2/9 @ 6PM
Although the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus is composed of top-notch musicians — after all, they have to match the level of one of the world’s great orchestras — they are all volunteers. Yet they undertake tour and participate in educational activities that require funding.
To raise money for the chorus’ activities, a group of musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Chamber Chorus are joining in a benefit program called “Songs, Dances & Romances” at Severance Hall.
That’s pretty descriptive of what they’ll play on this evening intended to be spirited and fun rather than weighty: dance pieces by Dvořák, Borodin, and Piazzolla, arias by Rossini, Dvořák, and Mozart, selections from Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes featuring the chamber chorus and pianists Joela Jones and Alicja Basinka, and Clara Schumann’s Romances.
Jones will also host the evening and play some accordion. Orchestra members appearing include violinists Peter Otto, Takako Masame, and Miho Hashizume, violist Lynne Ramsey, cellist Ralph Curry, bassist Maximilian Dimoff, harpist Trina Struble, clarinetist Daniel McKelway, bassoonists Barrick Stees and Jonathan Sherwin, horn player Hans Clebsch, trumpet players Michael Sachs and Michael Miller, trombonist Massimo La Rosa, tuba player Yasuhito Sugiyama, and pianist Carolyn Gadiel Warner. Bassoonist Phillip Austin will also appear as a guest artist.
The program will be conducted by Robert Porco, the director of choruses at the Cleveland Orchestra.
Additional money will be raised via a silent auction taking place in the Smith Lobby at 6 pm prior to the concert.
Tickets are $15-$60.