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Cleveland Chamber Symphony

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The Cleveland Chamber Symphony preparing to perform.

The Cleveland Chamber Symphony (CCS) is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio, focused on performing contemporary classical music. Since its inception, CCS has presented over 200 performance premieres. The ensemble works very closely with Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music to support its mission.

Every year, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony holds the Young and Emerging Composers Concert, which exclusively features music created by student composers, selected through a highly competitive process.[1]

History

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The Cleveland Chamber Symphony was founded in 1980 by composer Edwin London as a professional ensemble dedicated to performing new music, primarily by American composers. Under Dr. London's leadership and with the commitment of a core group of Cleveland musicians, the ensemble steadily expanded its reach and reputation over the next two decades, focusing on performing, recording, and commissioning contemporary orchestral works.[2]

At its peak, the CCS presented a concert series featuring eight programs, alongside numerous recording sessions, all under Edwin London's direction. Performances were held at Cleveland State University and various other Cleveland venues, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Trinity Cathedral, Public Hall, Karamu House, Liberty Hill Baptist Church, Old Stone Church, and John Carroll University. The ensemble also brought its music to audiences beyond Cleveland, offering "encore" performances in communities adjacent to Cuyahoga County and throughout the Midwest.

Composers in Cleveland and around the world came to regard the Cleveland Chamber Symphony as an important resource for their own work and that of younger students. Composers of national and international prominence, whose works were commissioned and performed by the CCS, were invited to serve as guest conductors and educators. A hallmark of the ensemble was its collaborative relationships with composers, which some considered to set a new standard for the performance of contemporary orchestral music. A critically acclaimed performance of Bernard Rands' Canti Trilogy led to a national tour culminating in a performance in Paine Hall at Harvard University.

In 2007, the group won a Grammy Award in the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) category, for its recording of Olivier Messiaen's Oiseaux exotiques, conducted by John McLaughlin Williams with pianist Angelin Chang.[3]

The current music director is Steven Smith.

While the orchestra was first formed at Cleveland State University, it has since moved to a new performance home at the Cleveland Music School Settlement.

Select recordings

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Sound Encounters I (GM 2039)

  1. Libby Larsen: What the Monster Saw
  2. Salvatore Martirano: LON/dons - Howie Smith, saxophone
  3. Bernard Rands: London Serenade
  4. Roger Reynolds: The Dream of the Infinite Rooms - Regina Mushabac, cello

The New American Scene (Albany Records, Troy 298)

  1. Ronald Perera: Music for Flute and Orchestra - William Wittig, flute
  2. Howie Smith: Songs for the Children - Howie Smith, wind controller/alto saxophone
  3. Edwin London: Una Novella Della Sera Primavera - Harry Sargous, oboe
  4. John Eaton: Songs of Desperation & Comfort - Nelda Nelson, mezzo-soprano

Cleveland Chamber Symphony Vol 6↵ (TNC CD 1515)

  1. Danceanu: Chinonic, Op. 67
  2. Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques (Exotic Birds) - Angelin Chang - piano
  3. Ligeti: Chamber Concerto for 13 Instrumentalists
  4. Shostakovich: Concerto no. 1 for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 35 - Angelin Chang, piano
The recording of Oiseaux Exotiques by Olivier Messiaen has been awarded a 2007 Grammy Award in the category of Classical Music: Best Instrumental Solo with Orchestra[4]
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Young & Emerging Composers – Cleveland Chamber Symphony". Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  2. ^ "About the Cleveland Chamber Symphony".
  3. ^ "Cleveland Orchestra". clevelandorchestra.queue-it.net. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  4. ^ "49th Annual Grammy Awards Nominee List". CBS News. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
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