Photo by Roger Mastroianni, Courtesy of The Cleveland Orchestra
Avi and Omer Avital (who are friends, but not related) will highlight the next Cleveland Museum of Art Performing Arts Series concert in Gartner Auditorium on Wednesday, April 10 at 7:30 pm. Avi (who plays mandolin) and Omer (bass and oud) will join pianist Yonathan Avishai and percussionist Itamar Doari in a program that merges Moroccan, North African, Israeli, and Mediterranean musical styles, fuzing the energy of jazz with the refinement of chamber music. Tickets are available online.
Baldwin Wallace opens its 87th Annual Bach Festival this weekend with a number of performances and other events that show the continuing influence that Johann Sebastian Bach continues to exert in the 21st century. The headliner is Apollo’s Fire, who will perform the Mass in b minor on Friday, April 12 at 7:30 pm (in addition to three other performances around the area — see our Concert Listings for details). Other guests include the Anderson & Roe piano duo performing Bach transcriptions (Saturday, April 13 at 3:00 pm), and the BWV Singers, a 16-member professional chamber choir, who will sing four of Bach’s Motets interleaved with movements from the cello suites performed by René Schiffer (Friday, April 12 at 3:00 pm). The BW Motet Choir, Festival Chamber Choir, and Orchestra, Dirk Garner, conducting, will complete the Bach motet cycle on Saturday at 7:00 pm in addition to performing Cantatas No. 4 and 118. See the complete schedule of events and order tickets here.
While the usual denizens of Severance Hall are on tour in Asia, the CIM Orchestra will fill in on Friday, April 12 at 8:00 pm with a concert under the baton of Atlanta Symphony music director Robert Spano. There’s only one piece on the program, but it’s a big one: Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. Admission is free, but you’ll need to reserve a ticket here.
It’s been three decades since the Oberlin Conservatory launched its Jazz Studies program, and they’re planning a 30th anniversary celebration. The first event is the screening of four films by Mark Cantor on Monday, April 15 in Stull Recital Hall at the Conservatory. At 7:00 pm, the topic is “Giants of Jazz,” followed at 8:00 pm by “The Jazz Vocalist,” at 9:00 pm by “Jazz Dance,” and at 10:00 pm by “Combos Big and Small.” The celebration continues in Stull on Tuesday, April 16 with a 3:30 pm panel discussion, “Producing Jazz — Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” with jazz studies professor Jay Ashby, Grammy-winning producer Todd Barkan, and jazz writer Michael Cuscuna.
Next, on Tuesday at 7:30 pm in Finney Chapel, a concert will feature jazz faculty members Chris Anderson and Jay Ashby, trombones, Gary Bartz, saxophone, Peter Dominguez, bass, Bobby Ferrazza, guitar, La Tanya Hall, voice, Billy Hart, drums, Eddie Henderson, trumpet, and Dan Wall, piano.
The celebrations conclude on Wednesday, April 17 with a 3:30 pm panel discussion in which faculty will share “Amazing Jazz Stories,” and a 7:30 pm Artist Recital Series concert by The Spring Quartet, an all-star outfit that includes drummer Jack DeJohnette, saxman Joe Lovano, bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding, and pianist Leo Genovese.
All events are free except the Spring Quartet performance, for which tickets can be reserved online.
The new music ensemble No Exit had commissioned a piece from Czech-American composer Ladislav Kubik for performance this season. Kubik completed it, then passed away before the group could perform it. To honor the late composer, director Timothy Beyer has planned a three-concert series of Kubik’s music that includes the world premiere of Nocturnes. The free, identical programs will take place in Drinko Hall at CSU on Monday, April 15 at 8:00 pm, Friday, April 19 at 7:00 pm at 78th St. Studios, and Saturday, April 20 at 8:00 pm at SPACES.
Check out details of these and other events on our Concert Listings page.
