Life. It surrounds us in bountiful nature, it endures through space and time; it makes us human, yet transcends this world; it lives on through creation and legacy; it is unvanquished by oppression and is the spirit of youth and adventure and new horizons. In short, life finds a way.
Free Admission
SEPT 27 | 3:30PM
PINES OF ROME
LIFE EMERGES, LIFE ENDURES
Artists: Joyce Yu, piano | Cleveland Photographic Society
Event: Lobby Photo Gallery 3PM
The cosmos is within us. We are made of star stuff. See for yourself as the SSO and Cleveland Photographic Society present Stars, Helios,and The Pines of Rome in a multi-sensory exploration of life across space and time: the distant stars with their building blocks of life, the life-giving light of the sun and the ancient trees that bear witness to centuries of human history.
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Feel the spirit of the ancients live on as the Eternal City gloriously emerges from the mist into blazing sunrise and brass-filled crescendo. Life finds a way.
We’ve partnered with The Cleveland Photographic Society and their army of amazing local photographers to bring the music to life with stunning images that light up the stage. These artists are the real deal! No AI slop with pictures of 6-toed babies here.
Amidst it all, pianist and rising star Joyce Yu dazzles in Mendelssohn’s sparkling first piano concerto.
Repertoire
HOWE: Stars
NIELSEN: Helios Overture
MENDELSSOHN: Piano Concerto No. 1
Joyce Yu, piano
RESPIGHI: PInes of Rome
Image Projections by Cleveland Photographic Society
Conducted by Domenico Boyagian
Free Admission
NOV 8 | 3:30PM
LORENZO LOPEZ CONDUCTS
PROGRAM TBA
Details Coming Soon
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Feel the spirit of the ancients live on as the Eternal City gloriously emerges from the mist into blazing sunrise and brass-filled crescendo. Life finds a way.
We’ve partnered with The Cleveland Photographic Society and their army of amazing local photographers to bring the music to life with stunning images that light up the stage. These artists are the real deal! No AI slop with pictures of 6-toed babies here.
Amidst it all, pianist and rising star Joyce Yu dazzles in Mendelssohn’s sparkling first piano concerto.
Repertoire
HOWE: Stars
NIELSEN: Helios Overture
MENDELSSOHN: Piano Concerto No. 1
Joyce Yu, piano
RESPIGHI: PInes of Rome
Image Projections by Cleveland Photographic Society
Conducted by Domenico Boyagian
Free Admission
DEC 12 | 6:00PM
UGLY SWEATER EXTRAVAGANZA
LIFE RENEW, LIFE…REGRETS NOTHING
When the days are short and the nights are dark, the winter solstice brings the promise of rebirth, hope, cheer, and better days. The spirit of the season is alive. Life has found a way… and the sweater it is wearing should be burned.
This December, SSO gets lit! Pop in for an immersive pop-up concert of holiday favorites and songs you only pretend to like.
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There will be food, drinks, “drinks,” a hot chocolate bar, games, raffles and more. Wear your ugliest sweater, mingle with musicians in even uglier sweaters and if you want to holiday shop on your phone while enjoying the sounds of the season, we won’t tell.
Repertoire
It’s a concert It’s a partyl It’s an extravaganza!
Put on your ugly sweater and join us for a casual holiday concert experience! Great music in a great setting!
MUSIC: Mingle amongst the musicians as they play holiday favorites
FOOD: Fill up on goodies. Holiday calories don’t count.
DRINKS: Hot Chocolate Bar and drinks for “all ages”
FUN: Games, Raffles and Surprises
Conducted by Domenico Boyagian
Free Admission
FEB 7 | 3:30PM
SHOSTAKOVICH 5
LIFE DEFIES, LIFE PERSEVERES
Artists: Eleanor Pompa, cello
Tense interrogations, sarcastic dancing, sobbing laments, forced enthusiasm. For us, it’s just a normal day in corporate America. For Shostakovich, it was the tapestry of his fifth symphony – a symphony of survival that saved his literal life…and his soul. Life finds a way.
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Written under threat of execution during Stalin’s Great Purge, this heart-wrenching work weaves strands of hidden meanings, veiled defiance and inner fortitude into the cover of compliance. The people got it; the premiere received a 40 minute standing ovation… so wear comfy shoes, just in case.
Two enchanting pieces open the program:
Composer Louise Farrenc fought for her own life in a more metaphorical way, outsmarting and subverting “the patriarchy” to become a successful piano professor and published composer. Her energetic overture will delight and inspire
And finally, in the midst of all this drama and rebellion, cellist Eleanor Pompa brings sensitivity and grace to Schumann’s elegant cello concerto.
Repertoire
FARRENC: Overture No. 1
SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto
Eleanor Pompa, cello
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony 5
Conducted by Domenico Boyagian
MAR 21 | 3:30PM
MOZART REQUIEM
LIFE AWAKENS, LIFE TRANSCENDS
Artists: West Shore Chorale (dir. Michael Lisi)
Event: Pre-concert lecture
SSO and the West Shore Chorale bring the fire, the drama, the terror, the tears, the Tuba Mirum and the perpetual light of Mozart’s emotional masterwork to the Maltz Center, as East meets West in this cross-river collaboration (Cuyahoga, not Styx). Written in Mozart’s final days, it follows a soul’s journey through darkness to eternal life in a masterpiece that transcends death. Life finds a way.
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Before transcedance, the program explores life and death:
Beethoven’s whirlwind overture to the Creatures of Prometheus, where stolen fire bestows man’s first breath, but true “life” only emerges with Enlightenment: science, art, music, and human mortality.
And Mozart’s grief-filled Masonic Funeral Music take us deep into the shadow of death… before the Requiem pulls out all the stops
Repertoire
BEETHOVEN: Overture to Creatures of Prometheus
MOZART: Masonic Funeral Music
MOZART: Requiem
West Shore Chorale (dir. Michael Lisi)
Soloists TBA
Conducted by Domenico Boyagian
Free Admission
APR 4 | 3:30PM
THE COMPOSER NEXT DOOR
LIFE INVENTS, LIFE CREATES
Artists: Cleveland Composers Guild
Not all composers are dead….some live and walk among us. The Suburban Symphony Orchestra and Cleveland Composers Guild have teamed up for a public collaboration session, highlighting select short symphonic works from local composers.
Peek behind the curtain of the creative process to see the light behind the leitmotif, as composers talk to conductors and new music comes to life and evolves in real-time. Which notes will make the final cut? Join us and find out!
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SSO and the Cleveland Composers Guild present a 1 week workshop event. Selected composers work with a live orchestra to fine tune and record their pieces.
The public is invited to view the process in an OPEN REHEARSAL
Cleveland Composers Guild
Conducted by Domenico Boyagian
Repertoire
Works and composers to be announced
Free Admission
MAY 16 | 3:30PM
DVORAK SYMPHONY 9
LIFE SPRINGS FORTH, LIFE CHARGES AHEAD
Artists: Young Soloist Winners
Miles from home, in a foreign land, a homesick Dvorak struggles in New York City, until he finds his soul again. In Iowa. Yes, Iowa.
Inspired by the unspoiled nature of America’s wide open spaces, and influenced by spirituals and poetry of the New World, his crowd-pleasing Ninth Symphony breaks new ground, infusing old-world classical music with new life (and English Horn solos).
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And speaking of “new worlds”, our talented Young Soloist winners take the first steps into their own bright futures. Their astounding talent, unbridled spirit and fresh interpretations will amaze and inspire as they breathe new life into the future of classical music. Even without a driver’s license yet, life finds a way. And we can’t wait to follow.
Repertoire
YOUNG SOLOIST WINNERS TBA
DVORAK: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
Conducted by Domenico Boyagian
