Staying [in Cleveland] felt like being at the back of a huge store called ‘America’, whose shop window on the East Coast is New York. — Frédéric Jacquot MD, Hôpital Raymond Poincaré, Garches, France.
I ran into the quote above while searching for details on the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra. This interesting observation was buried in a long and quite fascinating account of the author’s experience at University Hospitals. In his account, he also commented with some surprise that Cleveland wasn’t nearly the cultural wasteland he’d been led to believe by his Parisian colleagues and even the Americans on the plane on the way over. For instance, said he, the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra was among the world’s finest.
The good doctor is not the first to be confused by the similarity in names, but the Cleveland Orchestra of Severance Hall and the Philharmonic that is in residence at Tri-C are not one and the same. However, both give Clevelanders reason to be proud in quite different ways.
The Philharmonic was founded in 1938 to provide local musicians much-needed concert experience as they worked toward professional careers. The 80-piece semi-professional orchestra, now under the direction of William Slocum, performs regularly at Cuyahoga Community College’s western campus, but also brings an excellent and affordable program to other area venues.
One such concert will take place this month, when the Zion UCC of Tremont will host a benefit concert at the church, 2716 West 14th Street in Tremont on Saturday, April 12 at 7:30 pm. The tickets are $10 each and can be purchased in advance by calling 216-861-2371.
To sample yet another fine Cleveland orchestra, you’ll need to act fast or wait until next season. The whimsically-named Red {an orchestra} is the area’s newest and most innovative professional chamber ensemble. Not to be confused with either the old Soviet spy network known as the Red Orchestra or the oft-reproduced Salvador Dali painting of the same name, Red {an orchestra} integrates multi-disciplinary art forms into each performance, making it an excellent program to hold the attention of younger audiences. Their last concert of the season will be on Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 pm at Tri-C Metro Campus Auditorium.
The concert will feature chamber orchestra with theremin — “the great-grandfather of electronic music and the only instrument that is played without ever being touched.” As an interesting historical reference, the program will include a piece that was premiered by the Cleveland Orchestra in 1929, with the instrument’s inventor, Lev Terman, on the theremin. Call 440-519-1733 to learn more about Red. An orchestra.
Finally, you do have time to acquire tickets for this season’s final concert by Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. This season, none of the orchestra’s ten local venues were on the Near West side, but they’re worth a drive. Apollo’s Fire will present “A Feast of Mozart” at 8 p.m. on May 2 and 3 at St. Paul’s Church in Cleveland Heights, and on May 4 at 4 p.m. at Rocky River Presbyterian Church. Call 216-320-0012 for details.