SymphonyNow - "Global Villagers" Cleveland Orchestra Musicians

From the League of America's SymphonyNow

Global Villagers

Most orchestras do community engagement work close to home, connecting with neighbors, nearby schools, the folks down the road. The Cleveland Orchestra  does community engagement on an international scale. Sure, the Cleveland Orchestra presents an ambitious range of community engagement activities in its hometown, but the orchestra also connects with residents, local musicians, and young people in places as far afield as Osaka. For its annual three-week residency in Miami and regular residencies in Lucerne, Vienna, and Bloomington, Indiana, the orchestra’s musicians make personal connections with listeners at educational concerts and conservatories, performing chamber music with local professionals and bringing music to schools.

Two Cleveland Orchestra musicians—Principal Horn Richard King and First Assistant Principal Viola Lynne Ramsey—recently spoke to SymphonyNOW about the value of community engagement at home and abroad. While such activities interest newcomers in the art form—as Ramsey points out, hearing classical music in an intimate setting “opens up their ears and their eyes to wanting to venture into this kind of music”—they also remind these accomplished musicians that even across language barriers, people can make music together.

The interviews took place at Lincoln Center in New York City, where the Cleveland Orchestra was in residence at the Lincoln Center Festival from July 13 to 17 with programs that juxtaposed works of John Adams and Anton Bruckner.

Text by Robert Sandla
Video by John Bence