Continuing the tradition of presenting world-class chamber music in Northeast Ohio, the Kent/Blossom Music Festival will again feature its highly anticipated Faculty Concert Series from June 25 to July 23, which features performances by some of the region’s most-coveted musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra, as well as a variety of world-class soloists.
Now in its 47th season, the Kent/Blossom Music Festival is an advanced training institute operated by Kent State University in cooperation with the Cleveland Orchestra and Blossom Music Center. It presents public performances by distinguished artist faculty and talented young musicians.
Highlights of the upcoming season include the return of Steinway Artist Spencer Myer, an all-Brahms program performed by cellist Mark Kosower and an evening of delightful pieces for solo violin with Jung-Min Amy Lee. Additional highlights include guest performances by members of the Cleveland Orchestra, the Miami String Quartet and more.
The public also is invited to enjoy the talents of some of the world’s finest young musicians performing in the Kent/Blossom Music Festival’s Chamber Players concerts, which are free and open to all. This year, the Kent/Blossom Music Festival will be joined by 46 students from all over the world whose visit will culminate in a side-by-side performance with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center.
In collaboration with the Kulas Foundation, the Kent/Blossom Music Festival is excited to announce a special performance by violinist Ida Kavafian as the Kulas Visiting Guest Artist. This program that began in 2013 was established to bring an artist of stature to spend one week of the five-week festival to work intensively with talented students.
A six-concert subscription, which provides subscribers with an $18 savings, is $72 for adults and $60 for seniors. To purchase a subscription, call Kent State’s Performing Arts Box Office at 330-672-ARTS (2787). Subscriptions may be purchased with check, Visa, MasterCard or Discover. Single tickets also are available at $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and $5 for college students.
All faculty concerts take place at 7:30 p.m. in Ludwig Recital Hall, which is located at Kent State’s Center for the Performing Arts at 1325 Theatre Drive in Kent, Ohio.
Tickets also are available weekdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Kent State’s Performing Arts Box Office, located in the lobby of the Roe Green Center in the Center for the Performing Arts at 1325 Theatre Drive on the Kent Campus. The Performing Arts Box Office accepts Visa, MasterCard and Discover, in addition to cash and checks.
The Ludwig Recital Hall box office will open one hour prior to the performance for walk-up sales and will accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Tickets and more information are available by calling 330-672-ARTS (2787) or visiting www.kent.edu/blossom.
Faculty Concert Performances:
Wednesday, June 25, at 7:30 p.m.
Spencer Myer, piano; Frank Rosenwein, oboe; and Barrick Stees, bassoon
Robert Schumann – Three Romances for Oboe and Piano, Op. 94
Robert Schumann – Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17
Ludwig van Beethoven – 12 Variations on Handel’s “See the Conquering Hero Comes” from Judas Maccabaeus, WoO 45
Paul Hindemith – Sonata for Oboe and Piano (1938)
William Bolcom – From The Garden of Eden
Tuesday, July 1, at 7:30 p.m.
Miami String Quartet
Antonín Dvořák – Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 75a/B 149
Erwin Schulhoff – Five Pieces for String Quartet
Felix Mendelssohn – Quartet for Strings No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2
Thursday, July 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Kulas Guest Artist Ida Kavafian, violin, and Glauser String Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 5 in F major, Op. 24 “Spring”
Richard Strauss – Sonata for Violin and Piano in E-flat major, Op. 18
Ernest Chausson – Concert for violin, piano and string quartet in D major, Op. 21
Wednesday, July 9, at 7:30 p.m.
Jung-Min Amy Lee, violin, and Joanna Patterson Zakany, viola
Johann Sebastian Bach – Partita No. 2 in D minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1004
Essa-Pekka Salonen – ‘Lachen Verlernt’ for Solo Violin
Eugene Ysaÿe – Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 27, No. 4 in E minor
Astor Piazzolla – Selections from Tango Etudes for Solo Violin
Johan Halvorsen – ‘Sarabande con variazioni’ in G minor (on a theme of Handel)
Wednesday, July 16, at 7:30 p.m.
Mark Kosower, cello
An all-Brahms program
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F major, Op. 99
Wednesday, July 23, at 7:30 p.m.
Katherine Bormann, violin; Jeffrey Zehngut, violin; Stanley Konopka, viola; Richard Weiss, cello; Joela Jones, piano; Barrick Stees, bassoon; and Danna Sundet, oboe
Gary Schocker – Sonata for Bassoon and Piano (1992)
Manuel de Falla – Canciones Populares Españolas for Cello and Piano
Theodore Lalliet – Terzetto for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano, Op. 22
Béla Kovács – Hommage à Manuel de Falla for Clarinet and Piano
Edward Elgar – Quintet for Piano and Strings in A minor, Op. 84
For more information about the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, visit www.kent.edu/blossom.
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Photo Caption:
Pictured is the Miami String Quartet, one of several musical groups that will perform at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival’s Faculty Concert Series, taking place from June 25 to July 23.
Media Contacts:
Ricardo Sepulveda, rsepulv1@kent.edu, 330-672-0397
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595