Cleveland Institute of Music unveils bold, wide-ranging slate of performances for 2023-24 season

Summer may still be going strong, but the Cleveland Institute of Music is already anticipating fall, winter, and even the following spring.  

That’s because the 2023-24 concert calendar, released today, is even more alluring than warm weather. Packed with exciting and even groundbreaking events, the coming year of music at CIM is tantalizing, indeed.  

“As we embody and redefine the future of our art form, we strive to represent the full breadth of what classical music is today,” said Scott Harrison, CIM’s Executive Vice President & Provost. 

“Even a casual look over our calendar for next year is enough to see that CIM is covering all the musical bases in ways that will captivate our students and the general public alike.”  

As always, CIM will be a buzzing hive of musical activity throughout the 2023-24 academic year. Patrons can look forward to multiple performances by the CIM Orchestra, CIM Opera Theater, and CIM New Music Ensemble, as well as an illustrious slate of faculty, students, and guest artists at venues including Severance Music Center, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and CIM’s own Kulas and Mixon halls.  

But that is far from the full story. Within each of those schedules lie several events or developments ranging from notable to fully groundbreaking. Among the many highlights:  

• An off-site production by CIM Opera Theater of Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied 
• A full season for the CIM Orchestra at Severance Music Center and a featured appearance on The Cleveland Orchestra’s Family Concerts season 
• A CIM New Music Ensemble residency with distinguished composer Joan Tower 
• Productions of Handel’s Alcina and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus by CIM Opera Theater 
• Newly launched Insiders and Perspectives concert series featuring faculty, students, and guest artists 
• A concert by Silkroad Ensemble members Mike Block (BM ’04, Aaron), cello, and Malian percussionist Balla Kouyaté 
• An evening with the Los Angeles-based contemporary ensemble Wild Up 
• A new winter celebration of CIM’s top chamber music ensembles 
• The start of a special two-season collaboration with violinist Jennifer Koh (HDMA ’22) 

A detailed list of events is below. Most events are free with tickets required, but a few select performances entail paid admission. For more information or to order tickets to fall season events, visit cim.edu/events. Tickets to spring events will be available at a later date. All visiting artists, including guests with the CIM Orchestra, are generously supported by the Kulas Foundation.  

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CIM ORCHESTRA 

The CIM Orchestra and principal conductor Carlos Kalmar will again enjoy a full season at Severance Music Center, home of The Cleveland Orchestra. This year, the ensemble will appear at Severance six times, in addition to performances in CIM’s Kulas Hall. The Severance season opens Sep. 26 and continues Nov. 15, Jan. 31, Feb. 27, and Apr. 16. Performances at Kulas Hall begin Oct. 11 and continue Oct. 20 (with guest conductor and Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist JoAnn Falletta), Feb. 8, and Apr. 23. In addition, the CIM Orchestra will appear on The Cleveland Orchestra’s Family Concerts series, performing the Halloween Spooktacular at Severance Music Center Oct. 29.  

CIM OPERA THEATER 

Under the auspices of new interim artistic director JJ Hudson, CIM Opera Theater will adopt a new production schedule featuring a mix of large-, medium- and smaller-scale productions. First up is Alcina by George Frideric Handel. That production, conducted by Harry Davidson, will take place in Kulas Hall on Nov. 17 and 19. After that comes the first off-site opera production by CIM in many years. On Jan. 26 and 27, the company will present Tom Cipullo’s 2007 opera Glory Denied in a venue yet to be determined. A large, full-scale production of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II comes next. That will take place Mar. 1-3 in Kulas Hall. The second small-scale performance will be a series of micro-operas penned by CIM students. This collaboration with CIM’s New Music Ensemble will take place in Mixon Hall Apr. 5 and 7. Lastly, the company will present its annual Spring Scenes program Apr. 19 and 21, featuring excerpts from a wide selection of operatic works. CIM Opera Theater is generously supported by the John P. Murphy Foundation.  

CIM NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE 

CIM’s New Music Ensemble, directed by Composition Department Head Keith Fitch, will host composer and Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist Joan Tower for a concert of her music Oct. 15 in Mixon Hall. This occasion will mark the composer’s eighty-fifth birthday. The ensemble again convenes in Mixon Hall Nov. 12 with guest composer and Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist Christopher Cerrone, and Feb. 11 in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, before a collaboration with CIM Opera Theater on micro-operas Apr. 5 and 7. The CIM New Music Ensemble is generously supported by the Roy Minoff Family Fund.  

INSIDERS

This refreshed series of performances by CIM’s esteemed faculty in Mixon Hall kicks off Sep. 20 with Grammy Award-winning Guitar Department Head Jason Vieaux (BM ’95, Holmquist) and Cleveland Orchestra cellist Bryan Dumm. The season continues with saxophonist Steven Banks with pianist and Kulas Foundation Visiting Artist Xak Bjerken, Oct. 5; pianist Gerardo Teissonnière (BM ’85, MM ’89, Vronsky Babin), Oct. 25; and violinist Ilya Kaler with pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Nov. 29. In the spring, the series continues with a special program led by assistant Academy Chorus Conductor Jonathon Turner, Feb. 21; a recital by violinist Philip Setzer, cellist Richard Weiss, and pianist Daniel Shapiro, Mar. 6; and percussionist She-e Wu, Mar. 20. More events, program details, and ticket information will be announced at a later date.  

CIM PERSPECTIVES 

This new series of performances by guest artists, all of whom are Kulas Foundation Visiting Artists, launches Sep. 12 with Silkroad Ensemble members Mike Block, cello, and Malian percussionist Balla Kouyaté. Their performance also kicks off a new Global Music Experience ensemble for CIM students; Block will return to lead those students in concert on Dec. 7. The season continues with pianist Stewart Goodyear, Nov. 8; a program of Latin American music with the Dalí Quartet, Feb. 22; the contemporary ensemble Wild Up, including the world premiere of a work by a CIM composer, Mar. 24; and pianist Artina McCain (MM ’06, Brown) with oboist Titus Underwood (BM ’08, Mack), Apr. 8. All events take place in Mixon Hall. More events, program details, and ticket information will be announced at a later date.  

OTHER EVENTS 

The Cleveland-based baroque chamber ensemble Les Delices joins forces with the Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble at CIM’s Kulas Hall Sep. 30. Family and friends of late composer Dolores White (MM ’74) present a celebration of her music Oct. 1, in Mixon Hall. Subsequent special events include Apollo’s Fire in Kulas Hall, Oct. 21; the graduate CWRU Baroque Orchestra, which includes CIM students on period instruments, led by violin faculty member Julie Andrijeski, Nov. 1 in Mixon Hall; a performance by members of CIM’s Black Student Union, benefiting CIM’s Musical Pathway Fellowship, Nov. 2; and a workshop with acclaimed violinist Jennifer Koh in Apr. 2024 kicking off a two-season partnership culminating in a New Music Ensemble appearance in Nov. 2025.

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Cleveland Institute of Music 

The Cleveland Institute of Music empowers the world’s most talented classical music students to fulfill their dreams and potential. Its graduates command the most celebrated and revered stages in the world as soloists, leading roles, chamber musicians, and ensemble members; compose meaningful, award-winning new repertoire; produce Grammy Award-winning recordings; and are highly sought-after teaching artists, administrators, and thought leaders. A testament to the excellence of a CIM education, more than half of the members of The Cleveland Orchestra are connected to CIM as members of the faculty, alumni, or both, and CIM alumni occupy hundreds of chairs in major orchestras worldwide. The school’s increasingly diverse collegiate and pre-college student bodies benefit from access to world-renowned visiting artists, intensive study with CIM’s stellar faculty, and the rich curriculum offered by CIM’s partner, Case Western Reserve University. A leader among its peers, CIM is the largest presenter of free performances, masterclasses, and community concerts in the Midwest, hosting hundreds of events each year on campus and at locations regionwide, including Severance Music Center. Explore cim.edu to learn more.