Author: M C

Our May concert was bittersweet as the orchestra bid farewell to two retiring long time members (and SSO royalty!) with over 50 years of service each! We will greatly miss both of them; their leadership and contributions have set SSO up for success for years to come:  Bonnie Svetlik, principal flute and steering committee chair (former president, programming committee chair and long-serving board member) and Richard Polster, French horn and finance committee (former treasurer and long-serving board member)

It was a magical afternoon as three talented young soloists took the stage and brought down the house. Max Tian, Nick Jacques and Yi-Chuan Li inspired everyone on stage (and in the audience) with their dedication and talent. The concert and season concluded with Sibelius Symphony 5 and its uplifting finale,  inspired by soaring swans.

It was an eventful day that began before the first downbeat with a pre-concert art show and snack provided by the artists and culinary artists of Beachwood High School.

Every few years, SSO celebrates its own and members can audition to perform a solo with the orchestra. This season physician Kendra Lynn captivated the audience with Prokofiev’s first violin concerto and student Maya Uchino-Garcia brought fire and energy to Saint-Saens’ first cello concerto. It was so amazing and inspiring to highlight the talent that sits amongst us every week! The first half concluded with a special encore… the piece receiving the highest dollar amount in votes in our Giving Tuesday “You Choose the Encore”  campaign. It was guest- conducted by SSO violinist Rei Sakurai, who won our lottery drawing.

But…. that was just the beginning! The second half brought Tchaikovsky’s sixth symphony; an emotional work that truly was the highlight of the season for many players. Here’s what the audience had to say: 

 “…an emotional performance….”
“It was hard to hold back tears…”

 “…moving and marvelous…”
“…possibly one of the best [SSO] performances I’ve been to…”

The planets aligned as SSO collaborated with over 200 student artists from St. Dominic School for an illustrated performance of Holst’s “The Planets”. Each grade did experiments and  learned fun facts about their planet and then brought it to life via vibrant artwork. Sorry NASA, these images are the new gold standard!

And what is a space concert without music from space movies, inspired by Holst’s music? If you guessed Star Wars, good job!

And finally, back on earth, everyone in the audience was invited to the front of the stage and say hello to the SSO and check out the instruments.

Nothing says October like spooky Halloween-themed music and an enchanting oboe concerto featuring Buffalo Philharmonic oboist and Beachwood native Joshua Lauretig. The fun went beyond the stage with a lobby full of decorations, a pumpkin art gallery, slide show of musician Halloween memories, Halloween trivia, a pie raffle, a Halloween memories slideshow and some fun guessing games. 

A perfect summer evening and a perfect venue for epic film music under the stars: featuring music of superheroes and supervillains, pirates wearing eyeliner, gladiators wearing skirts, astronauts and heroic engineers,  dwarves and elves, time-traveling teens,  and, of course, moisture farmers with respiratory-challenged fathers.

It was loud, it was brassy, it used a truckload of percussion and it was such a fun way to kick off an incredible season. We couldn’t have asked for a better evening, a better host or a better crowd.

What an amazing event! Nearly 250 musicians took the stage as SSO was joined by the West Shore and Western Reserve Chorales and 4 incredible vocal soloists for an unforgettable performance of Beethoven’s Ninth at Severance Music Center in front of a near capacity crowd. Months of preparation, sweat, tears, extra rehearsals and donuts and pie all paid off as the crowd went wild again and again! Truly the crown jewel of our season.

What do you do when you get a last minute rehearsal space cancellation? You improvise… and follow the aroma of apple pie to Patterson’s Fruit Farm Orchard Hills Event Center for a cozy picturesque morning rehearsal. The donuts and fritters at the market next door did not disappoint!

It was a full house at our first rehearsal with the Western Reserve Chorale and West Shore Chorale. With nearly 250 people in attendance, bonus points if you can find Waldo! Or Domenico.