An Opera to Benefit Refugee Children and Four More Classical Music Events to Hit This Week

The Oberlin Cooper Violin Competition turns serious this week as the original field of 24 violinists, ages 13-18, gets trimmed to 6 for Wednesday’s recital rounds (July 19 at 1:30 and 7:00 pm), then to 3 for Friday evening’s concertos with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra (July 21 at 7:30 pm in Severance Hall). You can follow the progress of the competition via WCLV, 104.9 FM on Wednesday, and purchase tickets here for the Friday finals.

The fourth Kent/Blossom Festival Faculty Concert on Wednesday, July 19 will feature Cleveland Orchestra musicians Daniel McKelway, clarinet, Richard King, horn, and Lembi Veskimets, viola, as well as guest artists Amelia Baisley, soprano, and Hyunsoon Whang, piano, in a program that includes Mozart’s “Kegelstatt” Trio (a form of bowling the composer liked to play), Schubert’s The Shepherd on the Rock, and George Rochberg’s Trio for clarinet, horn, and piano. The 7:30 pm concert is in Ludwig Recital Hall on the Kent State campus. Click here for ticket information.

Gian Carlo Menotti’s first full-length opera, The Consul, based on real-life stories of immigrants after World War II, was topical in 1950 when it ran on Broadway for eight weeks and won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, and it’s just as relevant today. Nightingale Opera will present it twice at the Barlow Community Center in Hudson on Friday, July 21 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, July 23 at 2:30 pm. Marla Berg directs the show and John Simmons conducts a cast of local stars including Brian Keith Johnson, Sandra Ross, Frank Ward, Lara Troyer, Melissa Davis, and Timothy Culver. Tickets are available online, and all proceeds will go to support refugee children from war-torn countries.

Jahja Ling will lead the annual side-by-side concert that combines The Cleveland Orchestra with the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra at Blossom on Saturday, July 22 at 8:00 pm. The joint work will be Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony, preceded by a Rossini overture and Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 featuring TCO’s own Eli Matthews. Charles Latshaw and the Kent/Blossom ensemble will open the evening at 7:00 pm with music by Vaughan Williams and Mendelssohn. Tickets available online.

Want to join a chorus without the hassle of auditioning? The West Shore Chorale Summer Sing will give you the opportunity to sing through Felix Mendelssohn’s dramatic oratorio Elijah on Tuesday, July 25 at 7:30 pm in Rocky River Memorial Hall. John Drotleff will conduct soloists and the pickup choir, and scores will be available if you don’t have one of your own. A freewill offering will be received toward expenses.

For details of these and other events, visit the ClevelandClassical.com Concert Listings page.