Secret Sauce

3.14-3.21.07
Secret Sauce

In this week’s issue:
* Interview Holly Harlan, Founder of E4S
* Signs of Life Film @ 11 from David Budin
* Sounds The self-titled release of The Black Diamonds
* Preview The Return of My Dad is Dead @ bela dubby
* RoldoLink Wealthy Benefit Most From Cleveland Abatement Policy
* Cool Cleveland Kids podcast click here, CC podcast click here, CC Blog click here

What’s our secret sauce? When I get asked to speak in public about Cool Cleveland, one of the first questions asked is, “How do you decide what’s cool and what’s not?” The cool stuff goes in this e-blast you’re reading, and we leave a lot out each week. Our definition of what is “newsworthy” is quite different from the mainstream media; we call it our “secret sauce.” It includes events, news and people that engage active citizens of NEO and inspire awe in our region. This week, we throw the spotlight on Holly Harlan, founder of E4S, Entrepreneurs for Sustainability, and their event on 3/20. Another definition of “cool” for us: events and projects emanating from Cleveland’s creative class, rather than from the coasts. David Budin’s commentary cooks the same sauce: Film at 11 points to the Cle Intl Film Fest, kicking off on 3/15, and that event’s Local Heroes series featuring area filmmakers. What else is cool? Our cool Cleveland kids, our perceptive blog culture, our columnist Roldo and his sense of social justice, our regional music, our BizTech industries, and our weekly selection of hot goings on. Savor our special sauce, then send us a taste of yours. —Thomas Mulready

Holly Harlan, Founder of Entrepreneurs for Sustainability

Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (commonly referred to in the community as “E4S”) was founded in December 2000 when leading Cleveland economic-development professional Holly Harlan joined forces with several other like-minded local entrepreneurs. Together, they wanted to accelerate the application principles of sustainability into business practices. Recently, Cool Cleveland sat down with Holly and discussed many E4S highlights, the organization’s evolution and its future. You can learn more about E4S by attending their upcoming “Third Tuesday” Networking Event at Great Lakes Brewing Company on Tue 3/20 and by visiting their website, http://www.e4s.org.

Cool Cleveland: You sport an illustrious career, including an internship at John Deere Corporation and engineering at General Electric. What was your impetus to originate Entrepreneurs for Sustainability?

Holly Harlan: I learned about sustainability in the spring of 2000, when I heard Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute present at the Cleveland Green Cleveland Building Coalition. I had what is called an “a-ha” moment listening to Amory about something he called “Natural Capitalism.” When he told us how much waste was designed into the way we currently design products, services and buildings and that waste was a business opportunity, I saw a way to help the manufacturers in NEO save money and keep jobs. Since 1990 my career had been focused on economic development for manufacturers so in the beginning of my learning I saw sustainability as a way to help local manufacturers…
Read the interview with Holly Harlan here

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A tight and rigorous array of hot tech and business news & events from around Cleveland and around the region. Send your business news and events to: EVENTS@CoolCleveland.com

Cle Executive Fellowship immersion program for your professional development. Application deadline 3/19 Apply
Cle’s GameOps gets on the Colbert Report Play
CarWrapCleveland.com collaborates with Mort Tucker Photo to make a Scion completely wrapped in Cle Wrap
County offers Innovation Zones funding to leverage the region’s strengths. March 30 deadline Info
News War Frontline 4-hour special on the history and future of American media Watch

Lake Communicators luncheon on Wed 3/14 will teach effective strategies and methods for staying organized. Feat. spkr Marge Hogan Mackey. Comfort Inn, Mentor. More
Greater Cleveland Partnership Annual Tue 3/20 @ 7:30AM. State Theatre, Playhouse Square. Register
Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S) “Third Tuesday Network Event” this Tue 3/20 at 5:30PM at Great Lakes Brewing Company. Info
FIRST Buckeye Regional Robotics Comp @ CSU Wolstein Ctr Thu 3/22 – 3/24. Intense multinat’l competition teams professionals and young people solving engineering design problems. 25K students on over 1.1K teams in 35 regional comps! Info
Investing In Start-Ups is the subject of latest no-cost JumpStart event Wed 3/21 7:30AM @ Charter One Global Enterprise Center. Info.
John West, Ph.D. NorTech Fellow, FlexMatters Founder explains Coming Up! Tue 3/27 at 6:30PM as part of Tuesdays@FUTURE Info

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Your Kid Made a Key Chain at Summer Camp… Mine Made a Movie! At Children’s Technology Workshop, kids (grades 2-8) get to make real projects like Computer Game Design and Video Animation. Project themes include: History, Mission to Mars, F1 Car Racing, Fashion Design and more! We’re open Wednesdays 3:30 – 6 and Saturdays from 10 – 3, with workshops starting every hour. Right now, until April 1, Cool Cleveland readers get an Early Bird discount when they register for summer camps, after school programs or parties – in Chagrin Falls (38 River Street, 44022) or your place. Call Karen at 440.484.2222 to learn more – or visit www.ctworkshop.com/glc. Children’s Technology Workshop is a portfolio company of the Beta Strategy Group, LTD, www.betagroup.us – a founding sponsor of Cool Cleveland Tech.
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NEO colleges collaborate on doctorate program combining art, tech, business, science Learn
Norton Furniture wins the top 5 spots in PhatPhree’s “50 Greatest Local TV Commercials” Watch
Regionalism at work Small towns save 50% by disbanding police forces & contracting with County Sheriff Read
Eric Fingerhut to be named schools chancellor by Governor Ted Strickland, taking over power of Board of Regents Read
Michael Medcalf departs from Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre, which he founded, to rediscover his muse Dance
Help for the foreclosed Ohio is #1 in foreclosures, Gov. Strickland creates Task Force, $100M in loans Read
Port discloses conflicts, enjoy perks Quasi-governmental agency increases board disclosure, spends freely Read and Read
Fashion Week Cleveland is seeking models and designers, esp. Latino & wearable art Info
Poets League seeking Executive Director F/T position for Poets & Writers League of Greater Cleveland Apply
Cool Cleveland Podcast You know how to do it. Click here to listen: Link. iTunes or other.
Ohio City renewal: block by block Architect David Ellison to renovate historic W. 41st & Lorain project Read
Cle & Baltimore score with Downtown housing using different models, notes an admiring Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Read
World Have Your Say broadcast live from E. Cle Public Library to the world on Mon 3/19 at 1PM Listen
Talk of the Nation live from ideastream studios at PHS on Thu 3/15 from 2-4PM Listen
To ensure you receive Cool Cleveland every week, take a moment now and add CoolCleveland@CoolCleveland.com to your address book, trusted sender list, or corporate white list.

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Three Great Reasons to Book Your Ski Trip before It’s too Late: 1). Ski season is winding down and you could be winding your way through the legendary powder of beautiful Colorado! 2). When you fly there non-stop aboard Frontier Airlines, you’ll receive two lift tickets for the price of one at Copper Mountain or Winter Park/Mary Jane. 3). You’ll arrive relaxed and ready to hit the slopes, thanks to the ease of flying out of the Akron-Canton Airport and the ability to stretch out aboard that big Frontier Airbus jet. Get all the details here.
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10K Micro Ideas Cleveland 20/30 club pulled together the brightest young minds in NEO last week (CC’s TM helped facilitate), and here’s some of the 10,000 Little (micro) Ideas they came up with: Sustainability: lakefront wind farm & apprenticeships; Lifestyle: more DT lighting & 20/30 mentorship for inner city kids; Economic Growth: market NEO to the business community & find our lost sheep who have found success elsewhere; Master the Market: eliminate brain drain with “pathways” & market businesses on NEO’s amenities; Green: hybrid public transportation system & mandate that all new housing is green; Idea Incubator: tax breaks for community service & keep spin-off medical start-ups in NEO; Non-Profit: consolidate, collaborate & develop volunteerism. Read

Thinking of discussing religion & politics? This should stop you: Did you know that Entrepreneur magazine recently ranked NEO as one of the hottest entrepreneurial regions? More

Are you financially prepared? A recent survey found that only 32% of Americans have taken steps to prepare themselves financially for the unexpected, even in the aftermath of 9/11 and Katrina. Fortunately, the Red Cross is offering tips and additional information. Look for the checklist, safety tips and business continuity planning guide in the left column. Info

Why is Pittsburgh jealous? To hear the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, you’d think they had blockbuster envy, wondering why Cleveland can host Monet in Normandy, at CMA, Diana, at WRHS, and the upcoming Baseball as America, at the GLSC, and why we’re promoting the shows in Pittsburgh. Well, our institutions are bigger than theirs, and apparently, our marketing is working. Read and Read.

Wanna comment? Send your thoughts to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com. Got cool news and events? Send them to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

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Special Offer: Buy 3, Get 1 With the pulsating energy, lights and colors of NYC, Thoroughly Modern Millie has opened at the Carousel for a limited engagement run. “Only in New York,” and at the Carousel, will you find all the elements of a classic musical, a tapping sensation with madcap comedy, a romantic love story and great music. See why it was named “Best Musical” at the 2002 Tony Awards! Receive a ticket at no charge when you purchase three – now through April 1st only. Carousel’s Thoroughly Modern Millie, starring Broadway Actress Hollie Howard, now through Sat 4/28. Go to www.carouseldinnertheatre.com or call (330) 724-9855 or (800) 362-4100 to reserve your tickets before they sell out!
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Every week, all of us here at Cool Cleveland pour through gads of fantastic things happening in CLE and NEO, all in an effort to answer that ever-nagging question: “What’s cool to do this week?” Submitted for your approval, here’s a snapshot of what we found. Got a unique event coming up? Know of something that is a totally Cool Cleveland worthy event? We want to hear from you about it; our tens of thousands of readers do, too. Be a civic and cultural activist and turn on your fellow readers.

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

Ann Hampton Callaway & Cleveland Jazz Orchestra Enjoy a delectable night of swing’n song Wed 3/14 at 7PM with Tony-nominated chanteuse Ann Hampton Callaway for the CJO’s performance @ Palace Theater, Playhouse Square Center. Guest vocalist Randie Shane, CJO Board President Joel Brotman’s daughter, also performs. http://www.clevelandjazz.org. http://www.annhamptoncallaway.com.

Inter-American Summit brings together government representatives from among the 50 states and 34 countries of the Americas on issues of Conflict Resolution Education. Learn how partners are gearing legislation and policy to deliver such education in schools at the K-12 levels, and at collegiate levels as well. Begins Wed 3/14 and runs through Thu 3/15. Tri-C Metropolitan Campus. http://www.irtfcleveland.org.

HOT Cleveland Chamber Symphony The 2007 Grammy Award winning contemporary music presents 2 free concerts. The first takes place Wed 3/14 at Noon at Trinity Cathedral as part of their Brown Bag Concert Series. The program will includes Verklarte Nacht by Schoenberg and the Jazz Symphony by Antheil. Trinity Cathedral is located at 2230 Euclid Ave. The program repeats Fri 3/16 at 7:00PM at Westlake United Methodist Church, 27650 Center Ridge Rd., Westlake. http://www.clevelandchambersymphony.org.

Little Women Mark Adamo’s operatic rendition of the coming-of-age classic by Louisa May Alcott gets the stage treatment by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music’s Opera Theater beginning Wed 3/14 at 8PM in the College’s Hall Auditorium. The opera will be sung in English. Hall Auditorium, 67 N. Main St. on Route 58, between Oberlin Inn and Allen Memorial Art Museum. See web link for complete performance schedule. http://www.oberlin.edu/~events.

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The Future of Cleveland . . . It’s Health Care Not a week passes without good health care news from the region: New research discoveries, bioscience entrepreneurs, buildings, jobs and investment dollars flooding into the region. Interested in finding what this all means from the inside players? Plan to attend “Northeast Ohio’s Booming Health Care Economy: New Strategies for Continued Growth” on Tue 4/17 at 3PM at the Intercontinental Hotel & Conference Center. The event features CEOs and other leaders in the region’s health care sector sharing thoughts about the present and future for our region’s most promising economic sector. It’s free, but you need to register. Click here to find out more and to sign up. www.bioenterprise.com.
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HOT Teens as Media Consumers and Predictors High-school and college-aged panelists discuss how and why they use and don’t use traditional and newer media and offer their opinions and predictions on where mainstream TV, print, web and radio must go to keep and attract younger news consumers. Thu 3/15 at 12 Noon. City Club of Cleveland.

Street Car Travel back to the days of the last Cleveland street car in this lyrical, avant-garde film, with it’s view of 1950’s Cleveland caught in the lens of acclaimed local photographer Jasper Wood on Thu 3/15 at Lakewood Public Library, 15425 Detroit Info

Girl Culture Renowned photographer Lauren Greenfield has won acclaim and awards for her studies of youth culture. With the Trinity Gallery exhibit Girl Culture, she combines sense of story with fine-art composition and color to explore the life of famous, notorious and anonymous American girls. Check it out Thu 3/15 from 10AM-6PM. Runs through the end of April. Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave. http://www.mandpa.org/gallery/girlculture.html.

DanceWorks: MorrisonDance continues a showcase of 10 years of great choreography. This popular festival of contemporary dance returns to Cleveland Public Theatre with a MorrisonDance exhibition Thu 3/15 at 8PM. And they’ll perform through the weekend. Gordon Square Theatre, 6415 Detroit Rd. Info.

HOT 31st Cle Int’l Film Festival Venerable feast of film and flagship event of the Cleveland Film Society starts Thu 3/15 with an ever-ambitious slate of celluloid triumph and agony. Check out the schedule that runs through Sun 3/25. Tower City Cinemas, Downtown. Read David Budin’s “Signs of Life” column about the CIFF in this week’s issue. http://www.clevelandfilm.org.

The Spring Repertory Visit with the delectably dysfunctional Bliss family and their outrageous assortment of unsuspecting houseguests for a magnificent maelstrom of misguided passions and delightfully disastrous parlor games on Fri 3/16 at 7:30PM through Sat 4/21. Tickets at www.GreatLakesTheater.org.

HOT Salsa Dancin’ in the Yards Break out your maracas for the first Salsa Night at Sachsenheim Hall on Fri 3/16 at 7:30PM. Great fun, music, food and bevvies are on the dance card, not even to mention no-cost dance lessons. The event is co-sponsored by the Stockyard Redevelopment Organization. 7001 Denison Avenue, in Cleveland, near intersection of Ridge Rd. http://www.myspace.com/sachsenheimball.

Skin Deep features a collection of recently completed student works that explore issues of ornament, surface effects and superficiality in architecture. Check out these works at Cle gallery 1point618 on Fri 3/13 at 7PM with an opening reception. 1point618, 6421 Detroit Av. http://www.1point18gallery.com.

G.S. Harper & the LT’s live American music at Lakewood Phoenix Fri 3/16 http://www.myspace.com/gsharper

HOT Verb, Beck, Song, Dance Beck Center for the Arts presents the extraordinary musical, Song and Dance starting Fri 3/16 at 7PM and featuring the critically-acclaimed Verb Ballets. This unique, two-act musical “concert for theatre” is co-directed by Beck and Verb Artistic Directors Scott Spence and Hernando Cortez. Runs through Sat 4/7. http://www.beckcenter.org. http://www.verbballets.org.

Hero Tomorrow Unlikely comic book super-hero and his conflicted costume-designer girlfriend, by Cleveland filmmaker Ted Sikora, at the CIFF Fri 3/16 at midnight, then again on Sun 3/18 at 11:45AM. http://www.ClevelandFilm.org.

HOT My Dad is Dead w/ Uva Ursi Don’t miss this amazing double bill of musical intrigue Fri 3/16 at 9PM. For more, read Peter Chakerian’s CC Preview in this issue. bela dubby, 13321 Madison, Lakewood. http://www.myspace.com/beladubby.

Detroit Studio Come hang out and witness the works of Mark Chamberlain and others Fri 3/16 at 5PM. 6519 Detroit. http://www.thedetroitstudio.com/friday.html.

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WCLVnotes Tomorrow, Thu 3/15, at 9PM, on Symphonycast, WCLV 104.9 presents a concert from the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Valery Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra and the Kirov Orchestra in Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Yefim Bronfman as soloist. Also on the program, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. This coming Sat 3/17, at 8PM, WCLV is live at the Knight Concert Hall in Miami for the final concert in this year’s Florida residency by The Cleveland Orchestra. Guest Miguel Harth-Bedoya presents an attractive program that includes the “Three-Cornered Hat” Ballet Suite by Falla and two works by Tchaikovsky –“Romeo and Juliet” Overture and the Piano Concerto No. 1 with Horacio Gutierrez as soloist. Complete details on all of WCLV’s programming can be found at www.wclv.com.
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Akron Symphony Pianist, Anna Polonsky, and guest conductor, Jeannette Sorrell – Music Director of Apollo’s Fire – lead music by immortals of the musical Pantheon on Sat 3/17 that kicks off with a preview at 7PM. http://www.AkronSymphony.org.

HOT Soweto Gospel Choir Celebrate the unique and inspirational power of African gospel music with intricate harmonies, wicked hand claps and sizzling tambourines on Sat 3/17 at 8PM. Tickets at http://www.PlayhouseSquare.org.

SeVeN This concert of modern dance, text and story is inspired by seven words from a women’s book by author Rachel Snyder. The performance on Sun 3/18 at 7PM includes music by Gershwin, Brubeck, James Taylor and John Cage; choreographer Linda Kahn performs this dramatic, funny, reflective work with Los Angeles native Johanna Ratner. Note: The performance is for women only. The Performing Arts Center @ Tri-C East, 4250 Richmond Rd. at Harvard, 292-6304.

HOT Citizen Hauser Blue Hole Productions presents this short film directed by Jonathan Shick as a part of the Cle Int’l Film Festival Sun 3/18 at 2PM at Tower City Cinemas. In the film, a laid off Cle steelworker attempts to save a piece of land at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. Ed Hauser, his deliberate manner, his often obsessive behavior, struggles to keep Whiskey Island preserved for public use. The fight to save the natural shoreline amidst industrial cites unfolds into a unique portrait of the region. http://www.clevelandfilm.org.

Shining Light Outreach “Compassionate Care for Our Companion Animals” is the subject of this citizen outreach on Sun 3/18 at 1:30PM. Learn how to heal your companion animals Hines Hill Conference Center, 1403 West Hines Hill Rd., Peninsula. Cuyahoga Valley National Park. For more info, call 440-526-1251 or e-mail shininglight@highstream.net.

Direct from the White House Is George W. Bush a finicky eater? Maybe Chef Walter Scheib will give up the goods on Mon 3/19 at 6PM. He’s featured speaker at this Akron Children’s Hospital/American Culinary Federation Charities benefit. The Oval Office head chef oversees 5 full-time staff, 2 assistant chefs, a steward, 2 pastry chefs and (for those special occasions) up to 20 part-time staff. No doubt he gets harder questions than “How did Clinton drop that Big Mac weight?” Carousel Dinner Theatre, 1275 E. Waterloo Rd., Akron. http://www.carouseldinnertheatre.com.

My Name is Wallace is a comic flick produced by two Cle expats, David Lawrence and Bob Pondillo. Both had high-profile radio gigs at WGAR and worked the NEO comedy circuit in the 70s and 80s. In this Cle Int’l Film Fest entry on Mon 3/19 at 4:45PM, a socially-sheltered, high-functioning, mentally-challenged man living with his mother falls in love with a phone sex operator. Considered a PG-13, http://www.mynameiswallace.com. http://www.clevelandfilm.org.

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TV Promo at No Charge? Yes! At the 40th Annual WVIZ/PBS Televised Auction with non-stop shopping and bidding fun, Thu 4/26 – Sun 4/29. The money raised helps to support WVIZ/PBS and the programs you and your family love to watch. Donations of items are needed: Antiques, art and collectibles, vacation packages, sporting event tickets, wine, dining certificates, and home appliances are a sampling of items you’ll find up for bid. It’s an exciting way to get your product or service in front of thousands of customers. Besides valuable TV promotion and a tax deduction, you’re helping to support high-quality public TV. Donate today. Call 216.916.6100 or log onto www.wviz.org for information. Then, tune in to the Auction and Watch It, Web It and Win It!
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Spring Artist Showcase Experience how visiting artists can integrate music, theater, dance & visual arts into your school or organization’s curriculum at this Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio event Tue 3/20 from 4-6PM. showcases performances and workshops by their talented pool of artists. Door prizes, artist demos and refreshments are all part of the fun. Trinity Commons, 2230 Euclid Ave. http://www.yaneo.org.

HOT Energy Efficiency Isn’t Sexy Check out the latest Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S) “Third Tuesday Network Event” this Tue 3/20 at 5:30PM at Great Lakes Brewing Company. Learn about how much energy you can save this year, how energy efficiency is used as a tactic to reduce peak demand for electricity and how new energy production creates new jobs. Read more about E4S in Tim Zaun’s CC interview with E4S Founder Holly Harlan in this issue. GLBC Tasting Room, 2701 Carroll Ave. More details on the event at http://www.e4s.org.

Concertante The string sextet performs Brahms on Tue 3/20 at 8PM. http://www.ClevelandChamberMusic.org.

a.k.a. nikki s. lee This faux documentary offers insight into NY-based artist Nikki S. Lee and her alter ego, Nikki Two, who just so happens to be the exhibitionist subject of Lee’s photographic work. One screening Tue 3/20 at 7PM, in conjunction w/ MOCA and Cle Int’l Film Fest. Tower City Cinemas. http://www.clevelandfilm.org.

Menomena No, Jim Henson’s scatting pink Muppets won’t be there. But that trippy, indie experimental rock band from Portland, Oregon draws on that whimsical energy will be. The group drops in at the Beachland Ballroom Wed 3/21 for an 8PM gig. Their discs Friend and Foe and I Am the Fun Blame Monster! draw from a myriad of different styles and soundscapes and has earned them critical acclaim. Doo-do-dah-doo-doo! Beachland Ballroom on Waterloo. http://www.beachlandballroom.com.

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

The Video Game Pianist Piano sensation Martin Leung, the popular YouTube star who performed a blindfolded version of the “Super Mario Bros.” theme song at 17, performs at the Solon Center for the Arts on Fri 3/16 at 7PM. His appearance is in conjunction with the Solon High School Sinfonia and a special informal workshop/discussion with Leung earlier in the day. Lueng will perform on four continents this year with the symphonic Video Games Live world tour. http://www.videogamepianist.com. http://www.solorarts.org.

A High School Dance? Maybe, but not in the usual way. Inlet Dance Theater and the Mosaic Dance Ensemble share the results of their month-long immersion in contemporary dance Fri 3/16 at 7PM. Bill Wade, recipient of the presidential “Coming Up Taller” Award for teaching dance to urban youth, completes his Heights High residency with his company in the Mosaic Dance Studio. Dina Rees Auditorium at Heights High, 13263 Cedar Road, Cle Hts. No-cost, donations accepted. http://www.heightsarts.org.

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Ever Tried “Art To Go?” Families: When you visit the Monet Exhibition participate in an up-close view of genuine objects from the Art To Go program downstairs in the Education level galleries, or, on other days, try your hand at a workshop making Impressionist art (Friday evenings or Sunday afternoons). Both are drop-ins with no admission fee (open to the public). Art To Go dates and topics are: Fri 3/9 from 6-8PM – Cool Knights: Armor from Medieval and Renaissance Times; Sun 3/18 from 1-3 PM – Asia: Japan, China, Korea; Fri 3/23 from 6-8PM – Artists of Our Region, The Cleveland School. Family Activities dates are: Sun 3/11 from 1-4PM – Monet To Go, hands-on workshops: Fri 3/16 from 5-8PM, Sun 3/25 from 1-4PM, Fri 3/30 from 5-8PM. www.clevelandart.org.
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Space Medicine Find out how NASA is improving medicine on Earth as it looks for better ways to protect astronauts’ health in outer space Sat 3/17 @ NASA Glenn Visitor Ctr. What you learn will surprise and captivate you. http://www.glennevents.grc.nasa.gov.

Lake Erie Artists have kid’s crafts for St Patrick’s day on Sat 3/17 from 1-4PM in the front window of the gallery in Tower City Center. All ages are welcome; kids get a choice of what projects to create! Lake Erie Artists Gallery, 1st floor of Tower City Center next to the Sweet Factory. http://www.lakeerieartists.com.

You don’t want to miss what 11-year-old Max has for you and your family this week. Listen here: http://www.coolcleveland.com/files/audio/CoolClevelandKids03.16.07.mp3. Click here to subscribe: iTunes or other.

Film at 11

A few weeks ago one of Cleveland’s TV news broadcasts ran an unintentionally funny promo for an upcoming “news” story. It was supposed to be about how Cleveland was becoming a hotbed of Hollywood movie production. The few examples they cited included Spiderman 3, for which a few exterior shots were filmed here, and A Christmas Story, of which quite a bit was filmed here – 24 years ago, in 1983.

The real news – which the TV stations won’t cover, because they don’t see it as news, mainly because they think we’re stupid and shallow – is that there is real movie-making activity in this region. It was a little bit interesting to see the Spiderman crew last year. But it’s interesting to watch any film crew in action. The difference between Spiderman and all the other locally shot movies is that Spiderman took place on Cleveland’s main thoroughfare and closed down that part of the city for a few days. You couldn’t miss noticing that. But the other reason TV news covered it was because the movie stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst – even though those stars were not in town.

Read more from David Budin here

The Black Diamonds
The Black Diamonds
Bad Breaker Records

The Black Diamonds have graduated to the big room at the Beachland. This Friday, March 16th, they headline a show in the Ballroom with Mr Gnome and Record Low. Think about that for a second. How many young Cleveland bands can fill that space on the strength of their debut? While you’re still thinking about that one, let’s consider how these four east-siders managed to capture the attention of area rockers, young and old. Local accolades like 2006 Song of the Year for “Cold, Cold Heart,” and a Best Hard Rock Band award earlier this year (both from the area alt-weeklies) certainly didn’t hurt. However, for The Black Diamonds, it has always been about the music. By drawing heavy inspiration from classic blues, and Seventies rock monsters like Zeppelin and Sabbath, and combining that with the reckless abandon of a young Replacements, The Black Diamonds managed to craft a sound that’s positively Cleveland and one that seems near perfect for our times.

Read the review by Bill Lipold here

Links to interesting NEO blogs

At exactly 5:30PM everyone in Youngstown decends on Olive Garden
There’s one person who’s willing to have their taxes increased to save the Akron Civic Theater.
Is anyone steering this ship and if no one is, does it really matter?
A super hero as moral as Captain America no longer represents the actions of America itself.
Have you ever kept track of how many times you use business cliches during the week?
If the transit system doesn’t provide the info you need in the format you want, take matters into your own hand.

Check the Cool Cleveland weblog here, where Peter Chakerian comments on this week’s news from the Cool Cleveland e-blast newsletter. When you’re through, add your own comments, questions and attitude. Letters@CoolCleveland.com.

My Dad Is Dead Live @ bela dubby 3/16

Obscure even in its heyday, My Dad Is Dead never really got a fair shake in the United States, and, within that context, never really got a fair shake in Cleveland, either. Led by one-time Cle native singer/songwriter Mark Edwards, this one-man-band has generated an abundance of intensely personal existential angst over the years – all in relative anonymity. After 20+ years, Edwards still helms the MDID moniker and continues to record (making the fruits of his labor readily available on his website, http://www.mydadisdead.com) yet the band has rarely toured since Edwards relocated to Chapel Hill, NC several years ago.

Edwards launched his project with songs he wrote after the loss of his father; he employed a variable assemblage of Cle rock cognoscenti to help him come to terms with his heartache. Over the years, MDID’s inimitable sound permeated the consciousness of alt-rock’s “Who’s Who,” including the Pixies, who brought Edwards on tour with them in Europe during their heyday. As the Trouser Press eloquently puts it, MDID’s “appeal lies largely in its matter-of-fact handling of trauma.” It’s thought that Edwards could not sum up MDID better than he does on the track “Heirloom,” where he sings: “I tore myself apart, and picked up all the pieces, and from them fashioned a heart.” That says it all, really.

It’s no embellishment to say a live MDID appearance in Cleveland is tantamount to a Halley’s Comet sighting. On Friday, March 16, MDID and the group Uva Ursi will be sharing members (and the stage) for a rare live performance at bela dubby, 13321 Madison in Lakewood. Over the years, UU and MDID have shared a mélange of band fellows; both groups worked together in the creation of UU’s Matter CD. Don’t miss this extraordinarily rare shot at Edwards’ brilliant (not to mention completely sonically adult) introspection in a live setting. For more information, visit http://www.myspace.com/beladubby.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com

Wealthy Benefit Most From Cleveland Abatement Policy

Tax abatement is a plague upon the body politic. It favors developers and those with higher incomes.

Once allowed, it becomes epidemic. Since 1977 when Squire, Sanders & Dempsey wrote the state law for abatements, beginning with National City Bank’s office building on E. 9th & Euclid, almost all major building in Cleveland has depended on property tax free status.

Indeed, Cleveland’s policy toward abatement, I would suggest, “teaches” people, especially developers, to expect abatement as a right of doing business.

It has become the narcotic of developers…
Read more from Roldo Bartimole here

Quick reviews of recent events
Going out this weekend? Take along your PDA and your digital camera. Scratch out a few notes to send us with a picture of it for our Instant Karma real-world reviews of what’s really happening. We’d love to hear from you. Send your stuff to Events@CoolCleveland.com

Stars Fell All Night @ CPT 3/1
Crank up the Bizarrometer: Mike Geither combines strange humor, witty wordplay, and unsettling images in his off-center but deeply compassionate tragicomedy about a man whose life becomes overwhelmed by grief: he’s a devout mortician who crossdresses as his dead sister and acts out scenes with corpses. Loose-limbed Terence Cranendonk brings such a mix of vulnerability, goofiness, and edge to Theo, you feel sorry for him instead of being repelled. Arian Steiner has a sweetness as his niece and Nicholas Chokan has delightful moments as her lumpen teenage swain.
Caveats: Director Jacqi Loewy has a gentle touch that keeps you rooting for the oddball characters, but lets the pace drag during the many blackouts & transitions between scenes. The choice to mime the stage business (you don’t actually see bodies, only a sign that says “corpse”) works fitfully. But despite flaws, it’s haunting and thought-provoking.
Details: Thru 3/17, Cleveland Public Theatre, http://www.cptonline.org.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Linda Eisenstein LindaATcoolcleveland.com

Web Association’s Usability @ CSU Ahuja Hall 3/1 Have you ever come across a web site that made your head hurt? Or one that was just so hard to follow that you gave up and surfed elsewhere for that same info? It’s happened to me many times. That’s part of what drew me to the The Web Association’s latest event at Cleveland State, Making Web Usability Work For Your Site. One of the group’s after hours education events on Thursday, March 1, it focused on website usability testing to address those common problems. Think usability is not important? Consider that one company saw a whopping 44% increase in sales after implementing the changes highlighted by a usability testing panel. Most smaller businesses would undoubtedly see an even bigger improvement. The panelists, which included Jeff Janis of NEO-based Progressive Insurance, stressed the importance of testing early and often — ultimately to make sure developers don’t spend too much time redesigning something already found to be too difficult for mere mortals like as you and me. Does this sort of information seems important or interesting to you? Then check out the Web Association site and their upcoming schedule of events at http://www.webassociation.org.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Doug Morris dougjm.morrisATgmail.com

Monet in Normandy @ CMA 3/2 Go to the Monet in Normandy exhibit. While we wait out the closing of the permanent collection of art at the Cleveland Art Museum, Clevelanders, who are most familiar with Monet’s water lilies series, will be astonished by all the work of this beloved painter that we have never seen. I attended the exhibit last Friday night and spent an enormously engaged two hours plugged into the audio tour. The audio tour was given by curators from the various collections displayed, and the commentators explained the mood, landscape placement, brush strokes, shading, movement, and other artistic techniques against the background of Monet’s life.

The exhibit is a study of Claude Monet’s work and life and how they influenced each other. We begin the journey with paintings of the ships and harbors of Le Havre on the Normandy coast where Monet spent his childhood. Those early paintings are surprisingly realistic, but then the paintings become less precise as the artist progresses to give a sense, a feeling, of the harbor, using loose brush strokes to suggest a scene. Indeed, the term “Impressionism” was coined when Monet off-handedly entitled his painting of the Le Havre harbor in 1872 “Impressionism, Sunrise.”

While art history students will recall that the student artist left for Paris and entered Academie Suisse in 1859, later joining the studio of Charles Gleyre, paintings done while in Paris are not shown in the “Monet in Normandy” exhibit. We learn, through the audiotape and writings on the walls and next to the paintings, that Monet fell in love with model Camille Doncieux, and when she became pregnant, Monet’s father counseled him to abandon her. The child was born in Paris in 1867, while the artist was at Sainte-Adresse painting sea pictures on the Normandy coast. Despite the senior Monet’s objections, the couple married in 1870, and his son began to withdraw from the family of his childhood.

The artist’s rendition of the harborfront of the resort town where they honeymooned is a study in movement: the flags along the boardwalk are brush swipes meant to indicate the wind from the sea. Brushstrokes express the idea, a perception, of an object. Unfortunately, the brief marriage was marred by Camille’s illness after the birth of their second child. The couple settled at Argenteuil and during that time, the artist painted fields of poppy and the Seine at Vetheuil. His series of paintings of the Rouen Cathedral was extremely successful, and the blue-gray toned example in the exhibit showed a portion of the cathedral that drew the viewer’s eyes upward with its emphasis on the vertical lines of the gothic church.

Alice Hoschede, who later became Monet’s second wife, began to care for the artist’s young children, in addition to her six, after Camille’s death in 1879. The large family returned to the Normandy coast to vacation. While Monet’s earlier seascapes focused on waves and water, we now see landscapes as Monet pulls away from the water and concentrates on a path to the beach or wildflowers on a bluff or a hut overlooking the coast. The artist experimented with light and color in whole series of paintings of haystacks and cypress. The exhibit demonstrates the study-like quality and experimentation with light and form by placing some of these paintings near each other. For example, three of the series of the famous arched rock formations in the English Channel are compared: one is a sketch, another a traditional rendering, and the third an impressionist masterpiece.

In 1883, Claude Monet’s life in Giverny began. Conveniently located 80 kilometers from Paris, Monet first rented a house, and later, with his new wealth, bought the largest farm in Giverny in 1890. As soon as he bought the house, he began to create the water lilies basin, the subject of his most famous paintings. Forty-eight landscapes of waterlilies landscapes painted between 1904 and 1906 were exhibited at Durand-Ruel and Monet was recognized as a master. A series of huge water lilies canvases hung below canvases of hanging wisteria were installed in two oval rooms at the Orangie in Paris, a gift to the French from the artist in 1918—imagine a room covered from floor to ceiling by water lilies and wisteria! The artist died soon after finishing that work, on December 5, 1926.

Our own Art Museum’s wall-sized water lilies canvas was proudly displayed in the last room of the exhibit amongst other paintings of the gardens in Giverny. It’s the last painting in the Monet in Normandy exhibit, a triumph and a nod to the excellent reputation of our own Cleveland Art Museum. To think that Claude Monet painted all those large canvases with wide-armed bold strokes several feet long when he was 80 years old . . . the man knew the “secret.”

From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller ctallerwritesATwowway.com

The Trial of One Short-Sighted Black Woman vs. Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae @ Karamu 3/2
Reasons to go: An upwardly mobile film editor (Kendra Norris) sues two media stereotypes (compliant mammy and her sexpot daughter) for messing up her promotion in this Law-and-Order send-up. Part satiric comedy, part black history lecture, it has a second-act kick like a mule when it strips away the stereotype’s mask to reveal the painful legacy of slavery. You can’t take your eyes off Errin Berry’s wriggling-hot Safreeta Mae — this young woman’s charisma could melt the wires in the wall, and Michael May does nice work with multiple roles, from a cell-phone addicted studio gofer to the corrupt slave-owner.
Caveats: John Konopka’s slave-ship set has a creepy resonance, but putting the judge far upstage made for some volume problems. And, yes, it’s preachy — but the content is essential, especially for students who don’t get the toxic power of stereotypes or why slavery still has corrosive effects.
Details: Karamu, thru 3/25. http://www.karamu.com.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Linda Eisenstein Linda@coolcleveland.com

Red Light Winter @ The Bang & the Clatter 3/5
Reasons to go: With in-your-face nudity and raunchy dialogue, Adam Rapp’s unrequited-love-triangle-from-hell is given a edgy ride by Akron’s bad-boy company. And you won’t see a bad boy quite like Mark Mayo, who rampages through the play like a deranged rhino on black beauties. The lovely Laurel Johnson has a bruised fragility that makes the 2nd act haunting — her not-to-be chemistry with sad sack writer Matt (Doug Kusak) feels painfully real.
Caveats: The play is raw but compelling, and the pitch-dark twists and turns will make you glad the Seans ply you with free wine and beer — you’ll need the drink.
Details: Thru 3/25 @ Summit Arts Space, Akron. http://www.bnctheatre.com
From Cool Cleveland contributor Linda Eisenstein LindaATcoolcleveland.com

The Clean House @ Cleveland Play House 3/7 Sarah Ruhl’s award winning play is now in production at the Cleveland Play House, and it is the kind of show audiences will either love or hate. Overheard comments by exiting patrons at the conclusion ranged all over the place regarding their thoughts of the production.

The Clean House was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize and won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for best play written in English by a female playwright in 2004. Yet, reviews of the show’s productions in New York and elsewhere were very mixed. It was added to and taken off several theatre’s production schedules due to questions over audience appeal.

Ruhl indicates that the germ for the play came from real life. According to the author, the opening monologue, “I didn’t go to medical school to clean my own house,” came from a comment she overheard at a cocktail party. Ruhl took this statement and rolled out a play which explores relationships and our need for purpose, while examining the Great American class divide. Isn’t it interesting that the upper and middle classes who want clean homes, hire the lower middle and lower classes to do the work!

One of the most fascinating aspects of the play is that the author look at the rituals of cleaning and death as parallel processes. According to Ruhl, “the byproducts of life are waste and chaos, every time we clean we try to keep chaos at bay.” She parallels that to the role of the doctor, the occupation of her lead character, who spends her days helping her patients fight the byproducts of their diseases, but won’t apply the same principles to her life and her home.

Don’t get the idea that The Clean House is a tragedy. It has very serious undertones, but it is also about jokes and ice cream and apples. In fact, the most important writing element of the script is the attempt to create the perfect joke. Our heroine finally conceives it, but, like life itself, we never quite hear it, we never really “get” it.

With that philosophical exposition, what’s the play about? Lane, a successful and exacting American doctor, believes her home should be spotless but wants nothing to do with the cleaning of it. Mathilde, the Brazilian maid hired to clean Lane’s house, is completely uninterested in housecleaning – her parents were the funniest people in their village and she is obsessively focused on her search for the perfect joke. Virginia, Lane’s sister, has a cleaning fetish and believes it immoral not to clean one’s home.

Lane’s surgeon husband has fallen deeply in love with one of his patients, a dying woman who has a unique view of life and death. All this combines to make for a potentially thought-provoking experience.

The Cleveland Play House production has an excellent cast, is well paced by director Davis McCallum and has a startling attractive set by Andromache Chalfant. The use of projections to interpret the Portugese spoken lines is creative.

Ursula Cataan, who has a Salma Hayek personality and resemblance, is delightful as Matilda. Patricia Hodges is properly uptight as Lane. Beth Dixon gives a practical base to Virginia, Lane’s sister. Janis Dardaris shines as the dying Ana. Only Terry Layman disappoints as Lane’s husband. He never seems real. Part of this may be due to the unrealistic lines he is given by the playwright and the equally non-believable situation of trekking in Alaska with the goal of finding a tree which supposedly will cure Ana’s cancer. (Would a doctor do that?)

Capsule Judgment: Seldom do I leave a theatre with a feeling of ambivalence. This was not the case with this production. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it, I can’t recommend not seeing it, but I can’t say “go,” either. I guess I’ll just have to go clean my house and delve into the psychology of the activity.

For tickets to The Clean House which runs through March 25 at the Cleveland Play House call 795-7000 or visit them online at http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko royberkoATyahoo.com

Roy Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info.

Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy @ EJ Thomas 3/9 “Do you believe? Look up and dream…” With an international troupe representing Mongolia, Ukraine, Russia, Canada and the USA, Cirque Dreams (no relation to Cirque du Soleil) brings together Contorting Lizards, Jungletumblers, JazzZebras, ButterFlyers, Jungleboys, Frog Jugglers and Monkey Manipulators. Don’t ask. The little kids understand. The Lady Bug sings vocals live and the tall, tall Soul Tree plays his voilin live, the rest is pre-recorded. But the flourescent fur-and-horns costumes, funky and freaky but not otherworldly, and the bizarre jungle set serve as freakazoid backdrop for a channel-flipping series of physical exhibitions worthy of the Guinness Book of World Records. Combining competition-level athleticism and Broadway-quality professionalism, the visual-aural blitzkrieg was a hermetically-seamless package of outrageous beauty, presented with panache and confidence. The audience couldn’t catch a breath until intermission. Then they bring out the blacklights and the Snake Roller dude in the big wheel for the 2nd act, and the fun starts again. I’m sorry if your kids missed it. http://www.CirqueProductions.com http://www.EJThomasHall.com

The Clean House @ Cleveland Play House 3/9 Live. Love. Laugh. These are the main ingredients of life. What you do, how you do it—these are merely variations on the theme. For some, the most important thing is to laugh; for others it is to love. Those lucky few who can manage all three at the same time—well, they’re the most fortunate ones of all!

The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl is an attempt to delineate these facts of life. In some ways she succeeds; in others, I think the message gets lost, or at least way-laid. Matilde is a housemaid from Brazil, who wants only to create the perfect joke. This is her heritage, after all. Her father was the funniest man in South America, and her mother laughed herself to death at one of his jokes. How can Matilde be anything else?

She is hired by Lane, a type A physician, to keep Lane’s all-white-home as immaculate as Lane wants it to be kept, because Lane didn’t ‘go to med school to clean house’. On the other hand, Lane’s sister Virginia, loves cleaning. Of course Matilde who has been depressed by the ever-constant cleaning, is rescued by Virginia.

Lane and her husband Charles, who is also a physician, met over a cadaver in anatomy class, but he doesn’t clean house either. Naturally. He’s a man.

The catalyst to activate these four disparate folks is Ana, a warm-hearted, passionate Jewish woman from Argentina, who comes to Charles for treatment of her breast cancer. They immediately fall in love with each other, causing Charles to leave Lane and live with Ana.

When Ana’s cancer returns and becomes terminal, she refuses treatment, and Charles heads off to Alaska, looking for the special tree that can heal her. The four women form a new family circle, and all of them live in Lane’s house, which is now a bit the worse for wear, what with a box of laundry detergent and paper towels being flung on the floor, a pillow defeathered, and decorative items converted to litter.

Matilde succeeds in creating the perfect joke, which Ana begs her to share, in the hope that she can repeat the feat of Matilde’s mother, and die laughing. Shortly after Ana’s death, Charles returns, and it seems apparent that he and Lane will reconcile.

The all-white set that is usually Lane’s house (but also a couple of other places, as well) is cleverly done by Andromache Chalfant, with effective costumes by Murell Horton. Sound by James C. Swonger and lighting by Matthew Richards enhance things, especially the electronic translations or clues that light up along the rear wall of the apartment or the stage house (when it’s being somewhere else.)

The four women are better realized than poor Charles, although Terry Layman does his best in a slightly goofy role. Ursula Cataan is inhabited by Matilde on her continuing quest for the perfect joke, while Patricia Hodges is by turns funny or pathetic as Lane. Virginia is brought to marvelous life by Beth Dixon (who was so impressive here a few years ago as the landlady in Vincent in Brixton) and Janis Dardaris lights up the stage as the tempestuous Ana.

The funniest part of it all is the set at the end of the play, considering its pristine condition at the very beginning! Who’s going to clean up all that mess? (I do know. It’s the overworked run crew—Danny Durst, Chris Janata and Ryan Rittenhouse. Here’s a ‘kudo’ just for them.)

The Clean House runs through March 25 in the Drury Theatre of the Cleveland Play House. For tickets or information, call 795-7000 or visit http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

Tunes for Toons: CYO @ CSU Waetjen 3/10 We’ve all seen—and heard, and sometimes ignored—tunes for toons, mostly because the music is such an integral part of the finished product that it’s ‘just there’. Without the music, it would be like getting a huge HDTV set to watch a black-and-white cartoon. One taking up only a mini-portion of the screen, at that!

What fun, then, to hear a variety of such music, with explanations as to how it came to be, and then to see the cartoon in question while hearing the music played so well by an expert and committed orchestra, led by a superlative and passionate conductor.

An entire program of this dedicated type of music was performed at Waetjen Auditorium by the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, conducted by Liza Grossman. Such is their commitment that after one short clip, Ms. Grossman turned to the full house and said, ‘we’re going to do that again. I know this orchestra can nail this piece!’ Whatever she had noticed that was not up to her exacting standards, she didn’t explain, but indeed, they did it again.

Daniel Goldmark, a professor at CASE, was the affable and competent commentator/narrator throughout the evening, explaining the derivation of the music as he went along, being sure to give credit to the various composers as well as the artists and animators who actually produced the artwork.

Krazy Kat was one of the first cartoons to tell an entire story, with music written to be played in company with the action, although in this case the music was a ballet by John Alden Carpenter, to accompany the art by George Herriman.

Leroy Anderson’s Bugler’s Holiday was once used as the theme for a morning TV show. This provided ample reasons for its inclusion on this program as a showpiece for three of the orchestra’s outstanding young trumpeters. Justin Pressman, Louisa Catalano and Julia Botev were marvelous in this very tricky work. They really ‘nailed’ it!

For Jonny Quest, Mr. Goldmark and many of the orchestra members donned big black shades, emulating the screen hero shown overhead. Another segment by the same composer, Hoyt Curtin, celebrated both The Flintstones and The Jetsons, from the studios of Hanna-Barbera.

Bill Ransom is one of Cleveland’s premier percussionists, and did full justice to the winsome story of Gerald McBoing Boing, a somewhat early work of Dr. Suess, with music by Gail Kubik. Mr. Ransom was nothing less than a whirling dervish as he demonstrated—with suitable body English—seemingly every percussion instrument in existence! Mr. Goldmark was the witty narrator.

Several segments from The Simpsons—tv’s longest running sitcom as well as longest-running cartoon, er, animated feature, ever—followed in what could almost be called ‘Basic Cartoon Music 101’. The main title, by Danny Elfman was followed by several scenes written by Alf Clausen.

The classically-trained, Emmy-winning composers Steve and Julie Bernstein, (he has five, she has four) presented charming background vignettes to explain the various cartoons on which they’ve worked, together and separately. They’ve written music for films, as well as arranging music for CDs by various groups, symphonic and otherwise. Among the cartoons are various episodes of the Animaniacs and Freakazoid.

They’ve also been working recently on a new ‘Tom and Jerry’ movie Blast Off to Mars. We were shown the 3 minute segment Kitchen Chase before they composed the music for it, and then the second time, with the CYO performing the tricky music. It was such an enjoyable experience for everyone present that it was presented yet a third time – as an encore!

However, just as the program opened with a Bugs Bunny theme, so it closed with the familiar Warner Brothers ending piece, usually accompanied by a stuttering Porky Pig announcing ‘t-t-t-hat’s all, folks!’ In this case, the orchestra members filled in for Porky. No stuttering necessary.

These young musicians deserve every accolade in the dictionary for their intensity and devotion to what they’re doing here. There were many, many exposed solos in the strings, woodwinds and brass that were excellently performed. There are 119 young musicians listed in the program, and 13 of them were also in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra program of the very next day! That is indeed dedication, and my hat is off to them and their extraordinary leader, Liza Grossman.

Next up for CYO is May 25, with special guest Kenny Loggins. This concert will be at the Plain Dealer Pavilion at Nautica. Tickets will be available through Ticketmaster in April. For more information about CYO, visit their website: http://www.cyorchestra.org.

‘From Cool Cleveland” contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Chorus @ Severance Hall 3/11 Classical music is alive and well—and flourishing!—in Cleveland. One would have to go a very long ways to find two finer examples of this than Saturday night’s CYO concert and the Sunday afternoon outing by the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra at Severance Hall. Jayce Ogren, an assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra is the new music director of the youth orchestra this season, and the COY Chorus also has a new director in Frank A. Bianchi. The youngsters have not faltered one little bit, as far as I can tell.

When the orchestra was founded 21 years ago, I felt a pang of envy mixed with delight. There had been no such organization when I was that age, so I generally played in adult orchestras. But to be very honest, I doubt that many of my contemporaries would have been at the level of today’s super-talented young musicians. They’re awesome and breath-taking at the same time!

John Adams wrote his Lollapalooza (for large orchestra) in 1985 as a birthday gift for Sir Simon Rattle. It’s big and sprawling and noisy as befits the name, but the rhythmic complexities, which are very reminiscent of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring held no terrors for our local young musicians! They gave it a truly joyful rendition.

The music of American composer Aaron Copland is primarily of a spare nature. His early work was frequently for larger orchestras, but in his later years, he pared the orchestra down to the bare minimum, and this transparency serves well, especially in his Old American Songs for chorus and orchestra. Some of the songs feature a soloist, as well. To my ears, it seemed as though the younger voices brought an extra degree of eloquence to the music; one I’ve not heard before.

William Marshall, the actor and bass soloist provided ample heft to I Bought Me a Cat and Ching-a-Ring Chaw while the chorus did wonders with The Boatmen’s Dance, Long Time Ago, Simple Gifts, Zion’s Walls, The Golden Willow Tree and At the River. For this selection, the chorus was joined by the Avon Lake High School Chorale, prepared by its director, William G. Zurkey. There were some truly marvelous orchestral wind solos in I Bought Me a Cat”.

The second of two Copland works was the Lincoln Portrait which saw the return onstage of Mr. Marshall, who has not only a gorgeous bass singing voice, but also a speaking voice that would surely rival that of Darth Vader (James Earl Jones). His perfect diction and clarity gave new meaning to Abraham Lincoln’s stirring words. Trumpeter Justin Pressman (who had been one of the three trumpet soloists in CYO’s Bugler’s Holiday the night before) truly distinguished himself with the prominent and beautifully-performed trumpet solos throughout this piece.

After intermission, Mr. Bianchi led his young chorus in three spirituals for a cappella voices: Down in the Valley to Pray, arranged by Michael Petersen; My Lord, What a Mornin’ by Harry Burleigh and My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord arranged by Moses Hogan. These were light and delicate pieces sung with crisp clarity of diction and intonation, yet when needed, the chorus had plenty of power as well.

Closing the program was the Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 94 From the New World by Antonín Dvořák. This symphony is a blend of the music that the composer heard while in this country (a new world to him) during the 1890s—a spiritual or two, a rhythmic reminder of Native American song and finally his own Czech music. The most famous part is, of course, the second movement Largo with its soulful melody for the English Horn. Michael Resanovic deserved all the accolades he was given for his outstanding performance. Overall, the orchestra displayed remarkable discipline and attention to detail, as requested by Mr. Ogren. Dynamics, intonation —everything!— was superb.

If you’ve not heard this group in action, they’re highly recommended as a gift to yourself or a loved one. They’ll appear again at Severance Hall on May 13 in another challenging program. For tickets or other information, call 231-1111 or visit their website: http://www.clevelandorchestra.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

To Be or Not To Be: An Arts District in Lakewood?

With experienced professional voices on the panel, an engaged public in attendance, and even area artists singing, playing and painting as the crowd assembled, an educational and informative session took place in the Armory behind the Beck Center on the idea of an arts district in Lakewood. Tom Schorgl of CPAC discussed Issue 18 public funding opportunities, Dan Cuffaro of CIA discussed his District of Design in Downtown Cle, Kathleen Cerveny of the Cleveland Foundation not only brought clarity to financial issue, but also noted that projects such as these require champions, and Art Falco’s war stories of how the Playhouse Square theatre district began in the 1970’s with a stellar production of Jacques Brel and a lot of good intentions, and now generates $43M per year in economic development from over 1M visitors annually. Cool Cleveland’s Thomas Mulready moderated, and the session was recorded for cable rebroadcast in the western burbs. Lakewood Alive’s rigor and focus on economics and grass roots community input helped balance this session with an educational frame, productive audience input and a tone of community interest and involvement. So which champion(s) will pick up the ball for the next round? http://www.LakewoodAlive.com Photo by Jim O’Bryan of Lakewood Observer

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On the homeless (See Decent affordable lunch downtown in Emissions from the Blogsphere here) I left this comment for the blogger who feels “accosted by beggars”: Go to http://www.neoch.org and download the street card. Give it to anyone who asks for money. I feel it’s more in line with my philosophy to teach a man to fish.
from Cool Cleveland reader Marjorie Preston PrestonWmnATaol.com

Send your letters to: Letters@CoolCleveland.com

Most clicked
Here are the Top 5 from last week’s issue, with one more chance for you to click.

1) Jackson promises Wi-Fi for all 77sm of Cleveland.
www.city.cleveland.oh.us

2) Emissions from the Blogosphere Panhandlers downtown is often cited as on of the biggest problems with Cleveland.
www.OrganicMechanic.org

3) Quaint Cleveland “century-old cottages, and a revitalized urban beat”.
www.CottageLiving.com

4) Interview Liza Grossman of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra.
www.CYOorchestra.org

5) Independent Internet radio stations must now pay Because the record companies still don’t get it.
SaveOurInternetRadio.com

Our Secret Recipe Jamaica Pimento… Fennel… Onion… Garlic… Celery Salt… Cayenne… Thyme… Lemon Pepper…? Bah. There’s nothing controversial about our recipe, just good ol’ fashioned zesty Cle ingenuity in the kettle. No such thing as too many cooks in our kitchen. Just add passion and stir. Thanks to Peter Chakerian, T.L. Champion, George Nemeth, Linda Eisenstein, Kelly Ferjutz, Roy Berko, Bill Lipold, Doug Morris, Claudia J. Taller, Roldo Bartimole, David Budin and introducing Tim Zaun on lead vocals. And lastly, though certainly not least, thanks to our readers and everyone who partners with us. Want to volunteer and contribute your writing to Cool Cleveland? Send your reviews, articles, or story ideas to: Events@CoolCleveland.com.

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You wouldn’t believe us if we told ya,
–Thomas Mulready
Letters@CoolCleveland.com

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