The Musical Arts Association

THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA INSPIRES AND ENRICHES LIVES BY CREATING EXTRAORDINARY MUSICAL EXPERIENCES AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE.

SEVERANCE MUSIC CENTER, NORTHEAST OHIO, RECORDING RELEASES, AND NEW DIGITAL MEDIAUNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MUSIC DIRECTOR FRANZ WELSER-MOST SINCE 2002, THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA HAS EXTENDED ITS ARTISTRY AND MUSICAL ABILITIES AND REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER PERFORMING ENSEMBLES IN THE WORLD - YEAR AFTER YEAR SETTING STANDARDS OF EXTRAORDINARY MUSIC EXCELLENCE, CREATIVE PROGRAMMING, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. PRAISED FOR ITS VIRTUOSITY, REFINED SOUND, VARIETY OF COLOR, AND CHAMBER-LIKE MUSICAL COHESION, THE ORCHESTRA WAS DECLARED "AMERICA'S MOST ELEGANT SYMPHONIC ENSEMBLE" BY THE NEW YORK TIMES IN SEPTEMBER 2021. 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 TWO AMBITIOUS RECORDING PROJECTS. BOTH SHOWCASE POWERFUL JUXTAPOSITIONS BETWEEN OLDER AND NEWER WORKS. IN OCTOBER 2020, A RECORDING FEATURING SCHUBERT'S "GREAT" C-MAJOR SYMPHONY AND KRENEK'S STATIC AND ECSTATIC, FOLLOWED IN NOVEMBER 2021 BY PROKOFIEV'S SYMPHONY NO. 2 AND SCHNITTKE'S CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND STRINGS. ALL OF THESE RECORDINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON COMPACT DISC AS WELL AS THROUGH MAJOR STREAMING AND DIGITAL DOWNLOAD SERVICES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT CLEVELANDORCHESTRA.COM/DISCOVER/RECORDINGS/. THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA ALSO CONTINUED TO EXPAND IN THE DIGITAL SPACE THROUGHOUT 2021, PRIMARILY THROUGH ITS VIDEO STREAMING SITE AND APP ADELLA, LAUNCHED IN 2020 AND NAMED FOR THE ENSEMBLE'S PIONEERING FOUNDER ADELLA PRENTISS HUGHES (CLEVELANDORCHESTRA.COM/ADELLA). THROUGH THIS PLATFORM THE ORCHESTRA PRESENTED THE FIRST SEASON OF THE DIGITAL CONCERT SERIES IN FOCUS. ACROSS THIRTEEN EPISODES (AND TWO BONUS EPISODES), IN FOCUS SHOWCASED MUSICIANS OF THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA ALONG WITH GUEST ARTISTS DURING A TIME WHEN IN-PERSON CONCERTS COULD NOT BE HELD DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. TO DATE MORE THAN 163,000 PEOPLE IN ALL 50 STATES AND IN MORE THAN 40 COUNTRIES HAVE VISITED ADELLA FOR VIDEO AND AUDIO CONTENT INCLUDING THE ON A PERSONAL NOTE PODCAST.

BLOSSOM MUSIC FESTIVAL AND BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER AFTER CANCELLING THE SUMMER 2020 SEASON DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA RETURNED TO LIVE IN-PERSON PERFORMANCES ON JULY 3, 2021 AT BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER. CONDUCTOR BRETT MITCHELL LED THE ENSEMBLE IN AN AMERICAN CELEBRATION, FEATURING PIANIST MICHELLE CANN PERFORMING FLORENCE PRICE'S PIANO CONCERTO IN ONE MOVEMENT. THE 2021 BLOSSOM SEASON FEATURED 12 CONCERTS ACROSS 10 WEEKENDS, WITH FAVORITE CLASSICAL ARTISTS SUCH AS HERBERT BLOMSTEDT, GARRICK OHLSSON, JAHJA LING, AND JANE GLOVER, ALONG WITH EVENINGS DEVOTED TO THE BEATLES, THE MOVIE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS, AND STEWART COPELAND'S POLICE DERANGED FOR ORCHESTRA CONCERT. THE 2021 BLOSSOM SEASON WAS AN ARTISTIC AND FINANCIAL SUCCESS. THE AVERAGE AUDIENCE ATTENDANCE ACROSS ALL CONCERTS -- 7,189 ATTENDEES - MARKED THE HIGHEST NUMBER ON RECORD FOR THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA. MOREOVER, ANECDOTALLY, THESE AUDIENCES WERE MORE ENTHUSIASTIC THAN EVER BEFORE WITH MORE PEOPLE STAYING LONGER AT THE VENUE, ENJOYING THESE EVENINGS OF LIVE MUSIC. ADDITIONALLY, 11,747 TICKETS WERE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE CENTER FOR FUTURE AUDIENCES, WHICH FOR EACH ADULT TICKET PURCHASED, PROVIDES TWO FREE TICKETS TO THOSE UNDER 18 YEARS OLD.

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. DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, THE ORCHESTRA'S ANNUAL RESIDENCY AT THE ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY WAS CANCELLED. THE RESIDENCY IS PLANNED TO RESUME IN JANUARY 2022, ALONG WITH PERFORMANCES IN NAPLES, WEST PALM BEACH, AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN THE MIAMI AREA. OTHER TOURING ACTIVITIES ARE EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE IN 2022, INCLUDING A JUNE 1 PERFORMANCE AT NEW YORK'S FAMOUS CARNEGIE HALL.

EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTTHE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA CONTINUED SERVING NORTHEAST OHIO OVER THE COURSE OF THE 2020-21 SEASON, AND EXPANDED UPON DIGITAL AND IN-PERSON METHODS OF ENGAGEMENT DUE TO THE PANDEMIC. ONGOING PROGRAMS SUCH AS FAMILY CONCERTS, EDUCATION CONCERTS, AND MUSIC EXPLORERS CONTINUED WITH AN EMPHASIS ON DIGITAL PROGRAMS. MEANWHILE MANY MUSICIANS FOUND NEW WAYS OF REACHING STUDENTS, HOLDING OUTDOOR PORCH AND DRIVEWAY CLASSES TO MAINTAIN CONNECTIONS IN THE CLEVELAND METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE NEIGHBORHOODS PARTNERS PROGRAM, AND THE CRESCENDO AND MUSIC MENTORS PROGRAMS IN CLEVELAND'S SLAVIC VILLAGE AND HOUGH NEIGHBORHOODS.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. AS THE 2021 SCHOOL YEAR BEGAN, THIS PROGRAM WAS OFFERED TO ALL NORTHEAST OHIO SCHOOLS FOR FREE. SIMILARLY, IN-SCHOOL PROGRAMS WERE RECREATED IN ZOOM FORMAT AND A WIDE RANGE OF FREE ONLINE EDUCATION RESOURCES WERE OFFERED TO CHILDREN, STUDENTS, AND ADULTS. ORCHESTRA MUSICIANS CONTINUED TO BRING MUSIC TO COMMUNITIES ACROSS NORTHEAST OHIO, PERFORMING FOR HOSPITAL WORKERS, HELPING COMMEMORATE CLEVELAND CLINIC'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY, AND JOINING IN COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS INCLUDING LA PLACITA 2021, 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 CLEVELANDORCHESTRA.COM/ENGAGE/COMMUNITY-PROGRAMS/.