PEACH WEEKENDER | THEATER

Battle joins symphony in 'Spiritual Journey'

3/14/2018

Kathleen Battle join the Toledo Symphony on Friday for 'The Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey' at the Peristyle.

Douglas Foulke

Legendary Metropolitan Opera soprano Kathleen Battle joins the Toledo Symphony this weekend for a program titled “The Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey.” She is assisted by the Clarence Smith Community Chorus and the Voices at BGSU in a program of stories and spirituals inspired by the extraordinary journey to freedom during times of slavery.

Battle only performs this particular program in cities along the Underground Railroad, and it is a keynote event in the North Star Festival offered by the symphony, the Toledo Opera, and the Toledo Lucas County Public Library celebrating Toledo’s part as a safe haven along the Railroad.

Winner of five Grammy Awards, Battle was one of the first black American women to perform at the world’s leading opera houses. Along with Jessye Norman, she has been heralded as one of America’s greatest interpreters of African-American spirituals.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Peristyle, Toledo Museum of Art, 2445 Monroe St. For tickets and more information, call 419-246-8000 or visit toledosymphony.com.

■ Violinist Maria Sampen and pianist Thomas Rosenkranz continue their lecture series on “Brahms in Context.” On the program are Brahms’ Scherzo and Sonata No. 3 as well as Alfred Schnittke’s Sontata No. 1. It begins at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Great Gallery.

The Toledo Opera presents the cast of its upcoming presentation of Douglas Tappin’s I Dream on the final 36 hours on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., in a recital performing selections from opera in response to works of art in the TMA collection at 1:30 p.m. March 22.

Both events are free at the Toledo Museum of Art, 2445 Monroe St. For more information, call 419-255-8000 or visit toledomuseum.org.

■ The Ballet Theatre of Toledo presents the world premiere of a dance version of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Trinity Episcopal Church, 316 Adams St. Tickets are $15-$20 at 419-861-0895.

■ Internationally renowned soprano Dawn Upshaw begins a McMaster residency at the BGSU College of Music Arts this week. She presents a recital with pianist Gilbert Kalish at 8 p.m. Thursday in Kobacker Hall, Moore Musical Arts Center. Tickets are $10 and $13 by calling 419-372-8171 or visiting bgsu.edu/arts.

Kalish conducts a free master class at 2:30 p.m. Monday in Bryan Recital Hall in Moore Musical Arts Center. Upshaw will hold two free master classes: 4:30 p.m. Monday and 2:15 p.m. Tuesday in the Marjorie E. Conrad Choral Room in the Wolfe Center for the Arts. Before the Tuesday class, she will participate in a Q-&-A at 1 p.m.

■ The Toledo Symphony Youth Quartet and Friends performs “Borderless” at 7 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church, 200 Broadway, Maumee. Tickets — $10 or free for students — are available at the door or eventbrite.com.

■ The women of Sigma Alpha Iota NW Ohio Alumnae Chapter perform their annual free public musical featuring a variety of solos and ensembles at 3 p.m. Sunday a the University of Toledo Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall, 1910 W. Rocket Dr.; parking in Lot 12. For more information, call Alice Petersen, musicale chair, at 419-475-6177.

■ Measure for Measure Men’s Chorus from Ann Arbor performs a free concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, 2535 Collingwood Blvd. For more information, call 419-244-9575.

■ The Adrian Symphony and the University Chorale and Chamber Singers of Siena Heights University present Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem at 8 p.m. Friday and at 3 p.m. Sunday at Holy Rosary Chapel on the campus of Adrian Dominican Motherhouse, 1257 Siena Heights Drive, Adrian. Tickets are $15-$29 at 517-264-3121 or adriansymphony.org.

■ U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Jamie Laval is featured in an evening of Celtic music and mythic tales at 7:30 p.m. March 22 at the Historic Valentine Theatre, 602 Clinton St., Defiance. Tickets are $10 at defiancearts.org.

■ Clarinetist and saxophonist Janelle Reichman is joined by her quintet band in an evening of jazz at 8 Friday; tickets are $5-$30. The Leigh Daniels Ensemble blends jazz with contemporary chamber music at 8 p.m. March 20; tickets are $5. Both events are at the Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor. 734-769-2999 or kerrytownconcerthouse.com.

■ The Towne & Country Players present 50-voice chorus “The Men of Independence,” under the direction of BGSU grad Gary Lewis, in a program titled “Barbershop to Broadway” at 3 p.m. Sunday at McCormick School, 325 Ohio St., Huron. Call 419-668-0637 for tickets.

■ University of Toledo alumna Estar Cohen, of the Estar Cohen Project, has been named the winner of the 2018 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award, established in 2002 to encourage gifted jazz composers under the age of 30. Cohen graduated from UT in 2015 and is a vocalist, lyricist, and educator based in Ypsilanti, Mich.

■ The final concert of this season's St. Tim's Discovers series features saxophonist Mark Lemle and pianist Eric Dickey playing classic jazz stylings from their CD Wind, Stone, and Ivory at 3 p.m. Sunday at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, 871 East Boundary St., Perrysburg. For more information, call 419-875-5704 or visit saint-timothy.net.

■ The Bowling Green Area Community Bands offer a free Sax-Sational! Mid-Winter Concert with guest saxophonist Stan George at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Bowling Green Schools' Performing Arts Center, 530 W. Poe Rd., Bowling Green. For more information, call bgacb.org.