CityMusic Cleveland kicks off Fiftheens Season this week

Since its founding in 2004, CityMusic Cleveland has been guided by a simple principle: that classical music should be available to all free of charge. Read a history of the ensemble here. This week the traveling chamber orchestra will kick off its fifteenth season with a program titled “A Bounty of Brahms.” Under the direction of Music Director Avner Dorman, the program includes the composer’s Double Concerto featuring a pair of CityMusic favorites, violinist Tessa Lark and cellist Edward Arron, and the Symphony No. 2.

The run begins on Wednesday, October 24 at 7:30 pm at St. Jerome Church in Collinwood, and continues on to Temple Tifereth-Israel in Beachwood (October 25 at 7:30 pm), St. Noel Church in Willoughby Hills (October 26 at 7:30 pm), and the Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus in Slavic Village (October 27 at 8:00 pm), finishing up at Lakewood Congregational Church on Sunday, October 28 at 5:00 pm. Concerts are free but you’ll want to leave a donation. Click here for further information.

On Sunday, November 4 at 7:00 pm at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, CityMusic will participate in the world premiere of Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard’s OUR VOICES: DEMOCRACY RE:visited.

Commissioned by Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland with support from the Joyce Foundation and MAP Fund, this powerful piece is inspired by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and reflects the conditions, events, and individuals that produced historic political change and public policy. Blanchard’s current group, E-Collective, will be joined by the Spirit of the Groove Gospel Choir, CityMusic Cleveland, and spoken word artists RA Washington and Orlando Watson. The performance is free, but reservations are required.

In December, conductor Stefan Willich returns to the CityMusic podium with a program that will include Richard Strauss’ lyrical Oboe Concerto, with Cleveland Orchestra principal oboe Frank Rosenwein as soloist, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 39. Click here for times and locations.

Avner Dorman takes the podium again in March with “Wide Horizons” featuring Tōru Takemitsu’s Waltz and Poulenc’s whimsical Sinfonietta. The program also includes the world premiere of Dorman’s Violin Concerto No. 3 performed by another CityMusic favorite, Sayaka Shoji. Click here for times and locations.

The fifteenth Chamber Orchestra season wraps up in May when guest conductor Melisse Brunet leads a program titled “Hidden Gems.” The concerts will include Mendelssohn’s Overture in C,Saint-Saëns’ Symphony in a and the Cello Concerto No. 1 with soloist Amit Peled, and Kodaly’s rousing Dances of Galánta. Click here for times and locations.

CityMusic’s popular free Chamber Music Series at Praxis Fiber Workshop — 15301 Waterloo Road in Cleveland — continues on Friday, November 16 at 6:30 pm. Violinist Masha Andreini, cellist Anna Hurt, and pianist Donna Lee will perform Paul Juon’s Trio Minatures, Op. 18 “Reverie,” Shostakovich’s Trio, Op. 67, Rachmaninoff’s Trio Elegy No. 1, and Glinka’s Romance.

On Saturday, January 19 at 6:30 pm, North Coast Winds — Kimberly Zaleski, flute, Mary Kausek, oboe, Arleigh Savage, bassoon, Emily Rapson, horn, and guest clarinetist Daniel Gilbert — will present an engaging concert featuring works by Pierné, Nielsen, Coleman, and Ewazen.

Works by Bartók, Debussy, Takemitsu, and Schoenfeld will be highlighted on Friday, February 15 at 6:30 pm when violinist Miho Hashizume, clarinetist Daniel Gilbert, and pianist Donna Lee take center stage.

Women will rule on Friday, April 12 at 6:30 pm when violinists Masha Andreini and Aniela Eddy, violist Yael Senamaud Cohen, cellist Anna Hurt, bassist Tracy Rowell, and pianist Halida Dinova present works by Louise Farrenc, Nadia Boulanger, and Sofia Gubaidulina.

The series concludes on Thursday, June 6 at 6:30 pm with a program titled “Presence and Past.” Trumpeters Nina Bell and Amanda Bekeny and trombonists Jason Smith and Sebastian Bell perform works by Scheidt, Humperdinck, Tilson Thomas, and Ewazen.

From its beginning, community outreach has been an important component of CityMusic Cleveland’s offerings. Presented in partnership with the Children’s Museum of Cleveland, The Clurie Bennis Children’s Outreach Series provides cultural experiences relayed through music, theater, and dance, allowing CityMusic teaching artists to engage children with music not represented in the traditional curriculum. Click here for details.

Published on ClevelandClassical.com October 22, 2018.