Fri 4/8 @ 7PM
Sun 4/10 @ 7PM
CityMusic Cleveland has dubbed this their “Justice, Equlity, Hope” season. They say that for them “social justice and the arts go hand in hand.”
So they’ve commissioned two composed to write music for the poetry of Cleveland writer King Weatherspoon whose work was inspired by a life on the streets and in foster care and subsequent transformation and healing. The pieces by Jasmine Barnes and Jessica Meyer will be performed as part of their “Slavic Village Then and Now” concerts taking place this weekend at Lakewood Congregational Church on Friday April 8 and at the Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus in Slavic Village on Sunday April 10.
The program also features Duo for Violin and Viola by Cleveland violinist/composer/teacher Charles Rychlik (1875-1962) who boasted of teaching 40 students who played in the Cleveland Orchestra (as he himself did briefly at its inception.) Also on the program is Terzetto, op. 74, a string quartet by Antonín Dvorák , who was teacher and mentor to Rychlik.
The concert was the brainchild 27-year Cleveland Orchestra violinist Miho Hashizume who was overseeing a violin program for second graders in Slavic Village when the pandemic hit. When the teachers were let go, she took it upon herself to organize outdoor lessons for the students.
“Being raised in Tokyo until graduating college, I knew my ease with the cultural differences I encountered in this community was not a given,” she said. “One thing that helped me were the powerful books of poetry by Weatherspoon. Their words made me more thoughtful towards the Slavic Village community and its culture.”
She adds, “Whenever I drove on Fleet Avenue, I thought of Cleveland violinist, teacher and composer Charles Rychlik, who lived there, right across from what is now Daisy’s, an ice cream shop. I believe in the cultural richness of this community, and hope to revive what Rychlik achieved one hundred years ago.”
Musicians include Hashizume and Catherine Cosbey on violins, Eric Wong on viola, Martha Baldwin on cello and soprano Chabrelle Williams with poetry by King Weatherspoon.
As always, CityMusic concerts are free but reservations are requested. Go here. Masks are required.
citymusiccleveland/slavic-village-then-and-now