NOW FOLLOW BLUE WATER AT: www.bluewaterorchestra.com
Carlton R. Woods, Artistic Director/Conductor
Neil Mueller, Associate Artistic Director/Conductor
Nancy Patterson, Administrator
Blue Water Chamber Orchestra is a group of local professional world-class musicians committed to bringing a transformative musical experience directly into the neighborhoods of Northeast Ohio. Dedicated to engaging new and diverse audiences through community outreach, collaborative partnerships and artistic excellence, Blue Water shares the luminous world of music in an inviting and accessible manner.
2011-2012 Season
The Breen Center for the Performing Arts, St. Ignatius High School
Cleveland, Ohio
Sunday, September 18, 2011, 3 PM
"Germans & Russians Intermingle"
Music of Schnittke, Haydn, Mozart, & Stravinsky
Friday & Sunday, November 4 & 6, 2011, 8PM & 3 PM
Puccini: La Boheme
A semi staged production in collaboration with Cleveland's Opera Per Tutti
Sunday, January 29, 2012, 3 PM Blue Water Chamber Ensemble
Annual lobby concert of chamber music. Bottesini, Prokofiev & others.
Sunday, February 26, 2012, 3 PM
"Inspired by Shakespeare"
Contemporary and eclectic works by British composers based on Shakespear's plays & featuring some of the Bard's most memorable lines. Neil Mueller, conductor
Sunday, May 6, 2012, 3 PM
"Spring Strings"
The Blue Water strings with soloist Jody Guinn, harp. Music of Bartok, Debussy, & Dvorak.
FOR TICKETS VISIT www.bluewaterorchestra.com AND CLICK ON TICKETS.
MOTHER'S DAY CONCERT REVIEW
DONALD ROSENBERG, CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
The Blue Water Chamber Orchestra has had a splendid first season in residence at St. Ignatius High School's Breen Center for the Performing Arts. The ensemble offered several orchestral programs and an afternoon devoted to chamber music, in addition to educational endeavors.
To end the season Sunday, with more than a few families in attendance for Mother's Day, the orchestra presented a concert under both of its leaders, artistic director Carlton Woods and associate director Neil Mueller. One of the highlights was the appearance of violinist, James Thompson, a junior at St. Ignatius. If you closed your eyes, it would have been impossible to tell that Thompson is all of 17 years old. In Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 ("Turkish"), his phrasing was so supple, his sound so vibrant and his facility so effortless that the music fairly leaped from the stage. The piece is the last of five violin concertos Mozart wrote in a short time span – and the most inventive. Along with his customary perfection of form and expressive variety, Mozart plays a delightful trick in the finale, inserting a bit of Turkish music between the minuets.
Thompson made refined work of every corner of the concerto, sailing easily in passages that sprint and spinning poetic lines with tenderness. The tricky cadenzas posed no obstacles for the violinist, who treated these monologues as the ingenious extensions of previous material they're intended to be. Woods and the orchestra were ideal collaborators to their youthful colleague. Perhaps a bit more earthiness in the cello and bass bow slappings in the Turkish episode would have been welcome, but the partnership honored Mozart.
The program began with Mendelssohn's overture known as "The Hebrides" – and also "Fingal's Cave" – which Mueller shaped with keen attention to atmosphere and pacing. The orchestra's depth of sound, emphasized by the Breen's congenial acoustics, was a testament to the strength of the each section. The clarinets, Amitai Vardi and Alix Reinhardt, were seamless in their silken duet.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 ended the concert in a performance that largely wrapped its arms around the score's high spirits and warmth. Woods and his crackerjack players were vigilant about details, elasticity of phrasing and dynamics. One quizzical decision almost stopped the music in its tracks. The second movement unfolded at a tempo much slower than Beethoven's marking, Larghetto. The ponderousness was dispelled only by chipper accounts of the last two movements.
Especially in the finale, Woods and company demonstrated why they've become such essential contributors to Cleveland's classical-music scene.
CHAMBER CONCERT JANUARY 30 A "STANDING ROOM ONLY" EVENT
DONALD ROSENBERG, CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER REVIEW:
The first season of the Blue Water Chamber Orchestra has unfolded in a manner that could be called measured, which may be wise in our challenging economic climate. The Cleveland ensemble followed its fine debut in September at St. Ignatius High School’s Breen Center for the Performing Arts with educational activities and performances of chamber music.
Among the latter was a concert Sunday in the lobby of the Breen Center, where Blue Water is in residence. The musicians played on a platform tucked into a corner of the space, whose clear acoustics are apt for performers who want to make intimate contact with a small audience.
The Blue Water players did so in music by beloved German composers, Handel and Brahms, and by an American who deserves greater recognition, Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, as she long was known, or – better in our day – Amy Beach. Hints of Brahms pervade Beach’s Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet, Op. 80. But the work also reveals the New Hampshire-born composer’s devotion to her country’s heritage. The theme, introduced by the strings, is based on Beach’s “An Indian Lullaby,” which propels six variations. It is music full of melancholy, with moments of high spirits providing contrast to utterances that often trail off, as if giving in to despondency. Beach assigns much of the significant material to the string quartet, while portraying the flute as independent, lonely voice. That voice was contributed by Sean Gabriel, whose refinement meshed beautifully with the nuanced artistry of violinists Ken Johnston and Susan Britton, violist Laura Shuster and cellist Kent Collier.
The strings had a busy and winning afternoon. To open the program, they collaborated with trumpeter Neil Mueller and pianist Todd Wilson in Handel’s Suite in D major, also called the “Water Piece” for its reference to the composer’s popular “Water Music” suite. In opening remarks, Mueller noted that both the piano and valved trumpet didn’t exist during Handel’s time. But the performance was stylish, with Mueller serving as lucid and sensitive soloist and Wilson discreetly filling in harmonies.
The afternoon ended with a rich course, Brahms’ Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, Op. 115, which was inspired by Mozart’s sublime score for the same instruments. The Brahms also achieves transcendence, especially in the haunting and dramatic opening movement and Hungarian-influenced second movement. The performance was anchored by the fluent, poetic playing of clarinetist Amitai Vardi, who paid scrupulous attention to expressive details. Given the abundant pleasures of this program, more chamber music from members of the Blue Water ensemble would be most welcome.
BLUE WATER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PARTNERS WITH CLEVELAND FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS, LOCAL 4
Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, northeast Ohio ’s professional chamber orchestra dedicated equally to performance and educational outreach, has entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the Cleveland Federation of Musicians, Local 4. The agreement sets working and economic conditions for the inaugural season of the ensemble. “We feel our agreement with Local 4 will signal to the arts community of northeast Ohio our commitment to local musicians, and will further enhance our tremendous partnership with the Breen Center for the Performing Arts and Saint Ignatius High School,” said BWCO Artistic Director Carlton R. Woods. “
Blue Water Chamber Orchestra debuted on September 12, 2010 at the Breen Center , featuring violinist Kenneth Johnston, flutist Sean Gabriel and harpist Jody Guinn. IN ADDITION, BLUE WATER HAS STARTED A STRING PROGRAM AT ST. IGNATIUS HIGH SCHOOL UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF VIOLIST ALEXANDRA VAGO. NEIL MUELLER, PRINCIPAL TRUMPET FOR BLUE WATER, WILL SERVE AS ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR.
“Blue Water Chamber Orchestra is a significant addition to our orchestral community.” stated Local 4 President Leonard DiCosimo. “It is my honor to be able to support their mission and the employment of our internationally respected local musicians. Together, we are creating a new model for all area arts non-profit organizations.”
Blue Water Chamber Orchestra is a refreshingly unique professional ensemble dedicated to sharing great music with new audiences. Through engaging performances and community education, the BWCO is reaching out to people from Avon to Ohio City via neighborhood-based programs that bring classical music directly to their doors. With a particular focus on Cleveland’s west side and suburbs, the BWCO is in residence at the beautiful new The Breen Center for the Performing Arts at St. Ignatius High School. This remarkable partnership unites experienced professional musicians with students and the near west community for exciting performances and individual musical instruction. Committed to excellence without pretension, the BWCO is breaking down barriers and welcoming new audiences into the luminous world of inspiring chamber orchestra music. Blue Water Chamber Orchestra’s next performance is scheduled for May 8th at the Breen Center . Violinist Jimmy Thompson, the concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and student at Saint Ignatius High School , will be the featured performer. For ticket information, please go to: www.igantius.edu/breencenter or call (216) 961-2560.
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT MAESTRO WOODS AT bluewaterCO10@yahoo.com. Please click on "MORE FROM BLUE WATER" at the top of the page for MORE about BWCO.
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