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Classical artists join anti-gun lobby

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norman lebrecht

September 12, 2016

On September 25 there will be concerts across the US in support of an end to gun violence. A classical section is being rallied by Musicians Against Gun Violence in America with classical musicians sounding off at the following locations.

Go support them if you can.

Cleveland, Ohio: At U.S. Bank Plaza in Playhouse Square, 12:30pm. Performers include musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra, from the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, from the Cleveland Institute of Music, from Classical Revolution Cleveland, and from Quire Cleveland. (Below is a fuller list of performers.) The program features a mix of classical and popular numbers, many of which will be on the themes of peace and remembrance. The concert is hosted by Jeff Kurkjian, host of “The Jeff Show” on Q104, and Angela Mitchell, assistant producer for WCLV Classical 104.9. Both hosts also perform on the program. Mitchell is a board member of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence and is organizing the event.

Cleveland performers:

Factory Seconds Brass Trio (made up of brass players from The Cleveland Orchestra)

Singers from the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus

Brett Mitchell (Associate Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra)
String quartet from the Cleveland Institute of Music

Classical Revolution Cleveland (graduates of CIM)

duo In2ative (graduates of CIM)

Cleveland Cello Quartet (current and former students of CIM)

Singers from Quire Cleveland

Angela Mitchell (singer, radio personality, board member of Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence)

Jeff Kurkjian (host of “The Jeff Show” on Cleveland’s Q104)

Danbury, Connecticut: At Danbury Music Center, presented by composer and Danbury native Paul Frucht in partnership with Sandy Hook Promise. The program, to be performed by recent graduates of the Juilliard School, will realize the mission of Sandy Hook Promise through music, featuring works by Jonathan Cziner, Miles Davis, Paul Frucht, Ives, Ravel and Vaughan Williams.

Performers include: Katherine Lee Althen, flute
Yuga Cohler, conductor
Anastasia Dolak, violin
Robert Fleitz, piano
Molly Goldman, viola
Isabel Hagen, viola
Hannah Ji, violin
Ben Laude, piano
Emily Levin, harp
Ariana Nelson, cello
Andrew O’Donnell, clarinet
Chelsea Starbuck Smith, violin
Theo Van Dyck, trumpet
Sebastian Zinca, double bass

York, PA: hosted by Zion Lutheran Church and its Director of Music Ministries, Mark Mummert. Performers are 15 local professional vocalists (including 6 sopranos) and instrumentalists playing works by J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, Puccini, Copland, Bernstein, and Miranda’s Broadway musical “Hamilton”, among others. An offering will benefit Everytown for Gun Safety.

Ann Arbor, Michigan (details still tba): featuring Louis Nagel, piano, and a performance of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony conducted by Kevin Fitzgerald, who led Mozart’s Requiem at the Requiem for Orlando.

UPDATE: We have been asked to clarify that Musicians Against Gun Violence in America is one of dozens of organizations banding together under the banner of the Concert Across America to End Gun Violence.