2 minute read

Welcome: André Gremillet

WELCOME

to the return of great music, performed live and in-person

Advertisement

ANDRÉ GREMILLET

President & CEO Dear Friends, Welcome back! It is such a joy to write those words. After a year that has tested our patience and understanding in so many unexpected ways, we cannot wait to greet audiences again at live performances, beginning with this summer’s Blossom Music Festival and then in the fall to Severance Hall concerts in Cleveland. Through it all, we have been reminded that the extraordinary power of music we share — with you and between the musicians onstage — is something we can never take for granted. Across this past year, The Cleveland Orchestra has worked tirelessly to create original and inventive ways to reach audiences at home and around the globe. We launched In Focus, our digital concert series of new performances recorded live at Severance Hall, along with our podcast On a Personal Note and the release of two acclaimed recordings on our own label. Yet, despite making music for you throughout this crisis, what we have missed most is the ability to engage and share music directly with audiences in-person. It is quite fi tting that The Cleveland Orchestra is coming back together with you, our Northeast Ohio community, at Blossom, a place envisioned by George Szell “to give the greatest possible number of people the opportunity to hear the orchestra.” Personally, I know that I can’t wait to take my family back to Blossom so that we can all enjoy a summer evening fi lled with great music, ambiance, and company together. As we look forward to a renewal of relationships and traditions, this summer and throughout the coming year, we continue our mission for sharing the best that music has to off er — new and old friends, with brand-new works alongside extraordinary favorites and lesser-known gems. Beginning with concerts (and fi reworks) July 3-4, the 2021 Blossom Music Festival season features a diverse range of American voices — from Florence Price to Duke Ellington, Aaron Copland to Stewart Copeland, Capathia Jenkins to Caroline Shaw. I’m excited for this truly remarkable summer of music to start. Our journey of discovery continues with the return to Severance Hall in the fall — and the start of Franz Welser-Möst’s 20th season at the helm of The Cleveland Orchestra. As we fi nd comfort in once again sharing cherished surroundings with familiar faces, we are preparing to present an ambitious season featuring more than twenty works performed by The Cleveland Orchestra for the fi rst time. Of course, none of this would be possible without all the amazing people involved. First, the exceptional group of musicians onstage, whose artistry and ability to adapt throughout the past sixteen months has inspired us to fi nd new ways of reaching out to our local and global communities. Equally important — and inspiring — are all of you, the many people who support and attend the Orchestra’s concerts throughout the year. Your generosity — fi nancially and spiritually — creates and supports everything we do. To this, let me also acknowledge the guidance and generosity of an exceptional board of trustees, the creativity and hard work of a talented and dedicated staff and corps of volunteers, and with special thanks once more to The J.M. Smucker Company, the presenting sponsor of this summer’s Blossom Music Festival. Let the music begin!

This article is from: