The Cleveland Orchestra

Severance Music Center, Northeast Ohio, and Digital InitiativesRegarded by many music-lovers as one of the world's most beautiful concert halls, Severance opened in 1931 as the home of The Cleveland Orchestra. Today, the main concert hall is known as the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Concert Hall, in recognition of the historic $50 million grant from the Cleveland-based Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. Severance Music Center serves as the home of The Cleveland Orchestra for concerts, rehearsals, and administration. The building is also rented by a variety of local organizations and private citizens for performances, meetings, and gala events.Located in the University Circle district, on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, near the Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance Music Center has served as an integral arts and community hub for generations. Though its acclaimed concerts and recordings delight audiences worldwide, The Cleveland Orchestra is a proud ambassador of Northeast Ohio.The Cleveland Orchestra continued to expand in the digital space throughout 2022, including a partnership with IDAGIO and Symphony, as well as a brand-new season of In Focus. In 2022, IDAGIO, the world's leading audio and video classical streaming platform, sparked a new collaboration with The Cleveland Orchestra, beginning with the launch of 12 streamed events in the Global Concert Hall. The programs feature acclaimed conductors and soloists, including The Cleveland Orchestra's music director Franz Welser-Most; pianists Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, and Marc-Andr Hamelin; and harpist Yolanda Kondonassis. Tickets and more information for the events, spotlighted as part of IDAGIO's "Great Orchestras in the Global Concert Hall," are available at GlobalConcertHall.com.The Cleveland Orchestra also debuted the third season of its digital concert series In Focus - available on the Adella streaming platform - in 2022. Following the successful launch in 2020 of 15 episodes in Season 1, and another six episodes in Season 2 in 2021, In Focus, Season 3 includes 10 new episodes premiering from October to June and features performances of works by Sibelius, Mozart, Shostakovich, Debussy and more, all filmed in the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Concert Hall within Severance Music Center.

Touring and ResidenciesEach year, the Orchestra allocates several weeks of its performance schedule to residencies and touring activities beyond Northeast Ohio, nationally and internationally. These are designed to enhance both the artistic and financial strength of the organization and extend the Orchestra's worldwide reputation. The Cleveland Orchestra returned to Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 1, 2022 making the 227th appearance in the esteemed venue since 1922. The Orchestra performed a program of George Walker's Sinfonia No. 4, "Strands," Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 2, with soloist Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, and Schubert's Symphony No. 9, "Great." The Walker piece appears on The Orchestra's most recent recording, while the Schubert - the final piece The Orchestra performed before the Covid-19 pandemic, and itself the subject of both a released recording and the first episode of the On a Personal Note podcast - became a major highlight of The Orchestra's 2021-22 season. Due to the pandemic, the Orchestra's annual residency at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in January 2022 was cancelled. The residency resumed in November 2022, along with performances in January 2023 in Naples, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, and education programs in the Miami area.

Blossom Music Festival and Blossom Music CenterFollowing the Blossom Music Festival's cancelation in 2020 due to the global pandemic, the Blossom Music Festival returned in 2021 with an inspiring lineup of concerts, presented in accordance with local, state, and federal health guidelines. Thirteen concerts were part of the 2021 Blossom Music Festival, from Fourth of July through Labor Day weekends (July 3 - September 11, 2021) at the Orchestra's scenic summer home in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Soloists included Michael Sachs, Garrick Ohlsson, Michelle Cann, Benjamin Grosvenor, Stefan Jackiw, Behzod Abduraimov, Sayaka Shoji, and Jonathan Biss. Three works were performed by The Cleveland Orchestra for the first time: Mary D. Watkins's Soul of Remembrance, Florence Price's Concerto in One Movement, and Caroline Shaw's Watermark. Legendary rock star and prolific composer Stuart Copeland performed greatest hits of The Police on drums with The Cleveland Orchestra and guests. Under 18s Free, signature program of The Cleveland Orchestra, continued into its 10th season during summer of 2021.

Education and Community EngagementThe Cleveland Orchestra continued serving Northeast Ohio over the course of the 2021-22 season. Ongoing programs such as Family Concerts, Education Concerts, and Music Explorers resumed with an emphasis on digital programs.Over the initial months of the pandemic, the Mindful Music Moments education program, which combines classical music from The Cleveland Orchestra with mindfulness prompts and exercises usually provided by schools, became a powerful tool for both in-person and remote classes to help ease stress and anxiety. This program continues to be offered to all Northeast Ohio schools for free. Orchestra musicians continued to bring music to communities across Northeast Ohio, performing for community celebrations including La Placita, Cleveland Asian Festival, One World Day, Hispanic Heritage Month, and others. Across a typical season, the Orchestra's education and community initiatives reach more than 100,000 people. For more information, visit clevelandorchestracomengagecommun... The Cleveland Orchestra has a long and storied recording history and an enviable catalog of albums released across the past century. Having launched its own recording label in 2020 with The Cleveland Orchestra: A New Century, a collection of six musical works, the Orchestra has since released several ambitious recording projects. In 2022, The Cleveland Orchestra shared two new audio recordings, featuring music by Richard Strauss and George Walker, both led by Music Director Franz Welser-Most. The Strauss album features three of Richard Strauss's early tone poems (Macbeth, Don Juan, and Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks), providing a tantalizing window into Welser-Most's reputation as a renowned conductor of Strauss's music. The George Walker album offers an exploration of the composer's Pulitzer Prizewinning Lilacs for voice and orchestra with soprano Latonia Moore, as well as Antifonys for string orchestra, and Sinfonias No. 4 and No. 5. All of these recordings are available on compact disc as well as through major streaming and digital download services. For more information, visit clevelandorchestracomdiscoverreco... The Cleveland Orchestra offers countless digital offerings to serve our local communities and schools. Children can learn the basics of orchestral music, like the sections of the orchestra and the role of the conductor, in video series such as Choose Your Instrument, What is an Orchestra?, and Storytime with The Cleveland Orchestra. Each of these series feature tips and tricks from Cleveland Orchestra musicians, fun animation, and world-class music. Children or educators can also engage with our Listening Maps - interactive clips that bring listeners deeper into the music - read digital versions of our Score newsletter, or dive into our online Lesson Plans for grades Pre-K to 5.