The Beauty of Appalachian Music in Northeast Ohio and Three Other Classical Music Events to Hit This Weekend

Grab your lawn chairs, pack your picnic baskets, and head to McGaffin Tower at the Church of the Covenant in University Circle on Friday, July 22, or Sunday, July 24. Guest Carillonneur Dave Osburn will perform a concert of Gilbert & Sullivan tunes on Cleveland’s only Carillon bells. Friday’s lunchtime concert, from 12:15-12:45, will offer a tour of the tower following the performance. Sunday’s program will begin at 11:00. Listen to the bells from the lawn, Case Western’s campus, or even your car! The concert is free and free parking is available in the Euclid Avenue parking lot.

Apollo’s Fire brings the beauty of Appalachia to Northeast Ohio with the revival of their hit program (and now bestselling CD) “Sugarloaf Mountain.” Performances take place on Friday, July 22 at The Bath Church, UCC in Bath, and Saturday, July 23 at Geauga Lyric Theatre in Chardon. This concert sounds as if sprung fresh out of the roots of countryside America, mixing southern-style fiddle playing with African-American spirituals and even early settlers’ ballads. Nothing quite compares to this live music experience, mixed with rural atmosphere and outstanding musicianship. You can grab your tickets online.

The Cleveland International Piano Competition will begin on Sunday, July 24, with the opening ceremony in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. It will feature 2013 winner Stanislav Khristenko performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with CityMusic Cleveland under the direction of Joel Smirnoff. The competition begins on Monday, July 25 at 1 pm in Gartner Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased online.

The Cleveland Orchestra is performing an unmissable concerts this weekend at their summer home, the Blossom Music Center. The concert on Sunday, July 24 is titled “Magic of the Movies.” Michael Krajewski conducts the orchestra alongside soprano Capathia Jenkins in film scores throughout the ages. Tickets available online.