CityMusic Cleveland will perform the world premiere of Dan Visconti’s Roots to Branches, along with Ung’s Khse Buon for cello solo and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” on March 12-16

Cleveland has a rich ethnic heritage, dating back far into the city’s history and spanning many cultures. The Cleveland Memory Project, for instance, hosts some fascinating information from The Greater Cleveland Ethnographic Museum’s Immigrant Experience Project, which recorded the stories of approximately ninety immigrants from over thirty cultural backgrounds.

Today, many refugee populations continue to forge a new home in the Cleveland region.

A new musical piece commissioned by CityMusic Cleveland weaves together the stories of these communities, the hardship and oppression they’ve fled, and their long journey to settle in Cleveland.

Dan Visconti’s Roots to Branches will make its world premiere this week during CityMusic’s March concert series.

As with all of their concert series, CityMusic will tour the performance at different locations around Cleveland. And in keeping with CityMusic’s mission to make chamber music more accessible, every concert is free though donations are welcomed.

The concert premieres tomorrow, March 12 at 7:30pm at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights. Other performances include:

• Cleveland Heights: Thurs., March 13 at 10:00am, Noble Elementary School, 1293 Ardoon St
• Cleveland: Thurs., March 13 at 7:30pm, Trinity Lutheran Church, 2031 West 30th St
• Lakewood: Fri., March 14 at 7:30pm, Lakewood Congregational Church, 1375 West Clifton Blvd
• Slavic Village: Sat., March 15 at 7:30pm, Shrine of St. Stanislaus, 3649 E. 65th St
• Willoughby Hills: Sun., March 16 at 4:00pm, St. Noel Church, 35200 Chardon Rd

Visconti worked with CityMusic and Grammy-winning percussionist Shane Shanahan to produce this new work, a concerto for hand percussion with orchestra and narrator. In an email to CityMusic supporters, he shared what inspired the composition:

“The title of the concerto comes from this quote, from an interview with a local Bhutanese refugee:

‘I have lost my roots but gained many branches; my family tree flowers once again with the promise of opportunity, and in my turn my greatest hope is to give back to this great country that has given my family a new chance to blossom.’

In turns hair-raising, offbeat, and joyous, the concerto Roots to Branches features percussion instruments from around the globe, gives expressive voice to these refugees’ experiences, and paints a portrait of a population that is already giving back to the community that offered them the chance of a better life.”

In addition to Roots to Branches, this week’s concert series will include Khse Buon for cello solo by Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”. An IndieGoGo project is also underway to record Roots to Branches so that the stories of our community’s refugees can be told to others.

Composer Dan Visconti

This will be only my second CityMusic Cleveland concert. When I attended their Viennese Waltz Kings concert in December, I fell in love with CityMusic’s mission of calling attention to social concerns while making chamber music more accessible to the Cleveland community. It also helped that the performance was incredible and the group’s welcoming spirit was so contagious.

It’s no surprise that as they celebrate their 10th anniversary, CityMusic Cleveland is reaching nearly 20,000 people per season.

In conjunction with the concerto’s world premiere, CityMusic will be at the Children’s Museum of Cleveland on Sunday, March 16. Join them and special guests from Cleveland’s refugee community to learn kids’ songs from all over the globe. The interactive presentation will take place at 10:30am, 11:30am, and 12:30pm.

They’ll also be presenting a program with Global Cleveland at the City Club of Cleveland on March 21. At noon, global human rights activist Kerry Kennedy will speak about the plight of modern-day refugees, highlighting the stories of hidden communities of refugees settling in the US, including those from Bhutan/Nepal, Myanmar, Iraq, and Somalia. Call 216-621-0082 to make reservations.

Disclosure: I was asked to share this event on my blog; however, I would have anyway because I support CityMusic’s mission and was already planning on attending one of the free concerts. Opinions here are 100% my own.

www.CityMusicCleveland.org

There are a handful of moments I think back to that reaffirm how grateful I am to have moved to Cleveland: The first time I set foot in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learning about PlayhouseSquare Partners at their Back to the Future Night. My first Ohio Blogging meetup.

On Wednesday I added another memory to that list when Scott and I attended our first CityMusic Cleveland concert. Combine an evening of dazzling music, a stunning setting, and warm company, and I was officially hooked.

To top it all off, CityMusic’s concerts are free for everyone.

Now celebrating its 10th season, CityMusic Cleveland was founded by six friends who wanted to make chamber music accessible to everyone while fostering stronger communities through the arts.

So they came up with the crazy-good idea of bringing free concerts to neighborhoods all over Cleveland — eliminating the twin barriers of high ticket prices and unfamiliar venues.

Ten years later, they’re reaching some 19,110 people per season and even performed at the Lincoln Center.

CityMusic’s 2013-2014 season started in October, with three more concert series in December, March and May. Each program is performed multiple times during the course of a week in neighborhoods across Northeast Ohio — from the Slavic Village, to Detroit-Shoreway, Willoughby, Willoughby Hills, Elyria, and Cleveland Heights.

They opened their December program on Wednesday with a concert at the Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights. Conducted by Stefan Willich, the concert brought the tradition of the Viennese New Year’s Concert to Cleveland with a night of lively waltzes, polkas, mazurkas, and singing.

The evening started with two pieces, the Overture to Johann Strauss, Jr.’s most popular operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat) and Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto. The Concerto was a particular treat because it showed off the trumpeting talents of guest soloist Jack Sutte from the Cleveland Orchestra.

Although you may not think classical music could keep you on the edge of your seat, this piece did. It’s fast-paced, incredibly energetic – Scott and I were impressed that Sutte didn’t miss a beat.

Stefan Willich conductor, Stacey Mastrian soprano, Jack Sutte trumpet at the December CityMusic series

We couldn’t wait for more, especially because the next piece after the Intermission was the classic On The Beautiful Blue Danube. When I was a kid, I had a Fisher-Price record player and out of the many records it played, I always put The Blue Danube on repeat.

However, for all of the times I’ve listened to it, I’ve never seen it performed live. There is no comparing, especially listening to it fill such a magnificent setting as Fairmount Presbyterian.

CityMusic was joined by Soprano Stacey Mastrian for the next few pieces. Whether she was singing The Bat’s “When I play the innocent from the country,” The Gypsy Baron’s “Oh watch out,” or Vilja Song from The Merry Widow, I loved how easily she brought each operetta’s characters to life with only her voice.

In addition to making classical music more accessible by not charging for tickets, CityMusic invites the conductor to share a few words about the concert after the intermission. 

Willich discussed how the holidays are often a time for quiet introspection and reverence, reflected in traditional holiday hymns. However, they’re also a time for laughter and celebration with friends, which is what he hoped to achieve through that night’s concert.

If the audience gleefully clapping along to the final song was any indication, CityMusic did their job very well.

After performing in Cleveland Heights and Lakewood, CityMusic Cleveland travels to Willoughby Hills, Slavic Village, and Elyria

There are three more free concerts to enjoy this week:

Tonight, December 6 in Willoughby Hills: Concert starts at 7:30pm at St. Noel Church (35200 Chardon Road, Willoughby Hills)

Saturday, December 7 in the Slavic Village: Concert starts at 7.30 pm at the Shrine of St. Stanislaus (3649 E. 65th Street, Cleveland)

Sunday, December 8 in Elyria: Concert starts at 2.30 pm at St. Mary Parish (320 Middle Avenue, Elyria)

CityMusic then returns March 12 through 16 and May 14 through 18.

Before and after the concert, I had a chance to meet Dr. Ronald Strauss and his wife Eugenia who founded and continue to lead the group, along with Rebecca Mayhew, a founding musician of CityMusic Cleveland and its Director of Education, and a number of their volunteers and musicians.

The group truly felt like a family, welcoming to anyone who shares their love for music. The Strauss’ even hosted the musicians, volunteers and donors at their house for a hearty dinner afterwards.

In my opinion, it’s their arms-open warmth – more than anything else – that makes CityMusic Cleveland successful at building the community’s appreciation for classical music.

Disclosure; I was invited to attend the Cleveland Heights concert; however – as always – opinions expressed here are 100% my own.