CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra Opens New Season With The Dazzling Soloist, Sayaka Shoji!

I am very excited to enter my third season as music director of CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra. Our upcoming season spotlights an extraordinary cadre of guest artists and a wonderful lineup of works from throughout music history. Each concert juxtaposes two or more pieces related by some historical or thematic idea. The season opens with Schumann’s first symphony and a performance of Brahms' Violin Concerto, by internationally acclaimed violinist Sayaka Shoji on Thursday, October 15 at 7:30pm - Lakewood Congregational Church at 1375 West Clifton. There is no admission charge, and we encourage families to bring their children.

Ms Shoji is making her Cleveland debut. Rarely here in the United States Ms Shoji has an international career. Since taking First Prize at the 1999 Paganini Competition – the first Japanese and youngest artist ever to do so – Sayaka Shoji has performed with the world’s leading conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Mariss Jansons, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Semyon Bychkov, Paavo Järvi and Antonio Pappano. Zubin Mehta has been her strong  supporter. When she auditioned for him he changed his schedule in order to make her first recording with The Isreal Philharminic and invited her to perform with the Bavarian State Opera and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Since then many prominent orchestras have invited Ms Shoji, including Isreal Philharmic, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony and many others.Ms Shoji is making her Cleveland debut. Rarely hear in the United States Ms Shoji has an international career. Since taking First Prize at the 1999 Paganini Competition – the first Japanese and youngest artist ever to do so – Sayaka Shoji has performed with the world’s leading conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, Mariss Jansons, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Semyon Bychkov, Paavo Järvi and Antonio Pappano. Zubin Mehta has been her strong supporter. When she auditioned for Metha he changed his schedule in order for her to make her first recording with the Isreal Philharmonic. Since then Ms. Shji has been invited by many prominent orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, The London Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Philharmonic, and many others. She plays the 1729 Recamier Stradivarious on Loan from Ryuzo Ueno, Honorary Chairman, Ueno Fine Chemicals Industry, Ltd.

We continue to feature our own musicians as soloists in the winter concerts, contrasting two works with the same title — Antonio Vivaldi and Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons. We welcome the return of two of our favorite guest conductors, Stefan Willich in December and Joaquin Valdepeñas in March, who will conduct a program of music by Wagner and Mahler. The season concludes with guest soloist and rising star violinist, Tessa Lark, who will perform Dvorak’s Violin Concerto, along with with Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony and Les Hebrides.

For the first time we are excited to add a chamber music series to our season, the first of which will be dedicated to the music of Japan. This series will feature the orchestra's outstanding musicians, and it will create additional opportunities for community outreach, education, and diverse programming. I am excited to continue to work with our wonderful musicians, management, board, and volunteers in the upcoming season. On behalf of everyone at CityMusic Cleveland, we are grateful for the support of the Cleveland community, and we hope to see you at our concerts this year. Please check our website for dates and venues.

Avner Dorman  Music Director CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra www.citymusiccleveland.org

Concert Schedule - Lakewood

Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. - Lakewood Congregational Church at 1375 West Clifton

Sunday, December 13 at 5 p.m. - Lakewood Congregational Church at 1375 West Clifton

Friday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. - Lakewood Congregational Church at 1375 West Clifton

Sunday, May 15 at 4 p.m. - Lakewood Congregational Church at 1375 West Clifton