No Exit at Happy Dog and 7 More Classical Music Events to Hit This Week

It’s another busy week in the rush up to Thanksgiving. Here are eight events that stand out in our calendar.

The talented Parker Ramsay made the news as the first American to serve as organ scholar at King’s College Cambridge (where he accompanied their famous Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols). He’s also a talented harpist, and you can hear him soloing in Handel’s Harp Concerto and Debussy’s Danse Sacrée et Danse Profane with Todd Wilson and Trinity Chamber Orchestra on Trinity Cathedral’s Brownbag Concert on Wednesday, November 15 at noon. Pack a lunch or buy one on site for $7. A freewill offering will be taken up.

The Cleveland Orchestra welcomes two distinguished guests for concerts this weekend. Nicholas McGegan, music director of California’s Philharmonia Baroque, will join pianist Marc-André Hamelin for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 (“Jeunehomme”) on Friday, November 17 at 7:00 pm (Fridays@7 Series), and Saturday, November 18 at 8:00 pm. McGegan and the Orchestra will also play suites by Rameau and Gluck, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 36 (“Linz”). An 11:00 am matinee on Friday the 17th will omit the concerto. Tickets available online.

New Music meets hot dogs on Friday, November 17 at 8:00 pm, when No Exit plays new solo works and trios at The Happy Dog in Gordon Square. The musical menu includes pieces by Morton Feldman, D. Edward Davis, Andrew Rindfleisch, and William Anderson. Violinist Cara Tweed, clarinetist Gunnar Owen Hirthe, and percussionist Luke Rinderknecht will also go off-script for an improvisation. Free admission.

Falling asleep isn’t usually the best thing to do at a concert, but 51XO (Five One Experimental Orchestra) is going to invite its audience to dally with Morpheus during its “Gentle Darkness” event at The Original Mattress Factory (4930 State Road in Cleveland) on Saturday evening, November 18 at 8:00 pm. It’s a “21st Century Dreamscape showcasing the modern nocturne, lullaby, and musical trance in a fully immersive nighttime event.” They’re even offering free cookies and milk. No admission charge. Sweet dreams!

The cello ensemble Locacelli will team up with some of Cleveland’s most illustrious musicians in a Music for Food Benefit Concert at the Maltz Museum in Beachwood on Sunday, November 19 at 2:00 pm. Guitarist Jason Vieaux, violinist Jinjoo Cho, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, trumpeter Michael Sachs, and cellists Sharon Robinson and Keith Robinson — all of whom have donated their services — will be featured in music by Boccherini, J.S. Bach, Albéniz, Fauré, Hovhaness, Gershwin, and others, to benefit the Kosher Food Pantry, a partner agency of the Cleveland Food Bank. Register to attend the event online.

Pittsburgh native Awadagin Pratt, the first African American to win the Naumburg International Competition, is next up on the Tri-C Classical Piano Series. His concert in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Sunday, November 19 at 2:00 pm will include music by Brahms, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Lera Auerbach, and Franck. Admission is free (and so is entry to the Museum — tuck this performance into a visit to admire CMA’s collection).

Although clarinetist Franklin Cohen no longer plays at Severance Hall, you can enjoy his artistry in a recital with pianist Zsolt Bognár on the Arts Renaissance Tremont series on Sunday, November 19 at 3:00 pm at Pilgrim United Church of Christ. He’s chosen music by Beethoven, Weinberg, Fauré, Poulenc, and Brahms for the occasion, and though there’s no admission charge, A.R.T. will be very happy to receive your donation at the door.

If you were impressed by violinist Tessa Lark’s performances last month with CityMusic Cleveland, you’ll be delighted to hear that she’s going to be back in the area, stepping in for violist Lawrence Power on Oberlin’s Artist Recital Series on Sunday, November 19 at 4:00 pm. The program in Finney Chapel includes music by Stravinsky, Ponce, Rojas, Ravel, Bartók, and Richard Strauss. Andrew Armstrong will be her piano partner, and tickets previously issued for Power’s recital will be honored at the door. Don’t have tickets yet? Click here.

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