Other than excellence and intensely passionate performances, one is never too sure just what will occur at a concert by the Contemporary Youth Orchestra under the guidance of its founder and music director, Liza Grossman. Of this, you may be sure: she—and they—never disappoint!
The final concert of the group’s FIFTEENTH season was no exception. Held in the golden confines of Severance Hall, it was an evening of what I would call ‘lyrical rock’ by Jon Anderson, the silvery-voiced troubadour from England. With only two acoustic guitars and the CYO to back him up, Mr. Anderson presented more than two hours of his music, some of it so new it had not been performed previously. Two of his bigger hits were reprised as encores: Starship Trooper and State Of Independence.
In addition to the full-sized symphonic orchestra, the Contemporary Youth Orchestra Chorus (enlarged for the occasion and prepared by John Krol) was an active participant throughout. Mark Howdieshell was the poetic and joyful interpreter for ASL.
As in past concerts featuring non-classical performers, their music was arranged and orchestrated for a fully sized orchestra. CIM graduate Paul Leary and College of Wooster professor Peter C. Mowrey produced the arrangements used for this performance. (It was video-recorded by HDTV, I presume for future broadcast or DVD release.)
Also featured was a World Premiere suite, comprised of four separate songs: Children Yet to Come, Earth Singing, Breathing and Love is All. The latter song was especially dedicated to his wife Janee, although the entire suite is dedicated to the ‘souls of the children who will be coming to this wonderful world we call Mother Earth’.
There were also a fair number of songs from YES albums or performances, and a couple from the Vangelis albums. Earth & Peace, written in 2009, but previously unreleased had the chorus, orchestra and audience all clapping together in a joyous rhythm. The ethereal And You and I featured a brilliant young (12 years old!) harpist Olivia Tse, along with tremolo strings, vibes, and gentle percussion. (Don’t worry – the percussion had their chance to make noise in Roundabout, which was (to my inexperienced ears) the most rock-like of all the songs performed, and allowed Brian Plautz to shine with an alto sax solo that was fabulous!
State of Independence was not only the title of the show, but in an announcement from the podium, Ms. Grossman allowed that it is one of her all-time favorite songs. It stands to reason as the lyrics stress the need to ‘be your own person, not always a follower. Believe in yourself,’ mirroring the belief and mission statement of the CYO. During the performance of the music, concertmaster Daniel Zhou had a soulful solo, for which Mr. Anderson obligingly brought the microphone over closer, enabling the sweet sound to soar through the hall. Ms. Grossman, of course, was dancing on the podium, thus expressing the joy of the evening felt by everyone!
Watch the Cool Cleveland interview with Jon Anderson in Cleveland for rehearsals with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra here.
To keep up with this busy orchestra, visit the web-site: http://www.cyorchestra.org Information about their upcoming sweet season sixteen will be posted there as soon as available. Don’t miss a note!
From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an se-book, but perhaps will be in print later this year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!
By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there’s always been the writing. I can’t imagine my life without it.
And now, after more than a few requests, I’ve started a blog about writing. You can find it here.