“Hosting the 2015 League of American Orchestras conference last week for the first time, Cleveland more than did itself proud,” writes Zachary Lewis in Monday’s (6/1) Plain Dealer (Cleveland). “The 900 visitors from all over the musical world couldn’t have asked for much better than what they received from the Cleveland Orchestra and music director Franz Welser-Möst: a staged production of Strauss’s opera Daphne. Supported by an orchestra in peak shape and stocked with first-rate vocal talent.… The presentation directed by James Darrah not only enchanted but also made clear to out-of-towners that when it comes to thinking outside the symphonic box, the Cleveland Orchestra is fully engaged.… On Wednesday, during the conference’s opening session, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra under Brett Mitchell regaled a large crowd,” with cellist and COYO alum Alisa Weilerstein as guest. “CityMusic Cleveland also welcomed conference guests to its season finale with singer Heather Headley, a fundraiser for childhood homelessness.… Orchestra League president Jesse Rosen announced the theme of the conference, ‘The New Work of Orchestras’ … Jane Chu, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, also spoke briefly … urging other ensembles to evolve and interact more vitally with their communities.”
Posted June 2, 2015
