well. “It’s a lot like the bentonite drying materials they use on baseball fields,” he explains. The only problem he has with it is the reddish color. Since he is drying turf, he would like to find the material in green so it matches the grass.

While too much water can be a challenge, too little is also a problem. Irrigation serves much of the Blossom property, and Makee says the system is a combination of jets and pop-ups. “The irrigation was installed in phases and improved as the systems available improved.”

The irrigation was installed by Excel Landscaping & Sprinkler Systems in Tallmadge, Ohio.

While irrigation helps management, other things present challenges: most concerts have rehearsals or sound-check programs so the performers can get a feel for the acoustics of the place. That means the grounds crew must mow at different times of the day.

“We change schedules so as not to bother guests or performers,” Tynan says. “It depends on rehearsals and other on-site activities.”

The lawn at Blossom is notoriously insect-free. “We use a grub application once a year,” Tynan says. Other than that, they spray for insect control depending on weather and the concert schedule. There are no materials applied for diseases.

Major upgrade

In 2003, a major redevelopment was done on the grounds, with special attention paid to blending the Blossom grounds into the natural landscape and adjacent Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

“The image of the iconic stage shell and the view across the lawn captivates people,” says Mary Ann Makee, director of facilities management at Blossom.

The flower beds are a key accent point for the Blossom Music Center. Over 1,000 new trees of 20 varieties, thousands of perennial flowers and woody shrubs, and tens of thousands of resilient ground cover plants were installed throughout the grounds. Two existing gardens were upgraded, and a new garden was added. The three gardens include walking paths and benches.

The flower beds are edged, but that is the only edging that is done in the bed area, Tynan says.

The team does mulch. “We mulch every other year with touch-ups through the season as needed,” Tynan says. There are practical motives for the edging and mulching, as they serve several purposes including aesthetics, weed control and keeping the mowers away from the trees on the site.

The Frank E. Joseph Garden was opened in 1970. Named in honor of the president of the Musical Arts Association at the time of Blossom’s construction and opening, it was relocated next to the Eells Gallery, an art gallery selected and displayed by Kent State University that regularly features local artists. Emily’s Garden, opened in 1992 to commemorate Emily Blossom’s many contributions to Blossom Music Center, is now located in the center of Smith Plaza. The Herbert E. Strawbridge Garden, named in memory of Musical Arts Association trustee and civic leader Herb Strawbridge, was added in 2003 and located next to the information and merchandise center in Smith Plaza.

“Harold Lecy is our gardener. He carries out and supervises all maintenance to the gardens on the property,” Tynan says. Lecy is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in horticulture, however his background goes much deeper than his academic ties.

Lecy had worked on the original Blossom family estate in Lyndhurst, Ohio, for 13 years. He came to Blossom in 1996. The Blossom Music Center is named for the family of Dudley S. Blossom, who served as president of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1936 to 1938. Blossom maintains a small gardening crew on the grounds on a daily basis throughout the summer who report to Lecy.

“We also have a full maintenance and grounds crew that carries out the mowing, trimming and other grounds upkeep,” Tynan says. Charles Grell is the maintenance manager who oversees that team. He has been in the department for six years.

Tynan notes that the gardens are all perennials and set as a formal garden with stone walks for guests to meander before concerts.

“There are over 150 varieties of perennials,” Tynan says. The native species have not been neglected, either, as wildflowers are abound on the property.

Michael Van Valkenburgh, Inc., the Cambridge, Mass., landscape architects, redesigned several turf areas to low-maintenance, low-input wildflower areas. “They did a lot of wonderful things,” Makee notes.

“It is an ongoing goal to maintain the natural setting of the venue,” Tynan says. For example, he notes that the area around the main entrance is now planted to wildflowers.

“We are very sensitive to public impressions and feelings,” Makee says. Each year during the concert season, MAA does surveys of the visitors, and one key question is how the public feels about the lawn.

“People just love the lawn,” Makee concludes, “It’s an acoustically bright, inviting place to hear music.”

Curt Harler is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to Turf. He resides in Strongsville, Ohio.

Final Fridays@7 The Hottest So Far!

The final Fridays@7 concert on April 30th is sure to turn up the heat with an evening that features trumpeter Michael Sachs, flamenco guitarist extraordinaire Juanito Pascual, and Marcos Santos, one of the hottest Brazilian percussionists around.

The concert will begin @7:00 with Bernard Labadie leading a program featuring Handel's Water Music and Cleveland Orchestra trumpeter Michael Sachs performing a Czech-flavored concerto by Neruda.

After the one-hour concert there will be more music, food and drinks with master percussionist Marcos Santos and Cleveland-based Brazilian drum group Samba Joia. Samba Joia performs interactive Brazilian music that uses movement, call and response and song with the audience.

Also performing is Juanito Pascual, whose musical style has been described as passionate and sensual. Joining them is award winning flamenco dancer Nino de los Reyes.

When the after concert ends the party moves to Sergio's Sarava in Shaker Square where Marcos Santos and members of the Ohio Choro Club keep the music going with improvised samba percussion. The Ohio Choro Club performs a Brazilian music style which originated in the 1870’s by blending European and African music elements. This music is all performed table side so that the audience is part of the music.

If you bring your Fridays@7 ticket stub to Sarava they’ll give you a free surprise gift courtesy of CACHACA 51.

Something DREADFUL’s coming to Severance Hall!

There’s dreadful news from Severance Hall – the composer is dead! Someone is guilty and everyone is suspicious. An inspector investigates the suspects lurking within the orchestra – from the timpani to the tuba. Where were the violins on the night in question? And the clarinets, oboes, and bassoons?

This weekend, composer Nathaniel Stookey brings his dreadful musical collaboration with Lemony Snicket to Severance Hall with The Cleveland Orchestra’s The Composer Is Dead Family Concert at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 25.

And be sure not to come early to Severance Hall early for unfortunately free family activities beginning at 1:00 p.m.

On Saturday, April 24, at 1:00 p.m., during a terrible turn of events, meet the living and breathing composer Nathaniel Stookey who will read from The Composer Is Dead at Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Eton in Woodmere (free!).

Don’t watch this dreadful video preview of The Composer Is Dead featuring Mr. Snicket himself (you'll almost certainly be sorry you did):


And be particularly wary of reading more about the companion book by Lemony Snicket, The Composer Is Dead.


Upsetting News:

The Plain Dealer, "Misfortune headed to Severance Hall with 'The Composer Is Dead'"

WCPN 90.3 FM’s “Around Noon” – interview with Nathaniel Stookey

Cleveland Scene, “Dead Composers Society”

ClevelandClassical.com, "Murder at Severance Hall"


A Weekend of Dead Composers

The Composer Is Dead Storytime – Meet The Composer (Free!)
Saturday, April 24, at 1 p.m.

Composer Nathaniel Stookey reads from Lemony Snicket’s children’s book The Composer Is Dead. This morbidly funny musical whodunit “investigates” every section of the orchestra, cleverly introducing young readers to the joys of classical music. The book includes a CD featuring Mr. Stookey’s orchestral score to the book’s hilarious text.

Location: Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Eton Chagrin Boulevard, 28801 Chagrin Boulevard, Woodmere, OH 44122, 216-765-7520.


The Composer Is Dead Family Concert at Severance Hall
Sunday, April 25, at 2:00 p.m. (Fun pre-concert activities at 1 p.m.)

The Cleveland Orchestra
James Feddeck, conductor
Words by Lemony Snicket
Music by Nathaniel Stookey
With special guest, Nathaniel Stookey

Acclaimed composer Nathaniel Stookey brings his uproarious collaboration with best-selling children’s writer Lemony Snicket to Severance Hall. A “Peter and the Wolf” for the 21st century, aimed at a new generation. For children ages 7 and up.


Be advised not to find more information at clevelandorchestra.com.

CWRU Design Management Class Presentation

A Management by Designing Interdisciplinary Initiative MBA class at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management made presentations last night about six different Cleveland organizations, including non-profit, corporate, and goverment. The student teams of three studied the organizations by conducting interviews, and speaking with customers and patrons, as well as reviewing organizational structure and history. Through this investigation they identified challenges, and came up with solutions to recommend to the organizations for improved service, idea development, increased revenue, and connecting to their communities.

Pictured here is Kristin Fosdick presenting a blueprint of interaction between The Cleveland Orchestra and its patrons. The course is led by professors Richard Buchanan and Fred Collopy, who challenged the students to make their presentations without computers and with questions about their outcomes.

Robert Vernon Masterclass

Yesterday afternoon, Cleveland Orchestra Principal Viola Robert Vernon led a masterclass in Reinberger Chamber Hall for 25 students from Northeast Ohio. Pictured here is Kallie Ciechomski, a student at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.

Mr. Vernon is in his 34th season with The Cleveland Orchestra, and has appeared as soloist in more than 100 concerts, including a recent performance of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante with Concertmaster William Preucil.

A renowned pedagogue, Mr. Vernon is the chair of the viola department of the Cleveland Institute of Music and a faculty member at the Juilliard School. His students hold positions in over 50 orchestras worldwide. Mr. Vernon is the author of Essential Orchestral Excerpts for Viola: The Keys to a Successful Audition.

Smallest Listeners Meet the Strings

Children ages 3-6 clapped and sang along to the B-I-N-G-O song and heard close-up demonstrations of the string family of instruments by Cleveland Orchestra cellist Bryan Dumm and members of his family at a Friday morning PNC Musical Rainbow concert at Reinberger Chamber Hall of Severance Hall.

Maryann Nagel hosted the event, which featured Dumm; his wife, Molly Fung, a violinist (standing at left in photo); and their daughter Rochelle (standing in center in photo), a Hathaway Brown School student who plays the violin; along with pianist Laura Silverman.

The musicians played excerpts from Beethoven’s dramatic and spooky “Ghost” Trio and showed the wide range of sounds that they can make by bowing and plucking the strings in different ways.

The program will be repeated on Saturday.

Make music with The Cleveland Orchestra

YOU, or your kids, could make music on stage at Severance Hall or Blossom Music Center with The Cleveland Orchestra

Here's your opportunity to begin singing with The Cleveland Orchestra Choruses - 2010 auditions have been announced!

CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA CHILDREN’S CHORUSES

The Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus, under the direction of Dr. Ann L. Usher, is holding auditions in May and June for the 2010-2011 season. Students who will be entering grades 5-8 in the fall of 2010 are eligible to audition. The singers should have treble voices. There are two Children’s Choruses: The Children’s Chorus, a performing chorus, is limited to students with more advanced skills and experience, while the Preparatory Chorus provides initial choral experiences for younger students in grades 5-8.

As members of the Children’s Choruses, students develop their choral training and leadership skills, which help strengthen their performance in their school programs. In addition, they receive the opportunity to interact with other students from the greater Cleveland area who share the same musical interests.

If you are aware of a gifted child who has promising vocal abilities, please have them contact the chorus office at ysiry@clevelandorchestra.com or 216-231-7374 to receive more information or to schedule an audition.

CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA YOUTH CHORUS

The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus, under the direction of Frank Bianchi, is seeking talented high school singers (grades 9-12 or boys entering the 8^th grade with changed voices) to audition for the 2010-2011 season. The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus provides an opportunity for talented high school-age singers an opportunity to perform standard choral repertoire in the greater Cleveland area. The chorus strives for commitment, discipline, and superior artistry; all which make the ensemble one of the best of its kind in Ohio. Members are required to make a weekly commitment and must maintain a high level of musicianship.

We are currently scheduling auditions on Saturday, May 8^th, Saturday, May 15^th, and Sunday, May 16^th. If you are aware of a gifted singer who has strong vocal abilities, please have them contact the chorus office at ysiry@clevelandorchestra.com or 216-231-7374 to receive more information or to schedule an audition.

BLOSSOM FESTIVAL CHORUS

A permanent and beloved annual part of the Blossom Festival, the 2010 Blossom Festival Chorus will perform at the Blossom Music Center with The Cleveland Orchestra on July 2^nd. Rehearsals will be held on 6 weekday evenings in June.

Prospective members must have previous choral experience and be able to sight-read music. Those auditioning are asked to prepare two contrasting pieces: one from the classical literature and one of the singer’s choice. Once piece should be in a foreign language, but neither piece needs to be memorized. An accompanist will be provided for the audition.

Auditions are currently being scheduled for Monday, May 24^th. To schedule an audition appointment or receive further information please contact Jill Harbaugh at jharbaugh@clevelandorchestra.com or 216-231-7372.

CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA CHORUS

The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, one of the few professionally trained, all-volunteer choruses sponsored by an American orchestra, is seeking highly talented singers for its 2010-2011 season. Season repertoire will include Bach’s Mass in F major, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs and Toward the Unknown Region, Holst’s The Planets, Dvořák’s Te Deum, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater.

The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus season is generally September through May. Members of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus are required to commit to rehearsals every Monday evening from 7:00pm – 10:00pm and occasional Sunday rehearsals, in addition to all scheduled concerts.

Prospective members must have previous choral experience and be able to sight-read music. Those auditioning are asked to prepare two contrasting pieces from the classical literature, one of which should be in a foreign language. An accompanist will be provided for the audition.

Auditions are currently being scheduled for Monday, May 24^th. To schedule an audition appointment or receive further information please contact Jill Harbaugh at jharbaugh@clevelandorchestra.com or 216-231-7372.

ReBlog - ClevelandClassical.com: Opening Nights Preview

Preview
CMA's Gartner Opening Nights Festival continues with classic 1975 work by Louis Andriessen

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by Mike Telin

This week’s Cleveland Museum of Arts Gartner Auditorium Opening Nights Festival features the music of Baby Dee, alt-rock singer-songwriter and the Opera Cleveland Chorus directed by Dean Williamson, as well as Louis Andriessen’s 1975 classic, Workers Union, performed by a cast of stars.

Andriessen describes the piece as “a combination of individual freedom and severe discipline: its rhythm is exactly fixed; the pitch on the other hand, is indicated only approximately, on a single-lined stave. It is difficult to play in an ensemble and to remain in step, sort of thing like organizing and carrying on political action.”

We spoke with percussionist Paul Cox (above) about the piece, the performers, and what we can be in store for on Wednesday evening.

Mike Telin: Who came up with the idea of performing this piece?

Paul Cox: Scott Dixon, who is a double bass player in the Cleveland Orchestra, was looking for a piece to do in Miami, as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s outreach activities. Scott is a pretty adventurous guy, so he wanted to do something that was a little more “rocking” so to speak. It turned out that it went really well. Scott and Tom Welsh at the Art Museum are good friends and when Tom was thinking about what to do on the Opening Nights Festival, they said hey, let’s do this piece.

MT: In the score, Andriessen says that the piece is for a loud ensemble of any size; how many people will be on stage?

PC: For this performance, Mark Jacobs will be playing an electric string instrument, sort of like an electric violin, Max Dimoff is playing electric bass, Scott Dixon is playing electric guitar, I’m playing vibraphone, Marc Damoulakis is playing xylophone, and Dillon Moffitt, who is at CIM, will be playing a multi-percussion set-up, with break drums, tom-toms, and a kick-drum. It’s going to be super loud!

MT: Tell me more about the inner workings of the piece.

PC: It is relentless rhythmically. It goes by quickly and it requires a lot of concentration, as the meters are always shifting. It also requires that everybody commit and really go for it. You can’t be afraid to make a mistake, it’s like Rock and Roll, and you can’t be timid and try to blend in. It is also about staying with the group. Andriessen is very clear in the music that it is a group effort. It is about democracy in a sense in that it requires participation even when it becomes super difficult and uncomfortable. For example, if you get off a little bit, it is up to you to catch up with the rest of the group and get back with the majority.

MT: You said to me in your e-mail that this was a piece that requires everyone to work together in spite of their differences, what are these differences?

PC: Let me explain the definition of differences as it applies to this piece. An electric viola and guitar are different from striking an instrument, so the differences are more in how the instruments work and the techniques needed to play them. It’s also how we negotiate space, as in the difference between electric and acoustic, the electric definition of loud and the acoustic definition of loud.

MT: What attracts you to Andriessen’s Music?

PC: For me it is that his music is usually rhythmically intense and uncompromising. It requires that all of the players be connected through a shared pulse. You also have to listen in a way that is almost like a meditative type of listening. There is also a playful aspect to it. It’s jazzy, it’s funky, is also a sense that you are almost in a rock band soundscape. It is psychologically engrossing to play. It also requires that the audience be open to what is going to happen, and it’s usually going to happen for a long time. (laughing) you know, sit down, get comfortable and have a good time.

MT: How do you go about rehearsing a piece such as this?

PC: Oh yes, that’s a good question. On one side we are trying to listen very carefully, but we are also wearing earplugs. For me, I am listening with my ears, but I am also listening with my body. The piece is very physical. In rehearsals we also have people go out and listen to see if we are together. We also rehearse sections, such as strings alone or percussion alone. Anything that can help us to get the rhythms to line up and be as tight as possible. Since the pitches are unspecified, it is all about the rhythm.

MT: Do you have any final thoughts?

PC: Just one last thing, because in a sense this is like a homecoming for me because I was the associate director of music at the museum for ten years, and I was part of the Gartner renovation planning committee. So to be able to go back and to play in the newly renovated hall is going to be really exciting. It will be a highlight of the year for me.

The concert is Wednesday, April 14

7:00 pm — CMA Gartner Auditorium Opening Nights Festival, with Baby Dee, alt-rock singer-songwriter, Opera Cleveland Chorus, Dean Williamson, director & percussionists Paul Cox, Mark Jacobs, Marc Damoulakis, Scott Dixon & friends performing Louis Andriessen’s 1975 classic, Workers Union. Sixth in a series of performances celebrating the reopening of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s performance space . Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Boulevard. Free but tickets required (limit of 4 per order). Call 216.421.7350.

Robert Vernon to lead viola masterclass on April 19

The Cleveland Orchestra’s Principal Viola, Robert Vernon, will teach a masterclass on Monday, April 19, from 4:00 – 6:30 p.m., at Severance Hall’s Reinberger Chamber Hall.

Students from the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Oberlin College Conservatory of Music will perform in this masterclass.

The masterclass is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Reserve tickets online at clevelandorchestra.com, or call the Severance Hall ticket office at (216) 231-1111. For more information, call (216) 231-7353 or email college@clevelandorchestra.com.

The Cleveland Orchestra holds masterclasses each season featuring world-renowned musicians and guest artists through its Community Music Initiative.

A Soldier's Tale, Revisited

Musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra will join forces with GroundWorks DanceTheater and The Cleveland Play House to present a new production of Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale, featuring a new libretto by Kurt Vonnegut. The performances April 22-25 are part of the Play House's fifth annual FusionFest. The following preview of A Soldier's Tale at FusionFest appears in program books of The Cleveland Orchestra.

A Soldier’s Tale
by Elaine Guregian

Is it possible to rewrite history? The answer is yes, if it is the history of a soldier, as told in a famous musical play by Igor Stravinsky.

A Soldier’s Tale (L’Histoire du Soldat) premiered in World War I-era Switzerland. From that 1918 premiere until 1993, audiences knew the work as a quirky piece for a narrator, instrumentalists, and actors, including a violin-wielding soldier who signs a pact with the devil. Igor Stravinsky’s jaunty score encourages the seven instrumentalists to play his dance-like writing with an in-your-face energy that has made this chamber work a classic.

A Soldier’s Tale continues to be performed in its original form, with a libretto by the Swiss writer C.F. Ramuz. But this month in Cleveland, FusionFest audiences will hear it in a recent version with words by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, whose style and very reason for writing were forged from his experience as a soldier in World War II. David Shimotakahara, artistic director of GroundWorks DanceTheater, is choreographing the work for these performances, April 22-25.

Early in his career, Vonnegut became famous for transforming his experience as a soldier who took shelter in an underground meat locker during the bombing of Dresden into a novel named after that shelter: Slaughterhouse-Five. Much later in Vonnegut’s life, the New York Philomusica (a chamber music organization in New York City) asked Vonnegut to write a new libretto to A Soldier’s Tale, bringing his own perspective to the tale.

In 1997, Seth Gordon (now associate artistic director of The Cleveland Play House) directed the premiere of A Soldier’s Tale with Vonnegut’s libretto. The 1997 version retains Stravinsky’s music but uses the characters of a Soldier, Military Policeman, General, and Red Cross Girl. Vonnegut based his soldier on the real-life Eddie Slovik, who became famous (through the book The Execution of Private Slovik) as the only American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.

“Kurt Vonnegut devoted his life, including his version of A Soldier’s Tale, to writing about the folly of war, the ridiculousness or even the silliness of the notion that we can accomplish something or even make ourselves a better society by slaughtering tens of thousands of people in that society,” Gordon says. “He’s not necessarily anti-war. He just said that we should never forget how stupid the notion of war is.”

Vonnegut’s version of A Soldier’s Tale became unavailable for a time due to a copyright dispute, so Gordon is especially excited that he is able to direct it now for FusionFest performances. (A recording of the Vonnegut version, under the slightly altered title of An American Soldier’s Tale, is available on the Summit label.)

Cleveland actors will play the four roles. Gordon sees the April performances with assistant conductor Tito Muñoz and musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra, and artistic director David Shimotakahara and dancers from GroundWorks DanceTheater as a chance to take the FusionFest concept — now in its fifth year — one step further in terms of richness of collaboration.

“My hope is that as you watch the whole thing unfold, you won’t necessarily be able to discern where the music is, where the choreography is, and where the direction is . . . it’ll be all of the performers working together in a way that FusionFest has never yet been able to accomplish before,” he said.

Stravinsky’s choice of instruments to play in A Soldier’s Tale is a distinctively bright, sometimes raucous, blending of winds, strings, and percussion. In 2006, composer-conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen (then music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) created a companion piece called Catch and Release, using the same instrumentation: clarinet, bassoon, trumpet (substituting for the original cornet), trombone, percussion, violin, and double bass. Salonen’s 22-minute, three-movement piece premiered in Finland in 2006.

Catch and Release shares the FusionFest bill with A Soldier’s Tale, with each work presented by members of The Cleveland Orchestra and GroundWorks. The dancers of GroundWorks will perform Shimotakahara’s choreography for Catch and Release with a video created by video artist Kasumi — a faculty member of the Cleveland Institute of Art — and lighting by GroundWorks lighting designer Dennis Dugan.

Shimotakahara says of Catch and Release, “It’s dynamic, it’s so moving — I was immediately attracted to it. It made me think of a lot of old movie scores. It was almost like seeing a collage of all these wonderful moments from different old films.”

Shimotakahara has responded to Salonen’s writing as a powerful generator of movement and images about moments of experience and the things we cannot hold. The dance promises to be a vibrant companion to A Soldier’s Tale.

FusionFest presents A Soldier's Tale and Catch and Release, April 22-25 (Thursday and Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 5:00 p.m., and Sunday at 4:00 p.m.), at the Baxter Theatre, Cleveland Play House.

Click here to listen to Cleveland Orchestra Assistant Conductor Tito Muñoz, Cleveland Play House Associate Director Seth Gordon, and GroundWorks DanceTheater Artistic Director David Shimotakahara talk about the new production.

For more information, please visit clevelandplayhouse.com.

Update: Listen to WKSU 89.7's preview of A Soldier's Tale or read The Plain Dealer's preview article.

Take Me Out To The Symphony: The Cleveland Orchestra and The Cleveland Indians

"Indipops" Concerts in 1953

In 1953, The Cleveland Orchestra’s popular summer series of “Pops” Concerts at Public Auditorium couldn’t be held because the auditorium was closed for renovations (including new air conditioning). What could the Orchestra do instead? Where could they play?

In early April, Cleveland News reporter Ernest Wittenberg sparked an idea to have the summer orchestra play pre-game concerts before select Indians home games at Municipal Stadium.

And so, with enthusiastic support from many citizens (and new sound equipment purchased by the city especially for the purpose), assistant conductor Louis Lane and the Cleveland Summer Orchestra appeared on field for twelve Indians games.

The series, which quickly became known as the “Indipops,” created much discussion in the papers and across the city as to whether baseball and a symphony orchestra really belonged in the same setting.

The experiment lasted only one season, however; in 1954, the Orchestra went back to Public Auditorium and the Indians went on to the World Series.

--Excerpted from The Cleveland Orchestra’s program book, August 10, 1991.


Cleveland Indians players pose in front of the Orchestra performing at Municipal Stadium in 1953. Bob Feller is the player on the far left.


Jacobs Field Opening in 1994

On April 4, 1994, members of The Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, conducted by Gareth Morrell, performed the National Anthem at the Indians' first game in the new ballpark. President Bill Clinton attended to throw the first ceremonial pitch.




Members of The Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus perform the National Anthem at the opening of Jacobs Field on April 4, 1994.


Star-Spangled Celebration at Jacob's Field in 1994



On July 5, 1994, The Cleveland Orchestra made its second appearance at Jacob's Field, performing its Star-Spangled Celebration at Jacob's Field. The annual free concert of patriotic music, conducted by Jahja Ling, attracted thousands to the baseball park.

Tom Morris, then-Executive Director of The Cleveland Orchestra, was quoted as saying, “We are very excited to be bringing the Orchestra to Jacob’s Field for a concert that will showcase two institutions which represent the best qualities of our city.”



The Orchestra has performed an annual free outdoor concert celebrating Independence Day for 20 years, with the next concert on Thursday, July 2, at Public Square in downtown Cleveland.


1995 World Series

When the Indians were in the 1995 world series, everyone in Cleveland was watching. The photo below appeared on the front page of the October 22, 1995, edition of the Sunday Plain Dealer. The caption read "These glum Tribe fans, who also happen to be members of the Cleveland Orchestra, take advantage of intermission to catch part of to the first game of the World series. Unfortunately, they caught the 7th inning when the Atlanta Braves scored the winning runs."


(Photo: David Anderson/Plain Dealer Photographer.)


Images courtesy of the Cleveland Orchestra Archives.

Miami Residency - Photos from Frost School of Music

Photos from The Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency classes and workshops at the University of Miami Frost School of Music in March 2010

Photos: Cleveland Orchestra Media Relations

Christoph von Dohnányi and The Cleveland Orchestra

Music Director Laureate Christoph von Dohnányi returns to Cleveland this week to conduct The Cleveland Orchestra on April 1 and 3 in performances of Brahms's Symphony No. 1 and Mozart's Symphony Concertante, K. 364, with Concertmaster William Preucil and Principal Viola Robert Vernon as soloists.

Mr. Dohnányi, whose 80th birthday (September 8, 2009) is being celebrated worldwide this season, served as Music Director of the Orchestra from 1984 to 2002, when he was designated Music Director Laureate.

Listen to an interview with Mr. Dohnányi from WCPN 90.3 FM's Around Noon program, or view a photo slideshow of photos from his time with the Orchestra.