News Release
Severance Hall offers free MLK Day
Community Open House on Monday, January 16
Showcase for community performing arts groups includes performances by the
Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus
Release date: December 20, 2011 Revised: January 7, 2012
Severance Hall’s MLK Day Community Open House includes the “I Have A Dream Wall and performances
by community groups including the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Youth Chorus
Photos by Roger Mastroianni
Severance Hall will hold its twelfth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Community Open House on Monday, January 16, 2012, from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. The free day of activities and performances, sponsored by Medical Mutual of Ohio, celebrates the legacy of Dr. King and will include performances by some of Cleveland’s finest community performing arts groups, including the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus as well as the Oberlin Ebony Connection, Roots of American Music: “Freedom Calling” and El Sistema @ Rainey Symphony with Cleveland Orchestra Musicians and Friends. Family activities throughout the afternoon include the “I Have a Dream” Wall where children and adults can post their dreams for our community, the “Picture Yourself at Severance Hall” Photo Activity, and popular DJ Terry Macklin’s Sounds of Entertainment.
Performances and Activities
Community Open House performances will begin at 12 noon and will run through 5:00 pm. A complete schedule of Community Open House performances and activities follows.
Throughout the day, and especially in between Concert Hall performances, attendees can enjoy Terry Macklin’s Sounds of Entertainment – DJ-driven musical fun including line-dancing for the whole family, in the Bogomolny-Kozerefski Grand Foyer. Attendees will have an opportunity to write their “dreams for the world” or to color line drawings of Dr. King, to be included on the “I Have a Dream” Wall in Severance Hall’s Smith Lobby. And, attendees can participate in “Picture Yourself at Severance Hall” – a photo opportunity where you can pretend you are performing on the Severance Hall main stage.
Shopping, Food & Parking
The Cleveland Orchestra Store, located in the Lerner Lobby, will be open to the public from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Offering a unique shopping experience, the store features Cleveland Orchestra recordings and signature merchandise as well as specialty musical gift items and children’s toys.
Light concessions will be available for purchase in the Smith Lobby.
Parking will be available in the Case Western Reserve University Campus Center Garage (the underground garage connected to Severance Hall). Convenient off-site and alternative parking options include theCleveland Botanical Garden, which offers two levels of covered parking. The garage is located on the corner of East Boulevard and Wade Oval Drive. CWRU Lot 1, located off Euclid Avenue across from Severance Hall, and University Circle Lot 13A on Adelbert Road are surface lots within walking distance of Severance Hall. There is also metered street parking along East Boulevard between Severance Hall and the Cleveland Museum of Art. View more details on parking.
The 2012 MLK Day Community Open House is sponsored by Medical Mutual of Ohio, the exclusive health insurer of The Cleveland Orchestra and a Cleveland Orchestra Partner in Excellence. Additional support is provided by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, the Ohio Arts Council, and Macy's.
All artists and performances are subject to change.
Venue information
Severance Hall, which opened in 1931 as the home of The Cleveland Orchestra, is located at 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.
SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES & ACTIVITIES
Sponsored by Medical Mutual of Ohio
MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2012
Doors open at 11:30 a.m.
12:15 – 1:00 p.m.
Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus
Frank Bianchi, director
Concert Hall
The Youth Chorus will perform music from a variety of musical traditions, including French, African-American, Haitian, and Spanish. They will also give a preview of their March 2012 performance of Francis Poulenc’s Gloria. The Youth Chorus is supported by the Edward and Ruth Wilkof Foundation.
1:15 – 1:45 p.m.
African Soul International
Sista Jewel Jackson, artistic director
Concert Hall
Master Artist Sista Jewel Jackson leads a creative and innovative professional ensemble of African dancers dedicated to building community through the arts.
2:00 – 2:30 p.m.
The Oberlin Ebony Connection
Dianna White-Gould, piano
Norris Kelly, tenor
Lisa Whitfield, viola
The Oberlin Ebony Connection is a group comprised of Oberlin alumni playing music by African-American composers who attended the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music or lived in Cleveland.
2:45 – 3:15 p.m.
Roots of American Music:
“Freedom Calling”
Concert Hall
Since 1999, Roots of American Music (ROAM) has been connecting people to the history and spirit of our country through traditional American music. ROAM is dedicated to ensuring that today’s young people and our communities remain connected to the history and spirit of our country.
3:30 – 4:00 p.m
El Sistema@Rainey Symphony*
*with Cleveland Orchestra Musicians and Friends
Raphael Jimenez, conductor
Concert Hall
Students from the after-school orchestral music program recently launched by Rainey Institute and Cleveland Orchestra musician Isabel Trautwein will perform with community and Cleveland Orchestra friends in a celebration of strings, led by Oberlin Orchestra conductor and Venezuelan El Sistema graduate Raphael Jimenez.
4:15 – 5:15 p.m.
Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
James Feddeck, conductor
Hannah Moses, cello
Concert Hall
The Youth Orchestra will perform works by Dvořák, Elgar, and William Grant Still, as well as a movement from the Dvořák Cello Concerto, with Youth Orchestra member Hannah Moses as soloist. The Youth Orchestra is supported by generous grants from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, and many other donors. Endowment support is provided by The George Gund Foundation and Christine Gitlin Miles.
ONGOING ACTIVITIES
“I Have a Dream” Wall – writing and coloring activity
Smith Lobby
“Terry Macklin’s Sounds of Entertainment” DJ and Line Dancing
Bogomolny-Kozerefski Grand Foyer
“Picture Yourself at Severance Hall” Photo Activity
Smith Lobby
The 2012 MLK Day Community Open House is sponsored by Medical Mutual of Ohio, the exclusive health insurer of The Cleveland Orchestra and a Cleveland Orchestra Partner in Excellence. Additional support is provided by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, the Ohio Arts Council, and Macy’s.
All artists and programs are subject to change.
* * *
Press Contact
Ana Papakhian, 216-231-7476; Email
