Fri 9/29 & Sat 9/30 @ 7:30PM
Cleveland baroque chamber ensemble Les Délices has proved to be on of the area’s most creatively nimble small classical music groups in the area. It re-designed its programs during the pandemic to go virtual in its SalonEra series, which educates and entertains online, and it’s created performances such as The White Cat, which incorporated a storyline and a multi-media approach. Just last week it presented its first live version of SalonEra.
So it’s not a surprise that the ensemble is launching its 2023-24 season, its 15th, by trying out yet another new thing. It’s been hosting the Kaleidoscope Vocal ensemble (KVE), a collection of vocalists from across North America who focus on racial, ethnic and gender diversity, for a residency that included workshops with students at the Cleveland School of the Arts, and participation in the live SalonEra.
Now they’ll be featured in Les Délices’ opening program of the season called The Pow’r of Musick. Ten Les Délices musician and eight KVE vocalists, as well as members of the Cleveland School of the Arts’ Dett Concert Choir, will perform choral works by English composer Henry Purcell and new music by living composers Jonathan Woody (a member of KVE), Sydney Guillaume and Caroline Shaw.
“We’ve been working to make this residency a reality for over two years because I really think of KVE as a super-group,” says Les Délices’ founder/artistic director Debra Nagy. “I know that each of KVE’s singers are not only spectacular singers but also amazing human beings and dedicated educators. The Pow’r of Musick will take audiences on a real artistic and spiritual journey. While the concert juxtaposes seemingly disparate Baroque and contemporary works, the through-line in the program is the representation of music as something powerful, meaningful, and bigger than ourselves. I expect the entire experience — for our artists, students, and audiences —to be transformative.”
They’ll perform twice: on Friday September 29 at Lakewood Presbyterian Church and Saturday September 30th at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Kulas Hall.
Go here for more information and tickets.