Cleveland Orchestra to Perform Free Community Concert at East Professional Center

The Cleveland Orchestra has announced the program for the free community concert for the At Home in Hough neighborhood residency on Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at East Professional Center (formerly East High School).

The concert, led by Cleveland Orchestra Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell, includes Bernstein's Overture to Candide, John Williams's Air and Simple Gifts, Smallwood's Total Praise, an arrangement of Oh Happy Day, J. Rosamond Johnson's Lift Every Voice and Sing, Gershwin's An American in Paris, and Copland's Lincoln Portrait, which will be narrated by Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon.

The concert will be video streamed live online at www.clevelandorchestra.com and www.ideastream.org, and available through August 18, 2016. A live radio broadcast of the concert will air on WCLV Classical 104.9 ideastream, and a delayed television broadcast will air on WVIZ / PBS on Friday, August 12 at 9:00 p.m. and will repeat Sunday, August 14 at 3:00 p.m.

"All of us at The Cleveland Orchestra are so excited to spend time with our neighbors in Hough. Our culminating concert will reflect the history of this extraordinary community, a deeply inspiring American story that we'll celebrate through great American music," said Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell. "We'll feature orchestral works by Leonard Bernstein, John Williams, George Gershwin, and Aaron Copland, and I'm particularly pleased that we'll have the opportunity to perform Lift Every Voice and Sing, Total Praise, and Oh Happy Day with our friends in the Hough Community Chorus."

A special Hough Community Chorus has been assembled for the concert, comprised of community singers and members of Cleveland Orchestra choruses who will perform with The Cleveland Orchestra at the concert. The chorus is being prepared by William Henry Caldwell and assembled by John Parker.

This summer, The Cleveland Orchestra has been collaborating with the Cleveland Museum of Art to celebrate music and art in Hough. This new partnership between two of Ohio's premier cultural organizations is designed to create partnerships with communities to develop new and meaningful ways to enliven our community with arts and music. Both organizations have joined with residents to celebrate music and art in the Hough community from June through August, 2016.

Prior to the August 11 concert, from 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. in the East Professional Center Auditorium lobby, a community showcase will feature musical and visual art talents from the community. Musical performances will feature student musicians from the Rainey Institute's El Sistema@Rainey program and student percussionists from the Lexington Bell Community Center. An exhibit created by the Cleveland Museum of Art will feature photographs of Hough residents that have been submitted throughout the residency titled "Clevelanders: Portraits of Our Community." The Cleveland Museum of Art will also display their year-long centennial self-portrait project highlighted by banners that celebrate the Hough community. The portraits will feature Hough residents and the banners will be created by Hough community groups and Cleveland Museum of Art staff members. An additional banner will be produced by community members during "A New Day in Hough," an annual tradition started by the late councilwoman Fannie Lewis, taking place this year at League Park on August 6.

Following the concert, attendees are invited to a dessert reception in the East Professional Center Auditorium lobby. Cookies by Archie's Hough Bakery will be served. Hough Bakeries was started on Hough Avenue in 1903 and over the years became an iconic Cleveland bakery and catering company. Hough Bakeries was purchased by Hough head baker Archie Garner in 1992 and he continues to use the "secret" recipes in his Lakeshore Avenue business.

Tickets for the free community concert were distributed throughout the Hough community in July. All concert tickets have been distributed. Ticketholders will be seated until 7:15 p.m., at which time any open seats will be made available to those without tickets waiting in line at East Professional Center.

Education programs in the Hough community are being led by Cleveland Orchestra musicians, teaching artists, Cleveland Museum of Art staff, and regional artists. Many of these events took place during summer camps at the Fatima Family Center, Lexington Bell Community Center, the Rainey Institute, and the Cleveland Urban Minority Alcoholism Drug Abuse Outreach Project (UMADAOP.). A complete calendar and listing of upcoming free community events can be found at www.clevelandorchestra.com/news-and-updates/news-releases/2016-releases/2016-06-23-hough-update.

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Cleveland Orchestra at home in Hough Neighborhood Residency

Free community concert

East Professional Center (formerly East High School)

1349 E. 79th Street

Cleveland, Ohio 44103

Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Brett Mitchell, conductor

Hough Community Chorus

Prepared by William Henry Caldwell

Assembled by John Parker

Members of Cleveland Orchestra Choruses

Leonard Bernstein Overture to Candide

John Williams Air and Simple Gifts

Richard Smallwood Total Praise (arr. Henry Panion)

Hough Community Chorus

TRADITIONAL Oh Happy Day (arr. Henry Panion)

Hough Community Chorus

George Gershwin An American in Paris

Aaron Copland Lincoln Portrait

Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon, narrator

J. Rosamond Johnson Lift Every Voice and Sing (arr. Smith)

Hough Community Chorus

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Cleveland Orchestra Neighborhood Residencies - Overview:

The Hough community was chosen for this year's Cleveland Orchestra "At Home" neighborhood residency because it is a neighbor to both The Cleveland Orchestra and The Cleveland Museum of Art. This year's residency strives to create collaborative arts programs that can be sustained with the Hough community after the summer activities end. The goal is to use music and art to help shine a bright light on all the good things happening in the Hough neighborhood today.

The Cleveland Orchestra introduced its "At Home" neighborhood residencies in May 2013 in the Gordon Square community of Cleveland. The second annual residency was held in Lakewood. In 2015 the Orchestra visited the Slavic Village community. The goals of the neighborhood residencies are to bring increased visibility and vibrancy to greater Cleveland's neighborhoods, build community through arts and culture in tandem with local partners, and offer more people the opportunity to engage with the music and the musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra. The residency also features solo and chamber music performances in unique locations, education programs at local schools, and new artistic collaborations with neighborhood arts and cultural organizations. For more information, please visit clevelandorchestra.com.

The Cleveland Museum of Art belongs to the community - to people of all ages, all backgrounds, and all walks of life. More than one hundred years ago, the founders of the Cleveland Museum of Art envisioned it as an essential community resource. They assembled a world-class collection and established a wide variety of programs designed to engage children and adults of all ages, bringing to life the founding mission statement "for the benefit of all the people forever." Listening to community needs and engaging in meaningful programming continue to be implicit in the museum's work and allow the museum and its offerings to be accessible to the broadest possible audience. For more information, visit clevelandart.org.

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