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Summer may still be going strong, but the ���Ҵ�ý is already anticipating fall, winter, and even the following spring.  

That’s because the 2023-24 concert calendar, released today, is even more alluring than warm weather. Packed with exciting and even groundbreaking events, the coming year of music at ���Ҵ�ý is tantalizing, indeed.  

“As we embody and redefine the future of our art form, we strive to represent the full breadth of what classical music is today,” said Scott Harrison, ���Ҵ�ý’s Executive Vice President & Provost. 

“Even a casual look over our calendar for next year is enough to see that ���Ҵ�ý is covering all the musical bases in ways that will captivate our students and the general public alike.”  

As always, ���Ҵ�ý will be a buzzing hive of musical activity throughout the 2023-24 academic year. Patrons can look forward to multiple performances by the ���Ҵ�ý Orchestra, ���Ҵ�ý Opera Theater, and ���Ҵ�ý New Music Ensemble, as well as an illustrious slate of faculty, students, and guest artists at venues including Severance Music Center, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and ���Ҵ�ý’s own Kulas and Mixon halls.  

But that is far from the full story. Within each of those schedules lie several events or developments ranging from notable to fully groundbreaking. Among the many highlights:  

• An off-site production by ���Ҵ�ý Opera Theater of Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied 
• A full season for the ���Ҵ�ý Orchestra at Severance Music Center and a featured appearance on The Cleveland Orchestra’s Family Concerts season 
• A ���Ҵ�ý New Music Ensemble residency with distinguished composer Joan Tower 
• Productions of Handel’s Alcina and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus by ���Ҵ�ý Opera Theater 
• Newly launched Insiders and Perspectives concert series featuring faculty, students, and guest artists 
• A concert by Silkroad Ensemble members Mike Block (BM ’04, Aaron), cello, and Malian percussionist Balla Kouyaté 
• An evening with the Los Angeles-based contemporary ensemble Wild Up 
• A new winter celebration of ���Ҵ�ý’s top chamber music ensembles 
• The start of a special two-season collaboration with violinist Jennifer Koh (HDMA ’22) 

A detailed list of events is below. Most events are free with tickets required, but a few select performances entail paid admission. For more information or to order tickets to fall season events, visit cim.edu/events. Tickets to spring events will be available at a later date. All visiting artists, including guests with the ���Ҵ�ý Orchestra, are generously supported by the Kulas Foundation.  

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���Ҵ�ý ORCHESTRA 

The ���Ҵ�ý Orchestra and principal conductor Carlos Kalmar will again enjoy a full season at Severance Music Center, home of The Cleveland Orchestra. This year, the ensemble will appear at Severance six times, in addition to performances in ���Ҵ�ý’s Kulas Hall. The Severance season opens Sep. 26 and continues Nov. 15, Jan. 31, Feb. 27, and Apr. 16. Performances at Kulas Hall begin Oct. 11 and continue Oct. 20 (with guest conductor and Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist JoAnn Falletta), Feb. 8, and Apr. 23. In addition, the ���Ҵ�ý Orchestra will appear on The Cleveland Orchestra’s Family Concerts series, performing the Halloween Spooktacular at Severance Music Center Oct. 29.  

 

���Ҵ�ý OPERA THEATER 

Under the auspices of new interim artistic director JJ Hudson, ���Ҵ�ý Opera Theater will adopt a new production schedule featuring a mix of large-, medium- and smaller-scale productions. First up is Alcina by George Frideric Handel. That production, conducted by Harry Davidson, will take place in Kulas Hall on Nov. 17 and 19. After that comes the first off-site opera production by ���Ҵ�ý in many years. On Jan. 26 and 27, the company will present Tom Cipullo’s 2007 opera Glory Denied in a venue yet to be determined. A large, full-scale production of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II comes next. That will take place Mar. 1-3 in Kulas Hall. The second small-scale performance will be a series of micro-operas penned by ���Ҵ�ý students. This collaboration with ���Ҵ�ý’s New Music Ensemble will take place in Mixon Hall Apr. 5 and 7. Lastly, the company will present its annual Spring Scenes program Apr. 19 and 21, featuring excerpts from a wide selection of operatic works. ���Ҵ�ý Opera Theater is generously supported by the John P. Murphy Foundation.  

 

���Ҵ�ý NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE 

���Ҵ�ý’s New Music Ensemble, directed by Composition Department Head Keith Fitch, will host composer and Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist Joan Tower for a concert of her music Oct. 15 in Mixon Hall. This occasion will mark the composer’s eighty-fifth birthday. The ensemble again convenes in Mixon Hall Nov. 12 with guest composer and Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist Christopher Cerrone, and Feb. 11 in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, before a collaboration with ���Ҵ�ý Opera Theater on micro-operas Apr. 5 and 7. The ���Ҵ�ý New Music Ensemble is generously supported by the Roy Minoff Family Fund.  

 

INSIDERS

This refreshed series of performances by ���Ҵ�ý’s esteemed faculty in Mixon Hall kicks off Sep. 20 with Grammy Award-winning Guitar Department Head Jason Vieaux (BM ’95, Holmquist) and Cleveland Orchestra cellist Bryan Dumm. The season continues with saxophonist Steven Banks with pianist and Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist Xak Bjerken, Oct. 5; pianist Gerardo �ձ𾱲����DzԲԾ�è���� (BM ’85, MM ’89, Vronsky Babin), Oct. 25; and violinist Ilya Kaler with pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Nov. 29. In the spring, the series continues with a special program led by assistant Academy Chorus Conductor Jonathon Turner, Feb. 21; a recital by violinist Philip Setzer, cellist Richard Weiss, and pianist Daniel Shapiro, Mar. 6; and percussionist She-e Wu, Mar. 20. More events, program details, and ticket information will be announced at a later date.  

 

���Ҵ�ý PERSPECTIVES 

This new series of performances by guest artists, all of whom are Kulas Foundation Visiting Artists, launches Sep. 12 with Silkroad Ensemble members Mike Block, cello, and Malian percussionist Balla Kouyaté. Their performance also kicks off a new Global Music Experience ensemble for ���Ҵ�ý students; Block will return to lead those students in concert on Dec. 7. The season continues with pianist Stewart Goodyear, Nov. 8; a program of Latin American music with the Dalí Quartet, Feb. 22; the contemporary ensemble Wild Up, including the world premiere of a work by a ���Ҵ�ý composer, Mar. 24; and pianist Artina McCain (MM ’06, Brown) with oboist Titus Underwood (BM ’08, Mack), Apr. 8. All events take place in Mixon Hall. More events, program details, and ticket information will be announced at a later date.  

  

OTHER EVENTS 

The Cleveland-based baroque chamber ensemble Les Delices joins forces with the Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble at ���Ҵ�ý’s Kulas Hall Sep. 30. Family and friends of late composer Dolores White (MM ’74) present a celebration of her music Oct. 1, in Mixon Hall. Subsequent special events include Apollo’s Fire in Kulas Hall, Oct. 21; the graduate CWRU Baroque Orchestra, which includes ���Ҵ�ý students on period instruments, led by violin faculty member Julie Andrijeski, Nov. 1 in Mixon Hall; a performance by members of ���Ҵ�ý’s Black Student Union, benefiting ���Ҵ�ý’s Musical Pathway Fellowship, Nov. 2; and a workshop with acclaimed violinist Jennifer Koh in Apr. 2024 kicking off a two-season partnership culminating in a New Music Ensemble appearance in Nov. 2025.

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���Ҵ�ý 

The ���Ҵ�ý empowers the world’s most talented classical music students to fulfill their dreams and potential. Its graduates command the most celebrated and revered stages in the world as soloists, leading roles, chamber musicians, and ensemble members; compose meaningful, award-winning new repertoire; produce Grammy Award-winning recordings; and are highly sought-after teaching artists, administrators, and thought leaders. A testament to the excellence of a ���Ҵ�ý education, more than half of the members of The Cleveland Orchestra are connected to ���Ҵ�ý as members of the faculty, alumni, or both, and ���Ҵ�ý alumni occupy hundreds of chairs in major orchestras worldwide. The school’s increasingly diverse collegiate and pre-college student bodies benefit from access to world-renowned visiting artists, intensive study with ���Ҵ�ý’s stellar faculty, and the rich curriculum offered by ���Ҵ�ý’s partner, Case Western Reserve University. A leader among its peers, ���Ҵ�ý is the largest presenter of free performances, masterclasses, and community concerts in the Midwest, hosting hundreds of events each year on campus and at locations regionwide, including Severance Music Center. Explore cim.edu to learn more.