November (2013) is . . .

Louis Langree

November 2013 marks the inaugural concerts of Louis Langrée as the 13th music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Also this month, the 2013 Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts concludes with violinist Joshua Bell and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music launches its centennial celebration of composer Benjamin Britten with a performance of his rarely heard opera "Owen Wingrave."

Here's what's ahead as Turkey Day approaches:

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Rafael  Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor
Pepe Romero, guitar
Nov. 1 -- 11 a.m.
Nov. 2 -- 8 p.m.
Music Hall

Guest conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos leads the CSO in a Spanish-flavored concert featuring guitarist Pepe Romero in the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo. Also on the program are the t" by Suites No. 1 and 2 from "The Three-Cornered Hat by Manuel de Falla and the Symphony No. 3 ("Rhenish") by Robert Schumann. Tickets begin at $12. Call (513) 381-3300, or visit www.cincinnatisymphony.org
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Constella Festival
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players
Nov. 1 -- 7:30 p.m.
Mayerson Theatre
School for Creative and Performing Arts

The CSO Chamber Players open their new season with a program of German Romantics, including the Serenade in G Major by Max Reger, Schumann's "M ärchenerzählungen" and Brahms' Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major. Performing will be flutist Amy Taylor, clarinetist Ron Aufmann, violinists Timothy Lees and Rebecca Culnan, violists Christian Colberg and Paul Frankenfeld, cellist Daniel Culnan and pianists Donna Loewey and Frank Weinstock. Tickets begin at $25, available by calling (513) 381-3300 or online at www.cincinnatisymphony.org
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Washington Platform Jazz Series
Mike Wade, trumpet
Nov. 1 -- 9 p.m. to midnight
Washington Platform restaurant
1000 Elm St.
downtown

Appearing at Washington Platform this week will be jazz trumpeter Mike Wade, with Melvin Broach on drums, Phil DeGregg on piano, and Michael Sharfe on bass.  Also, continuing through Saturday Nov. 16 is Washington Platform's 14th annual "Crab Carnival," with special menu selections. No cover. $10 food and drink minimum. Kitchen open 8:30-11 p.m. Bar open until midnight. Call (513) 421-0110 for reservations.

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Kentucky Symphony Orchestra
James R. Cassidy, conductor
Nov. 2 -- 8 p.m.
Florence Baptist Church at Mt. Zion
Florence, Kentucky

J.R. Cassidy and the KSO strike again, with another first, the U.S. orchestral debut of the pioneering cello duo 2Cellos. It will be half classical and half pop-rock, Vivaldi to AC/DC. Tickets are $26-$40, children half-price, at (859) 431-6216, or order online at  www.kyso.org
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Queen City Chamber Opera
"L'Amore de tre rei" by Italo Montemezzi
Isaac Selya, conductor
Nov. 2 -- 8 p.m.
Nov. 3 -- 2 p.m.
Dunham Arts Center Theater
1945 Dunham Way
Price Hill

Queen City Chamber Opera presents and tenor Marco Panuccio stars in this fully-staged revival of Italo Montemezzi's 1913 opera "L'Amore de Tre Rei" ("The Love of Three Kings"). Last performed in Cincinnati by Cincinnati Opera in 1949, when it was located at the Cincinnati Zoo, this once-popular work follows a blind king, his son, a princess married against her will and her true love (Panuccio) in a kingdom in 10th-century Italy. Panuccio also stage directs. Tickets, $26 for adults, $18 for students available at http://montemezzi.brownpapertickets.com.
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Constella Festival
"St. John Passion" by J.S. Bach
Jeffrey Thompson, tenor
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Chamber Choir and Philharmonia Orchestra
Earl Rivers, conductor
Nov. 3 -- 5 p.m.
Christ Church Cathedral
318 E. Fourth St.
downtown
 
This unique staging of Bach's "St. John Passion" by soloists and ensembles of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music follows CCM's highly successful staging of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" in 2011. Guest artist/CCM alumnus Jeffrey Thompson, tenor, will sing the Evangelist, with the CCM Chamber Choir and Philharmonia Chamber Orchestra led by Earl Rivers. Stage direction is by Omer Bea Seadia, artist diploma candidate in opera directing at CCM. Tickets are $20, $15 for non-UC students, UC students free, available by calling (513) 556-4183, or visit http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=21974 (cash only at the door).
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Constella Festival
Joshua Bell, violin
Sam Haywood, piano
Nov. 7 -- 7:30 p.m.
Memorial Hall

Renowned violinist Joshua Bell closes the 2013 Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts with a recital Nov. 7 at Memorial Hall featuring the Violin Sonata in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 10 ("Devil's Trill") by Giuseppe Tartini, Beethoven's Sonata for Violin and Piano, No. 10, Op. 96 and the Divertimento for Violin and Piano (after "The Fairy's Kiss") by Stravinsky. Joining Bell will be pianist Sam Haywood. On display at Memorial Hall will be "MozART," a pop-sculpture opera in 13 acts by Cincinnati artist Rondle West. Tickets, $36-$95, available at www.constellafestival.org, or call (513) 621-ARTS (2787). For young professionals, a limited number of tickets are available for $20 at http://tinyurl.com/lg9ucpj _________________________________________________________________________

Washington Platform Jazz Series
Mike Wade, trumpet
Nov. 8 -- 9 p.m. to midnight
Washington Platform restaurant
1000 Elm St.
downtown

Appearing at Washington Platform this week will be The Time Market Quartet, with Rusy Burge and Chris Barrick on vibes, Michael Sharfe on bass and Marc Wolfley on drums. Also, continuing through Saturday Nov. 16 is Washington Platform's 14th annual "Crab Carnival," with special menu selections. No cover. $10 food and drink minimum. Kitchen open 8:30-11 p.m. Bar open until midnight. Call (513) 421-0110 for reservations.

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Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Louis Langrée, music director
Maya Angelou, narrator
eighth blackbird
Nov. 8 and 9 -- 8 p.m.
Nov. 10 -- 2 p.m.
Music Hall

These concerts mark the inaugural celebration of Louis Langrée as 13th music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Guest artist Dr. Maya Angelou will narrate Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, complete with multi-media visuals. CSO ensemble-in-residence eighth blackbird will join the orchestra in Jennifer Higdon's "On a Wire." Langrée and the CSO will close the concert with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. Tickets begin at $12, available at www.cincinnatisymphony.org, or call (513) 381-3300. ___________________________________________________________________________________

"All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914"
Cantus Firmus
Theater Latté Da
Nov. 11 -- 7 p.m.
Christ Church Cathedral
318 E. Fourth St.
downtown

Christ Church Cathedral and Cincinnati Opera present the men's vocal ensemble Cantus and Theater Latté Da in "All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914" by  Peter Rothstein, with musical arrangements of holiday songs by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach. Tickets are $20, $10 for students, free for U.S. veterans and active military, available by calling (513) 241-2742.
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Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Louis Langrée, conductor
Nov. 14 -- 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 16 -- 8 p.m.
Music Hall

This concert marks the culmination of the CSO's second annual "One City, One Symphony" project, a community-wide effort which focuses attention on a particular CSO program via a series of pre-concert "listening parties" throughout Greater Cincinnati. The CSO's new music director Louis Langrée will conduct Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4. Also on the program is Mozart's cantata "Davide Penitente" with the May Festival Chorus, soprano Jane Archibald, mezzo-soprano Michele Losier and tenor Joseph Kaiser. The concert will be preceded by complimentary buffet dinner in the Music Hall Ballroom, beginning at 6:15 p.m. Tickets begin at $12. Call (513) 381-3300, or visit www.cincinnatisymphony.org
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"An Evening of the Classics"
Memorial Hall Signature Series
Tatiana Berman, violin
Irina Botan, piano
Nov. 15 -- 6:30 p.m. reception, 8 p.m. performance
Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall's new "Signature Series" opens with "Entwined: An Artistic Sensory Experience," a world premiere produced and performed by violinist Tatiana Berman that interweaves music and digital video. Berman and pianist Irina Botan will perform music by Debussy, John Cage, Nico Muhly and Olivier Messiaen, with digital animation by Yuliya Lanina, Greg Loring and Jesse Mooney-Bullock. Dancers from the Cincinnati Ballet Second Company will perform an introductory piece with music by Arvo Pärt and Joaquin Rodrigo. The evening will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m., including a tasting by Cincinnati chefs Jean-Robert de Cavel, Jimmy Gibson and Jeff Thomas. There will also be an exhibition by Solway Gallery of video art inspired by classical music. The School for Creative and Performing Arts String Quartet will welcome guests in the foyer of Memorial Hall. Tickets are $20-$50 at cincinnatimemorialhall.com
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Washington Platform Jazz Series
The Jim Connerley Quintet
Nov. 15 - 9 p.m. to midnight
Washington Platform restaurant
1000 Elm St.
downtown

Appearing at Washington Platform this week will be The Jim Connerley Quintet, featuring John Zappa, trumpet, Dan Drees, tenor saxophone, Jim Connerley, piano, Jim Anderson, bass and Tony Franklin, drums.  The band will present jazz classics by Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Tom Harrell and Barry Ries, as well as original music and arrangements. Continuing through Saturday Nov. 16 is Washington Platform's 14th annual "Crab Carnival," with special menu selections. No cover. $10 food and drink minimum. Kitchen open 8:30-11 p.m. Bar open until midnight. Call (513) 421-0110 for reservations.

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Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Lollipops Family Concert
John Morris Russell, conductor
Nov. 16 -- 10:30 a.m.
Music Hall

Theme of the CSO's first Lollipops Family Concert of the season (designed for children 2-12 and their parents) is superheroes, with music from "Superman," "Batman," "Spiderman," "Wonder Woman" and others. Pre-concert activities in the Music Hall lobby begin at 9:30. Admission is $12, $6 for children. Call (513) 381-3300, or order online at www.cincinnatisymphony.org

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Music at Ascension
Alexandra Mullins, harp
Nov. 16 -- 7:30 p.m.
Ascension Lutheran Church
7333 Pfeiffer Rd.

Music at Ascension presents harpist Alexandra Mullins in works by Gioachino Rossini, Paul Hindemith, Henriette Renie, Paul Patterson, Francois Joseph Dizi and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Admission is free. Donations accepted.

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Middletown Symphony
Calabria Foti, vocalist
Bob McChesney, trombone
Carmon DeLeone, conductor
Nov. 16 -- 8 p.m.
Finkelman Auditorium
Miami University Middletown

Vocalist Calabria Foti of Los Angeles and jazz trombonist Bob McChesney join the Middletown Symphony in this pops concert on the Middletown campus of Miami University. Backing her up will be a jazz combo made up of Rick VanMatre, Mike Darrah and Michael Sharfe, with conductor Carmon DeLeone (who will conduct from the set), on drums. Tickets are $30, $20 for students. available at http://www.middletownsymphony.com/

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Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
"Kunzel's Greatest Hits"
John Morris Russell, conductor
Nov. 17 -- 2 p.m.
Music Hall

Favorites of the Erich Kunzel era are featured on this commemorative concert. Hear music from films and Broadway, including "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "The Sound of Music," plus Strauss, Gershwin, Mancini and Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture. Tickets begin at $25 at www.cincinnatipops.org, or call (513) 381-3300. _______________________________________________________________________

Seven Hills Sinfonietta
William White, conductor
Alan Rafferty, cello
Nov. 17 -- 3 p.m.
Congregation B'nai Tzedek
6280 Kugler Mill Rd.

Cellist Alan Rafferty performs the North American premiere of the Suite for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 3, by Victor Herbert (a work premiered by Herbert in Germany but never performed it in the U.S.). Seven Hills Sinfonietta conductor William White leads the performance, which also will include Rossini's Overture to "La gazza ladra" and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. Admission is free and open to the public.
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Linton Chamber Music Series
Anna Polonsky and Orion Weiss, piano
Jaime Laredo, violin, and Sharon Robinson, cello
Nov. 17 -- 4 p.m.
First Unitarian Church
Linton and Reading Roads, Avondale
Nov. 18 -- 7:30 p.m.
Congregation Beth Adam
10001 Loveland-Madeira Rd., Loveland

The Linton Chamber Music Series presents pianists Anna Polonsky and Orion Weiss in Schubert's Fantasy in F Minor for Piano Four-Hands and Dvorak's Slavonic Dances for Piano Four-Hands. Also on the program  is the Passacaglia for Violin and Cello by Handel/Halverson, Fantasy Pieces for Cello and Piano by Robert Schumann and Stravinsky's Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano, featuring violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson. Tickets are $30 at (513) 381-6868, or visit  www.lintonmusic.org

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Vocal Arts Ensemble
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra
Mischa Santora, conductor
Nov. 17 -- 4 p.m.
St. Catherine of Siena Church
2848 Fischer Place
Westwood

The annual collaboration by the Vocal Arts Ensemble and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra features two choral/orchestral masterworks two centuries apart, Mozart's "Great Mass" in C Minor, K.427 (1783),  and Arvo Pärt's Te Deum (1985). Tickets are $25, $10 for children, at www.ccocincinnati.org, or call (513) 381-3300.

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Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Nov. 19 -- 7:30 P.M.
St. Peter in Chains Cathedral
325 W. 8th St.
downtown

St. Peter in Chains Cathedral opens its 2013-14 "Great Music in a Great Space" series with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir directed by Daniel Reuss. Hear music by Estonian composers Cyrillus Creek, Arvo Pärt, Mart Saar and others. Tickets are $38 in advances, $40 at the door, $15 for students. Call (513) 421-2222, or order online at www.stpeterinchainscathedral.org
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The Priests in Concert
Nov. 19 -- 7:30 p.m.
Procter and Gamble Hall
Aronoff Center for the Arts
downtown

The tenor trio, The Priests -- Fathers Martin O'Hagan, Eugene O'Hagan and David Delargy,  Roman Catholic priests from Northern Ireland -- bring their popular show to Cincinnati. Tickets are $54 and $68 at the Aronoff Center ticket office, 650 Walnut St., (513) 621-2787, or visit CincinnatiArts.org
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University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Eminent Scholar Series
James Tocco, piano
Nov. 19 -- 8 p.m.
Werner Recital Hall

CCM Eminent Scholar James Tocco, piano, performs Franz Liszt's complete Harmonies poetiques et religeuses, S.173. Lecture by musicologist Jonathan Kregor at 7 p.m. in Werner Recital Hall. Admission is free.
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University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
"Benjamin Britten at 100"
CCM Philharmonia Orchestra
Mark Gibson, conductor
Nov. 22 -- 8 p.m.
Corbett Auditorium

The centennial celebration of English composer Benjamin Britten will include a guest appearance by Santa J. Ono, president of the University of Cincinnati, who will narrate Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra." Also on the program are Britten's Violin Concerto and the "Enigma Variations" by Edward Elgar. Tickets are $12, $6 for non-UC students, UC students free. Call (513) 556-4183 or visit ccm.uc.edu
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Washington Platform Jazz Series
Mike Wade, trumpet
Nov. 22 -- 9 p.m. to midnight
Washington Platform restaurant
1000 Elm St.
downtown

Appearing at Washington Platform this week will be the Anderson/Broach/Kelly Trio in music for piano, bass and drums, featuring original compositions by Pat Kelly plus repertoire by Cedar Walton, Denny Zeitlin, Jimmy Rowles, Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk and others. No cover. $10 food and drink minimum. Kitchen open 8:30-11 p.m. Bar open until midnight. Call (513) 421-0110 for reservations.

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University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
"Owen Wingrave" by Benjamin Britten
Nov. 21-23 -- 8 p.m.
Nov. 24 -- 2 p.m.
Patricia Corbett Theater

The CCM opera department presents the Cincinnati premiere of Benjamin Britten's "Owen Wingrave" in recognition of the Britten centenary. The story of a pacifist born into a military family, the opera is based on the short story by William James and was premiered on BBC television in 1970. The production, which will be sung in English with supertitles, is a collaboration with the Cincinnati Boychoir, directed by Christopher Eanes. Guest artist/CCM alumnus Johannes M üller-Stosch will conduct. CCM professor of voice Kenneth Shaw will direct.Tickets are $31-$35, $20-$24 for non-UC students, $18-22 for UC students, available by calling (513) 556-4183, or order online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/owenwingrave
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University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music
Jazz Series
Duke Ellington's "Nutcracker Suite" and Holiday Concert
CCM jazz ensembles
Nov. 24 -- 2 and 7 p.m.
Corbett Auditorium

Hear Duke Ellington's adaptation of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" with dancers from CCM's musical theater department in new choreography by Diana Lala. Tickets are $12, $6 for non-UC students, UC students free. Call (513) 556-4183, or visit ccm.uc.edu
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Voices of the Commonwealth
Tony Burdette, conductor
"Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff
Nov. 24 -- 4 p.m.
Highland Heights Performing Arts Center
2400 Memorial Parkway
Fort Thomas, Kentucky

Northern Kentucky's adult community chorus Voices of the Commonwealth presents Orff's "Carmina Burana with the Highlands High School Chamber Choir (Jason McKee, director), the Northern Kentucky Children's Ensemble (Lauren Barnhill, director) and a chamber orchestra of professional musicians. Soloists include soprano Danielle Messina, tenor Marco Panuccio and baritone Kenneth Stavert. Tickets are $10, $5 for students, $20 for priority seating. Call (859) 341-8555 or order online at www.voicesofthecommonwealth.eventbrite.com
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Opera Fusion: New Works
"Fellow Travelers" by Gregory Spears
libretto by Greg Pierce
Nov. 26 -- small auditorium, Cincinnati Masonic Center

Created in 2011 to foster the development of new American operas, Opera Fusion: New Works is a collaboration between Cincinnati Opera and the opera department of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. The result of a 10-day workshop/residency in Cincinnati, this year's new work, "Fellow Travelers" by Gregory Spears with libretto by Greg Pierce, will receive a free public performance conducted by CCM's Mark Gibson, with stage direction by Kevin Newbury. Admission is free, but reservations are necessary. Call (513) 241-2742. For further information, visit www.cincinnatiopera.org
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Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Louis Langrée, conductor
Kirill Gerstein, piano
Nov. 29 and 30 -- 8 p.m.
Music Hall

This hands-across-the-sea concert featuring music by American and French composers will be led by the CSO's new music director, Louis Langrée, a native of France. On the program are Maurice Ravel's "Mother Goose Suite," George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand with guest artist/pianist Kirill Gerstein and Gershwin's "An American in Paris." Tickets begin at $12. Call (513) 381-3300, or visit www.cincinnatisymphony.org
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Washington Platform Jazz Series
Mike Wade, trumpet
Nov. 29 -- 9 p.m. to midnight
Washington Platform restaurant
1000 Elm St.
downtown

Appearing at Washington Platform this week will be guitarist Dan Faehnle, with Phil DeGregg on piano, Michael Sharfe on bass and Tony Franklin on drums. No cover. $10 food and drink minimum. Kitchen open 8:30-11 p.m. Bar open until midnight. Call (513) 421-0110 for reservations.

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