On May 18, the Cleveland Institute of Music will award an honorary Doctorate of Musical Arts degree posthumously to former CIM percussion faculty and Cleveland Orchestra principal percussion emeritus Richard Weiner, who died in December at age 78. He was the Cleveland Orchestra’s principal percussion from 1968 until his retirement in 2011. In his honor, ten of Weiner’s former students will be among the thirteen percussionists who will perform Edgard Varèse’s Ionisation, Weiner’s favorite piece for percussion, at the May ceremony. They include Marc Damoulakis, principal percussion of the Cleveland Orchestra, plus former and current percussionists of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Firelands Symphony Orchestra, California Symphony, Stockton Symphony, Sun Valley Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Posted May 17, 2019
