Symphony’s brass quintet to present outdoor concerts

8/29/2013

For 20 years, the Toledo Symphony has opened its concert season with an outside concert at Put-in-Bay during the Lake Erie island’s annual historical weekend celebration. This year the symphony brass will be crossing the lake and playing during the free event. It’s set for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 7, near the Perry Monument.

There will be more music the next day, when the second installment of Simple Gifts, the symphony’s new collaborative performance series with the Black Swamp Conservancy, is to take place.

That performance, also by the brass quintet, is to begin at 2 p.m. Sept. 8 at Meadowbrook Marsh, 8577 E. Bayshore Rd., Marblehead. (It’s past Lakeside on the road leading to the Kelleys Island ferry).

Merwin Siu, principal second violin and artistic administrator, said the program is designed to take advantage of the beautiful setting at Marblehead. American composers predominate, including Ohio-born composer Eric Ewazen, represented by Frostfire, a quintet drawing dual inspiration from wintry landscapes and a beer billboard that the composer saw in the Amish country near Cleveland.

The much-traveled Herbert L. Clarke was a cornetist who spent much of his childhood in Ohio. His work, “The Maid of the Mist,” refers to the sightseeing boats at Niagara Falls. The Quintet gives a nod to the title of the project with an arrangement of "Simple Gifts," the Shaker hymn made famous by Aaron Copland in his ballet Appalachian Spring. The arrangement that will be presented is by Cincinnati resident Brian Buerkle.

Instead of pre-concert talks, there will be nature walks through the marsh at 12:30 and 1 p.m. before the music starts. Tickets are free but as seating is limited, patrons should reserve a spot through the box office, 419-246-8000.

A gathering of CHAT participants — people who have traveled to Chautauqua on one of the symphony-sponsored trips in recent years — is planned for 4-7 p.m. Sept. 19 at Manhattan’s Restaurant, 1516 Adams St.

Organizer Ellen Critchley Pittman encourages these fellow music travelers to gather and share impressions and comments. Drinks and food will be available for purchase.

As a special perk, attendees may then sit in on a Toledo Symphony rehearsal in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle. Critchley Pittman needs reservations by Sept. 16 at 419-418-0024, 419-356-6162 or critchley@toledosymphony.com.

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Bowling Green State University will continue its Faculty Artist recital series with a free performance by hornist Andrew Pelletier at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Bryan Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

Pelletier joined the BGSU faculty in 2004 and maintains a busy performing schedule in the region, nationally, and internationally. He won a 2005 Grammy Award for best classical recording in the small ensemble category as a member of Southwest Chamber Music. He is first-prize winner of the 1997 and 2001 American Horn Competitions, and performs with opera companies, symphonies, and on film soundtracks.

Pelletier has master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Southern California and has recorded for Delos, MSR Classics, and Cambria labels.

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The Valentine Theatre is celebrating the launch of its 2013-2014 performing arts season and the opening of its new outdoor stage with a free public festival, the Season of the Arts Plaza Party, from 5 to 11 p.m. on Sept. 6.

It should be a great way to help get into the spirit of the new season of stars under the stars.

On tap will be liquid refreshments and appearances by local presenters and performers including the Toledo Symphony, Toledo Ballet, Masterworks Chorale, Toledo Opera, Toledo School for the Arts, and other groups.

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Another season opener, this one in Ann Arbor, will kick off the University Musical Society’s 135th performance season at the University of Michigan. From September through May, 68 performances by 44 artists and ensembles are scheduled, along with creative ways to engage with the artists in community activities.

In case you missed it, there’s a way to watch the Hill Auditorium centennial celebration, “A Space for Music, A Seat for Everyone,” which was the season-ender last spring. See it at www.youtube.com/​watch?v=pSrqky9Jokc

Then, prepare for rollicking fun at Jason Moran’s Fats Waller Dance Party, featuring the phenomenal singer/​bassist Meshell Ndegeocello. The show starts at 8 p.m. on Sept. 6 in the Downtown Home & Garden shop, 210 S. Ashley St. in the Ann Arbor downtown area, west of Main Street.

Send News of Music items to svallongo@theblade.com at least two weeks ahead of event.