Blossom Festival
Encyclopedia
The Blossom Festival is a summer music festival of orchestra
l music located at the Blossom Music Center
in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
. The festival was originally created to provide a summer concert vehicle for the Cleveland Orchestra
and the Blossom Music Center was specifically built to host the festival. The festival's first season was in 1968 and it consisted of six weeks of concerts given by the Cleveland Orchestra intermingled with eight individual jazz
/folk music
concerts. George Szell
conducted the first concert on July 19, 1968. Since then the festival has been expanded to include ten weeks of orchestral music, most of which is still performed by the Cleveland Orchestra but also includes concerts by the festival's own Blossom Festival Orchestra. The Blossom Festival Orchestra is made up of free-lance musicians from the Cleveland area, mostly pulling from musicians of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra
, Opera Cleveland Orchestra, or Apollo's Fire
. The orchestra performs annually for the Blossom Festival, often appearing when the Cleveland Orchestra has other summer performance engagements outside of the Cleveland area.
On July 28, 2007 the Blossom Festival made history; premiering the first live concert performance of Hoctor's Ballet
which is one of the last orchestral works by Gershwin.
Until 2005, the Blossom Festival had its own music director. The last person to serve in that capacity was Jahja Ling
. After he stepped down from that position, the orchestra eliminated the post, and now the orchestra's full time music director Franz Welser-Möst
is in charge of the classical music concerts both during the regular concert season in Cleveland and the summer concerts at the Blossom Festival. Leonard Slatkin
was the Festival Director from 1992 through 1999.
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l music located at the Blossom Music Center
Blossom Music Center
Blossom Music Center is an amphitheatre located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The pavilion seats 5,700 people, with space for about 13,500 more on the lawn. It is the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra, which performs its annual Blossom Festival there. The venue is also host to a full summer...
in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 49,374 people, 21,655 households, and 13,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,932.9 people per square mile . There were 22,727 housing units at an average density of 889.7 per square mile...
. The festival was originally created to provide a summer concert vehicle for the Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
and the Blossom Music Center was specifically built to host the festival. The festival's first season was in 1968 and it consisted of six weeks of concerts given by the Cleveland Orchestra intermingled with eight individual jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
/folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
concerts. George Szell
George Szell
George Szell , originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer...
conducted the first concert on July 19, 1968. Since then the festival has been expanded to include ten weeks of orchestral music, most of which is still performed by the Cleveland Orchestra but also includes concerts by the festival's own Blossom Festival Orchestra. The Blossom Festival Orchestra is made up of free-lance musicians from the Cleveland area, mostly pulling from musicians of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra
Cleveland Pops Orchestra
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra is a non-profit professional American pops orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. As is typical of pops orchestras, the ensemble performs popular music , cinematic music, jazz, and show tunes as well as well-known classical works. The orchestra was founded in 1995 and...
, Opera Cleveland Orchestra, or Apollo's Fire
Apollo's Fire
Apollo's Fire, The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra is a popular and critically acclaimed period-instrument ensemble specializing in early music based in Cleveland, Ohio. The ensemble unites a select pool of early music specialists from throughout North America and Europe...
. The orchestra performs annually for the Blossom Festival, often appearing when the Cleveland Orchestra has other summer performance engagements outside of the Cleveland area.
On July 28, 2007 the Blossom Festival made history; premiering the first live concert performance of Hoctor's Ballet
Hoctor's Ballet
Hoctor's Ballet is a long movement by George Gershwin for full orchestra written in 1937, originally from the score for Shall We Dance. Performance time runs about 15 minutes....
which is one of the last orchestral works by Gershwin.
Until 2005, the Blossom Festival had its own music director. The last person to serve in that capacity was Jahja Ling
Jahja Ling
Jahja Ling is an orchestra conductor. He is of Chinese descent and is now an American citizen. He began to play the piano at age 4 and studied at the Yayasan Pendidikan Musik School of Music. At age 17, he won the Jakarta Piano Competition and, one year later, was awarded a Rockefeller grant to...
. After he stepped down from that position, the orchestra eliminated the post, and now the orchestra's full time music director Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Welser-Möst
Franz Welser-Möst is an Austrian conductor who is currently the music director for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera.- Biography :...
is in charge of the classical music concerts both during the regular concert season in Cleveland and the summer concerts at the Blossom Festival. Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Slatkin
Leonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor and composer.-Early life and education:Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His father Felix Slatkin was the violinist, conductor and founder of the Hollywood String Quartet,...
was the Festival Director from 1992 through 1999.