BlueWater Chamber Orchestra
May 2, 7:30 p.m.
BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Artistic Director Daniel Meyer, concludes its 16th season on May 2nd at The Church of the Covenant. The concert, Rustic Reverie, features former child of the Covenant Midori Marsh performing Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne.
The daughter of John and Sybil Marsh, Midori is quickly establishing herself as a rising international star. Named one of CBC Music’s "30 under 30" Hot Canadian Classical Musicians, she recently finished a three-year apprenticeship with the Canadian Opera Company and is currently touring the U.S. in the national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. She has also performed with the Calgary Opera, Tapestry Opera, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Guelph Symphony Orchestra. Her accolades include first prize and the Audience Choice Award at the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, third prize at the 2024 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition, as well as first place at the COC Quilico Awards and finalist in the Lotte Lenya Competition. Read more about Midori’s journey from Cleveland Heights High to international performance stages by clicking this link to a recent interview with the Heights Observer.
Midori will perform selections from Joseph Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne, a beloved collection of 27 folk songs from rural France, arranged for soprano and orchestra between 1923 and 1930. Sung in the Auvergnat dialect of Occitan, they blend traditional melodies—lullabies, love songs, and pastoral tunes—with lush, impressionistic, and often humorous orchestrations that evoke the region's landscape. Marie-Joseph Canteloube de Malaret was a French composer, musicologist, and author who lived from 1879 to 1957.
Preceding the May 2nd concert, Covenant Assistant Carillonist Keiran Cantilina will present a recital showcasing the 51 bronze bells of the newly restored Alexander McGaffin Memorial Carillon. The carillon program will begin at 6:45 pm.
Tickets for the concert are Pay-What-You-Wish and can be ordered at bluewaterorchestra.com or by calling 440-781-6215. They may also be purchased at the door. In University Circle, free parking is available in the church lot, Lot 54 at 1980 Ford Drive (adjacent to the church), on the street, and for $5 at University Hospitals Parking Garage (across the street from the church).
Photo Credit: Daniel Welch