Blossom Friends Newsletter Page 1

BLOSSOM NOTES NEWSLETTER OF BLOSSOM FRIENDS OF

THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA Volume 1, Issue 9 September 2016

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

1 Blossom Music Festival Concludes

2 A Blossom Music Festival Quiz

3 Dining a la Blossom Style

4 Margaret Goss Interview, Opening Night Photos

5 Chapter News, Orchestra Appreciation Date, Gourmet

Matinee

6 Orchestra News – The 2016 European Tour

7 Calendar of Events

Message from Our President – You are invited!

Blossom Friends of The Cleveland Orchestra Annual Meeting, October 6, 2016

1815 Tavern, 170 S. Chillicothe Road, Aurora,

OH 44202, 330.954.8427 * 1815tavern.com

11:30 – gathering, cash bar 12:00 – luncheon

12:40 – business meeting 1:00 – Mark Williams, Director, Artistic

Planning, TCO Peggy Fullmer, BFCO member, Interviewer

Reservations: Connie Van Gilder

7197 E. Firelands Drive, Hudson OH 44236. Price: $40.00

Lis Hugh, President

As Blossom Music Festival concludes its 49th

season, I hope you have had the opportunity this

summer to enjoy the wonderful Cleveland Orchestra

and other musical guests in TCO’s beautiful summer

home.

Although things might be winding down at Blossom

Music Center, the Friends of Blossom are busy

planning Chapter events and fundraising

opportunities. This has been a fantastic year of

volunteerism - as shown by the 2016 Chapter events,

Gourmet Matinees, behind the scene tours of

Blossom Music Center, staffing of the Blossom

Information Centers and the resulting contribution of

$80,000 by the Friends of Blossom to The Cleveland

Orchestra (which includes the dollar-for-dollar

artistic initiatives match to TCO). A huge bravo to

the volunteers!

With over 325 members of Friends of Blossom,

Chapters are still busy recruiting new members. If

you love music, The Cleveland Orchestra or just

being around people with a similar passion please

contact Connie Schlemmer, cettina423@gmail.com

about becoming a Friend.

A Year in Review: Blossom Music Festival Concludes

another Banner Year

Blossom Friends Newsletter Page 2

How well do you know Blossom

Music Center and the Blossom

Music Festival?

We thought it would be fun (and a wee bit challenging)

to recap the 2016 Blossom Music Festival and other

Blossom events with pictures and snippets from this

summer’s repertoire. We hope you enjoy this tribute to

Blossom! And try not to peak at the answers until

completed.

1. A pre-concert bite to eat can be found at this

location.

2. TCO’s assistant principal oboist, Jeffrey Rathbun

made his soloist debut during this concert piece.

3. Questions regarding ATM locations, eating

facilities and restrooms can be found here.

4. Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony provided an opportunity for The Cleveland Orchestra to play with young talented musicians.

5. Carpathia Jenkins, a talented Broadway singer and actress stunned the audience with her solo I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard during this performance.

6. This concert celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service.

7. A perfect backdrop for a glass of

Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.

8. The longest drum solo occurred during this

adrenaline pumping experience.

9. Take time to enjoy this visual feast before

the concert.

10. This colorful display was secondary to

TCO’s opening weekend.

Answers: 1. Kulas Plaza, 2. Arthur Benjamin’s

‘Divertimento on Themes by Gluck’ during

Mendelssohn’ Scottish (8/7), 3. Blossom Friends

Information Center, 4. Kent/Blossom Chamber

Orchestra performs with TCO during Pinchas Zukerman

Plays Mozart (7/30), 5. Magic of the Movies (7/24), 6.

An American in Paris (7/17), 7. The bar in Blossom

Grille, 8. Performed by Powell Randolph during The

Music of Led Zeppelin, 9. Emily’s Garden, 10. 1812

Overture (7/2 & 7/3)

Blossom Friends Newsletter Page 3

Clockwise starting at far left: Dining at Blossom Grille, White table cloth and champagne in crystal stemware, Who’s says you can’t eat in bed, Everything checkered, With martinis in hand, and dining by candelabra.

Dining a la Blossom Style

Blossom Friends Newsletter Page 4

A Musical Journey with Margaret Goss,

Blossom Friends Member turns 100!

Margaret Goss, long time Blossom Friends member

was born two years before the Cleveland Orchestra

was founded. She celebrated her 100th birthday

August 4th. A native of New Jersey, she moved to

Cleveland when she was nine years old. Her father

was transferred here to open and manage the GE

incandescent bulb plant at East 152 street. Margaret

graduated from Shaw High School, attended business

school and went to work for GE. She worked in

payroll, processing checks for all employed at the

plant. She said, “I calculated payroll with a pencil and

paper! I did not have a computer!”

Margaret first donated to the orchestra in 1968, when

Blossom opened. “One of my colleagues, a nice young

man, encouraged me to donate to the orchestra,” she

said. We started going to the concerts and never

stopped. At Blossom, they sit in the same seats they

have been sitting in since 1968: Section 24, Row O,

seats 1 and 2. She named all the conductors since

Maestro Szell. “It brought me great pleasure to attend

the orchestra concerts at Severance and Blossom.”

Margaret has some fond memories of Gourmet

Matinees. Henry Mancini and Jahja Ling were two of

her favorites. She enjoys watching golf on TV (having

quit playing at age 90) and reads The Plain Dealer

every morning. For 48 years Margaret and her son Jim

traveled the world. She has set foot in every continent

except Antarctica.

“I think my love of classical music began with my

piano lessons.” “My favorite composer, Chopin.”

A true friend of the orchestra! Margaret, we salute

you and thank you for your support of The Cleveland

Orchestra and Blossom Music Center.

Written by Lis Hugh, based on an interview with Margaret Goss

The Cleveland Orchestra’s Opening Night ‘Overture to Blossom’s Best’ on July 9th

A Photo Recap

Pictured

left, Nate

Brulport,

Catherine

Good

Brulport,

Roland &

Lois

Hornbostel

Pictured left,

Lis Hugh,

Phyllis

Knauf,

Claudia

Gruen, John

Gruen, &

Jim Knauf

Pictured above, Senator Kenny

Yuko, Pam Yuko, & Bill Blair

Pictured

right,

Donna

Dibiase,

Karen

Pribula,

Jan

Robinson,

Sylvia

Armstrong

Blossom Friends Newsletter Page 5

The Aurora Chapter of Blossom Friends of

The Cleveland Orchestra will hold their

Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Tuesday,

September 6th in order to vote for their

Incoming Executive Board and the Chapter

By-Laws. It will be held in the Chorus Room

of Blossom Music Center.

The Annual Board Meeting will be held

September 1st following the Gourmet

Matinee Luncheon.

Gourmet Matinee Series

Music and Luncheon with Cleveland

Orchestra musicians in Knight Grove, 12 –

2p, presented by Blossom Friends

Thursday, September 1

Michael Miller, trumpet

Tickets can be ordered online at

clevelandorchestra.com/Gourmet

Matinee

Gourmet

Matinee guests

enjoyed a

lovely

luncheon while

listening to the

sounds of the

Quantum Duo

– David Alan

Harrell, cello

and Shachar

Israel, trombone.

Blossom Friends Newsletter Page 6

The Cleveland Orchestra Returned to Europe

The Cleveland Orchestra began their 16th

international tour on August 14th. The Orchestra

performed at the Salzsburg Festival, the Grafenegg

Festival (both in Austria) and at the Lucerne Festival in

Switzerland.

The concert at the Grosses Festspielhaus, August 18 –

19, in Salzburg featured violinist Leila Josefowicz and

soprano Anja Harteros on programs which paired the

works of Thomas Adès, Strauss, and Bartók.

The Cleveland Orchestra Returned to Europe continued The Cleveland Orchestra continued their tour with a Bartók and Strauss performance at the Wolkenturm in Grafenegg. Grafenegg is considered to be one of the most highly regarded festival venues for major international orchestras. A Review on TCO’s Performance at the Grosses Festspielhaus (by Larissa Schütz/ APA)

Interpreting two pieces by this British composer,

Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra

highlighted the versatility of British composer Thomas

Adès. Some of the attendees may still have been

reeling from the claustrophobic atmosphere that

Adès had created in his opera, expressed by musical

walls closing in, coming closer and closer, and

ultimately enveloping the audience. The many beat

and rhythm changes cannot pull conductor Franz

Welser-Möst off his clearly plotted course, because

he knows this piece. In 2008, also working with the

Cleveland Orchestra, Welser-Möst introduced the

piece in the United States. After Adès conducted the

premiere in 2007, Welser-Möst was the first person

to whom the composer entrusted it. Welser-Möst’s

reputation of having been instrumental in developing

the orchestra’s sound during his tenure as chief

conductor is well deserved. The performance is

rewarded in the end with enthusiastic applause and

congratulatory calls of “bravo” from the audience.

Franz Welser-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra in rehearsal

Pictured left, exterior of Grosses Festspeilhaus and below, backstage at the Grosses Festspeilahus

Blossom Friends Newsletter Page 7

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2016 Blossom Music Festival and Severance Hall: (check clevelandorchestra.com for tickets and additional information)

September 3rd & 4th – Movie Night: Raiders of the Lost Ark. 8:30 pm. Brett Mitchell, conductor,

with The Cleveland Orchestra. See this classic movie shown on the big screen at Blossom Music

Center with the score performed live by The Cleveland Orchestra. Fireworks following weather

permitting.

September 16th – Public Tours of Severance Hall. Offered at 10:00 am, 10:30 am and 11:00 am.

September 29th & 30th – Sibelius’s Second at Severance Hall. Friday 7:30 pm. Saturday 8:00 pm.

Franz Welser-Möst, conductor with The Cleveland Orchestra and special guest Paul Jones, organ.

Featuring Ives Symphony No. 3, Coplan Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, and Sibelius

Symphony No. 2.

Thank you to Sally Fullmer Ramsey for sharing the above photos of the 2016 Blossom Season