The Cleveland Orchestra Announces 2024 Blossom Music Festival Lineup Featuring Leslie Odom, Jr. and More

Tickets go on sale on Monday, February 19, at 10 a.m.

By: Blair Ingenthron Feb. 18, 2024

The Cleveland Orchestra Announces 2024 Blossom Music Festival Lineup Featuring Leslie Odom, Jr. and More Image

The Cleveland Orchestra announced an exciting lineup of classical favorites and star-studded pops concerts for its 2024 Blossom Music Festival. The festival runs June 29 to September 1 at Blossom Music Center, the Orchestra's scenic summer home in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Nine new programs now join the previously announced movie presentations: Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Tickets go on sale on Monday, February 19, at 10 a.m.

Festival Highlights

The classical season will get underway on July 6 with banjo player Béla Fleck, fresh off his latest Grammy Award wins, joining The Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Brett Mitchell for a night of American music including Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

The festival will welcome conductors Domingo Hindoyan and Antonello Manacorda in their Cleveland Orchestra debuts and spotlights two Cleveland Orchestra soloists: Principal Trumpet Michael Sachs in Arutiunian's Trumpet Concerto on July 13 and Principal Cello Mark Kosower in Walton's Cello Concerto conducted by Hannu Lintu on July 27.

Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst will conduct Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 on August 17. The concert also features pianist Víkingur Ólafsson in Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto.

Throughout the Classical Season, some of the most famous works by Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, and Shostakovich will be performed.

Tony and Grammy award–winning singer and actor Leslie Odom, Jr. makes his Cleveland Orchestra debut on July 21 following the annual Blossom Summer Soirée, a special event to benefit the Orchestra's summer home.

The Blossom Festival Band will perform on two occasions. First, conductor Loras John Schissel will be back for the festive family favorite Salute to America on July 3, the perfect way to kick off Fourth of July celebrations. Then on August 25, Tony DeSare will join the band for Sinatra and Beyond, a night of Frank Sinatra's biggest hits.

The season wraps up with Cirque Goes Broadway performed by the Akron Symphony Orchestra on August 31 and September 1. This unique concert event combines Broadway's biggest hits with aerialists, contortionists, and more.

2024 Tickets and Subscriptions

For tickets, contact the Severance Music Center Ticket Office by phone at 216-231-1111 or by emailing boxoffice@clevelandorchestra.com. Tickets and packages can also be purchased online at clevelandorchestra.com.

Lawn Ticket Books

Lawn Ticket Books, a great way to save on tickets for the entire Blossom Music Festival season, include vouchers for children 17 and under. Lawn Ticket Books can be used for most Blossom Music Festival concerts, including movie nights. Lawn Ticket Books — with 10 adult vouchers, 20 Under 18s Free vouchers, and two free upgrade passes — can be purchased for $200. Contact the Box Office or visit clevelandorchestra.com for information. Some exclusions apply.

Under 18s Free

Under 18s Free helps make attending Blossom Music Festival concerts more affordable for families. With each regular-priced adult ticket purchased, a family can get two free lawn vouchers for children 17 and under.

Under 18s Free is a program of The Cleveland Orchestra's Center for Future Audiences. The Center, created with a lead endowment gift from the Maltz Family Foundation, was established to fund programs to develop new generations of audiences for Cleveland Orchestra concerts in Northeast Ohio.

The J.M. Smucker Co. and The Cleveland Orchestra

The J.M. Smucker Co. has supported The Cleveland Orchestra for decades with annual contributions as well as capital gifts for improvements at Blossom Music Center. The company's ongoing, remarkable support has been recognized through concert sponsorship at Blossom for over a decade and has earned membership in the Orchestra's John L. Severance Society — a group of the Orchestra's most dedicated and generous corporate, foundation, and individual supporters. Additionally, The J.M. Smucker Co. was a co-presenting sponsor of The Cleveland Orchestra's Second Century Celebration, bringing the Orchestra's 100th season to life while animating a bold vision for an extraordinary Second Century.

Cleveland Orchestra Board Chair Richard K. Smucker is the Retired Executive Chairman of The J.M. Smucker Co., which was founded 125 years ago by Mr. Smucker's great-grandfather, Jerome Monroe Smucker. Today, The J.M. Smucker Co. is a leading marketer and manufacturer of leading brands across the consumer food, coffee and pet food and pet snacks categories in North America. While the company's portfolio has dramatically evolved, Smucker remains committed to its values, shaped by its Basic Beliefs, Our Commitment to Each Other and its Purpose, Feeding Connections That Help Us Thrive – Life Tastes Better Together.

About Blossom Music Center, Summer Home of The Cleveland Orchestra

Blossom Music Center was created as the summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra and opened in July 1968 with performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony conducted by George Szell. The 200-acre music park features the award-winning and acoustically-acclaimed Blossom Pavilion, designed by renowned Cleveland architect Peter van Dijk and seating more than 5,000 people under cover. The adjoining Blossom Lawn accommodates as many as 15,000 more outside on an expansive natural-bowl amphitheater of grass surrounded by bucolic woods.

In the more than half-century since Blossom's opening, headline makers and yet-to-be-discovered young artists across all genres have created unforgettable musical experiences for more than 21 million visitors. In a typical summer, Blossom serves more than 400,000 visitors, who attend concerts ranging from rock, country, and pop to classical. Live Nation operates Blossom under a long-term contract with The Cleveland Orchestra, dividing each year between the Orchestra's Blossom Music Festival of orchestral performances, and a series of presentations from across many genres.

Located 25 miles south of Cleveland and just north of Akron, Blossom is situated in the rolling hills of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which preserves 33,000 acres of natural parkland along the Cuyahoga River. Blossom Music Center was named to honor the Dudley S. Blossom family, who have been major supporters of The Cleveland Orchestra throughout its history. Blossom lies within the city limits of Cuyahoga Falls, an Ohio community first settled in the early 1800s, at 1145 West Steels Corners Road in Summit County. For more information visit clevelandorchestra.com/discover/blossom-music-center/.

The Cleveland Orchestra 2024 Blossom Music Festival Schedule

Movie Night Live:

Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert

Saturday, June 29, at 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 30, at 7 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Sarah Hicks, conductor

John Williams Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (film with live orchestral underscore)

Relive the magic of the film that introduced one of the greatest movie heroes of all time, shown on the big screen with the score performed live by The Cleveland Orchestra!

Movie Night Live: Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert is presented by NOPEC.

Salute to America

Wednesday, July 3, at 8 p.m.
Blossom Festival Band*
Loras John Schissel, conductor

Blossom's traditional, star-spangled celebration with the Blossom Festival Band returns with a mix of patriotic marches, Broadway favorites, an Armed Forces Salute, and more — concluding with fireworks!**

*The Cleveland Orchestra does not appear on this concert.
**Fireworks immediately following the performance, weather permitting.

Rhapsody in Blue

Saturday, July 6, at 7 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Béla Fleck, banjo (Blossom Music Festival debut)

BERNSTEIN  Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
GERSHWIN  Rhapsody in Blue (trans. Fleck)
BARBER  Overture to The School for Scandal
STILL  Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American”

Experience a fresh take on an American classic. Béla Fleck, “arguably the greatest living banjo player in the world” (NPR), marks the centennial of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with a dazzling new banjo transcription of this beloved showpiece. Conductor Brett Mitchell rounds out this all-American evening with orchestral gems by Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, and William Grant Still.

Rachmaninoff's Third Symphony

Saturday, July 13, at 7 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan, conductor (Cleveland Orchestra debut)
Michael Sachs, trumpet
Blossom Festival Chorus

BORODIN  Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
ARUTIUNIAN  Trumpet Concerto (Cleveland Orchestra premiere)
RACHMANINOFF  Symphony No. 3

Rachmaninoff's Third Symphony baffled listeners at its 1936 premiere, but the composer predicted it would one day “be rediscovered ... and become a sensational success.” Hear why this electrifying work is now considered one of the composer's finest creations. Arutunian's Trumpet Concerto — featuring Principal Trumpet Michael Sachs — and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances complete this sparkling program led by Domingo Hindoyan.

Tetzlaff Plays Mozart

Saturday, July 20, at 7 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Antonello Manacorda, conductor (Cleveland Orchestra debut)
Christian Tetzlaff, violin

MENDELSSOHN  Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream
MOZART  Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish”
BEETHOVEN  Symphony No. 7

An evening of classics under the stars. Celebrated violinist Christian Tetzlaff brings to life Mozart's Fifth Violin Concerto, which bubbles with the composer's quintessential craft and charm. Antonello Manacorda complements this favorite with Mendelssohn's breezy Midsummer Night's Dream Overture and Beethoven's indomitable Seventh Symphony.

An Evening with Leslie Odom, Jr.

Sunday, July 21, at 7 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Leslie Odom, Jr., vocals (Cleveland Orchestra debut)

Don't miss the Tony and Grammy award–winning vocalist, songwriter, author, and actor, known for his breakout role as the original Aaron Burr in the smash hit Broadway musical Hamilton, as he makes his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra.

Blossom Summer Soirée: This special fundraising event takes place before the concert. More information about the Blossom Summer Soirée, as well as ticket and table options, here

Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony

Saturday, July 27, at 7 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor
Mark Kosower, cello
With the Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestra

SIBELIUS  Lemminkäinen's Return
WALTON  Cello Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH  Symphony No. 5

An apology or an act of defiance? Shostakovich composed his Fifth Symphony in 1937 after receiving an official reprimand from the Soviet Union, responding with one of the most powerful — and enigmatic — symphonies in the orchestral repertoire. Conductor Hannu Lintu pairs this with a sweeping tone poem by Sibelius and Walton's virtuosic Cello Concerto, performed by Principal Cello Mark Kosower.

Movie Night Live:

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Friday, August 2, at 7 p.m.

Saturday, August 3, at 7 p.m.

Sunday, August 4, at 7 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Ludwig Wicki, conductor

Blossom Festival Chorus
The Cleveland Orchestra Children's Chorus

Howard Shore The Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King (film with live orchestral underscore, chorus, and soloists)

The culmination of Peter Jackson's epic trilogy based on the timeless J.R.R. Tolkien classic and the final battle for Middle-earth, shown on the big screen with the score performed live by The Cleveland Orchestra!

Movie Night Live: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is presented by NOPEC.

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony

Saturday, August 17, at 7 p.m.
The Cleveland Orchestra
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Víkingur Ólafsson, piano (Blossom Music Festival debut)

R. SCHUMANN Piano Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5

Franz Welser-Möst returns to Blossom with Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, which journeys from dark inner turmoil to an unwavering celebration of life. The “breathtakingly brilliant pianist” Víkingur Ólafsson (Gramophone) also joins the Orchestra for Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto, a marvelous showcase for soloist and orchestra that the composer once referred to as “a compromise between a symphony, a concerto, and a huge sonata.”

Sinatra and Beyond

Sunday, August 25, at 7 p.m.
Tony DeSare, vocals
Blossom Festival Band*

Singer/pianist/songwriter Tony DeSare takes on the legend of Ol' Blue Eyes himself in a critically acclaimed tribute to the great Frank Sinatra that includes songs like “Come Fly with Me,” “I've Got the World On a String,” “The Summer Wind,” “I Get A Kick Out of You,” “Night and Day,” “New York, New York,” “My Way,” and so many more Sinatra classics.

*The Cleveland Orchestra does not appear on this concert.

Cirque Goes Broadway

Saturday, August 31, at 7 p.m.
Sunday, September 1, at 7 p.m.
Cirque de la Symphonie
Akron Symphony Orchestra*
Lucas Waldin, conductor
Morgan James, vocals
Hugh Panaro, vocals

Dizzying acrobatic heights and eye-popping feats come together with top Broadway hits from Les Misérables, Frozen, Miss Saigon, and more. Fun for the whole family and the perfect way to close out the summer.