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(first published in Express Cincinnati, October, 2011)
C is for constellation.
C is also for chamber music, collaboration and the new Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts, premiering Oct. 13 through Nov. 8 at locations throughout Cincinnati.
Founded by violinist and Cincinnati resident Tatiana Berman,
![]() Tatiana Berman
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“This could be to Cincinnati what Spoleto is to Charleston,” said Cincinnati arts patron William Friedlander at a presentation introducing the festival earlier this year. (Friedlander owns a condo in Charleston, S.C. where the world famous Spoleto Festival USA takes place each spring.) Berman’s vision and energy are very much responsible for that assessment. An internationally known performing artist (and former wife of former Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra music director Paavo Järvi), Berman had the “single-handed and single-minded ability to will the festival into a high level, first year existence,” said arts supporter John Spencer, a board member of Chamber Music Cincinnati.
“Two years ago, when the idea first emerged, few took seriously her announced intent to start a festival,” said Spencer. “She had never run anything, let alone managed something so complex. Overlooked was her very high intelligence and her talent as a fund-raiser,” he said. “The quality of the first year’s performers and programs is making people take notice.”
Constella now has 501(c) (3) status, a paid festival manager, Le Anne Anklan, a board of six and three unpaid staff members, including artistic director Berman. How was such a thing possible? “She is very hard to say no to,” said Spencer quoting one of Cincinnati’s leading arts philanthropists.
Berman, 31, just back from performing in several international festivals in Europe, has been living in Cincinnati for seven years. (A native of Moscow, she is a 2004 graduate of London’s Royal College of Music.) “From the very beginning, I was aware of just how much music and art is presented and explored here. After a while, I realized that many people outside of the city, nationally and internationally, are not aware of the variety of presenting organizations, visual artists and performing chamber music groups based in Cincinnati. I thought it would be good to have a festival showcasing the multi-faceted artistic life of the Queen City.”
Several concerts are being presented exclusively by Constella, the rest by groups participating under its umbrella (some with special funding by Constella). They include Chamber Music Cincinnati, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Catacoustic Consort, concert:nova, Vocal Arts Ensemble, Linton Chamber Music Series, Classical Revolution and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players.
There will be exhibits by members of Cincinnati’s visual arts community, including Brazee Street Studios in Oakley and Fifth Street Galleries. There will be world premieres. Constella has commissioned Nash to write a double quartet for strings and jazz quartet to celebrate its inaugural season. Concert:nova and Cincinnati Ballet have joined forces to present Prokofiev’s Quintet, Op. 39, and Astor Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango” in world premiere choreography by a team from the Ballet.
![]() Hilary Hahn
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“It’s all people who kind of push the envelope a little bit,” said Gross, owner of Brazee Street Studios. “Everybody has to work six inches by six inches (or less).” Gross, a lifelong Cincinnatian, calls Constella “amazing. I hope Cincinnati gets it. Cincinnati is always ten years behind. Everyone is talking about this inter-disciplinary approach, but I don’t see it happening in Cincinnati very often.”
Also on the Constella lineup:
![]() Liang Wang
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Oct. 15. 7 p.m. Mickey Jarson Kaplan Performance Studio, Cincinnati Ballet Center. “Piazzolla, Prokofiev and Pointe Shoes.” Concert:nova and members of the Cincinnati Ballet and Exhale Dance Tribe perform Prokofiev’s Quintet, Op. 69, Rodgers and Hart’s “My Funny Valentine” and Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango.” The Prokofiev and Piazzolla will feature new choreography by Heather Britt, Jimmy Cunningham, Stephen Jacobsen Missy Lay Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard of Cincinnati Ballet. “Collaborations tend to allow artists to think outside of the box, take new risks, and explore new territory. That is what we will be doing for Constella. I am looking forward to seeing how it unfolds,” said Britt.
![]() Alexander Toradze
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![]() St. Lawrence String Quartet
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![]() CSO Chamber Players
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![]() Vocal Arts Ensemble
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![]() Menahem Pressler
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![]() Michael Maniaci
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![]() Ted Nash
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![]() Philippe Quint
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![]() Joshua Bell
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Tickets for Constella events, including Constella passes, and information about the 2011 Constella Festival, are available at www.constellafestival.org.
For individual concerts, visit www.cincychamber.org (Oct. 18), www.cincinnatisymphony.org (Oct. 21), www.vaecinci.org (Oct. 22), www.lintonmusic.org (Oct. 23), www.catacoustic.com (Oct. 28) and www.ccocincinnati.org (Oct. 30).