Cleveland early music chamber orchestra Les Délices is one of the area’s smaller ensemble but it’s really gotten a toehold in the area — and beyond. Founded in 2009 by oboe player Debra Nagy, it’s proved nimble and innovative in its programming and in how it presents what it presents. During the pandemic, it was one of the most creative local arts groups in coming up with ways to continue to reach its audience — and beyond — with new ideas.
One of those is its online SalonEra podcast/web series, which proved so popular it will be going into its seventh season this fall. The series features archival and new performances of music, along with music scholars talking about the pieces’ backgrounds and musicians talking about their performances. Its produced 60 episodes with nearly 100 guests.
When the series returns in September, the offerings will be amplified with two different approaches. Its SalonEra spotlights (eight monthly video episodes from October through May) will be 10-15 minute episodes, also available as audio, with a single guest artist focused on one piece or topic, ranging from astronomy to Colonial America to sea shanties. Nagy and series associate producer Shelby Yamin will co-host the shows which provide a bite-sized entry into the music
“We recognize that folks may not have time to sit and listen or watch an hour-long episode at their desktop computer,” says Nagy. “SalonEra spotlights are a great opportunity to create compact, content-rich episodes that highlight and contextualize a specific work or composer.”
The other series is its SalonEra Audio Exclusives with five podcasts from September through May. Hosted by soprano Hannah De Priest, the hour-long audio podcasts offer amplified context for Les Délices live concert recordings, with multiple guests, scholarship, and archival recordings, similar to earlier SalonEra offerings.
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