The Cleveland Orchestra announces selected performances for the BLOSSOM MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Cleveland Orchestra announced a lineup of films and special presentations on Sunday as part of its 2023 Blossom Music Festival. .

The concerts will take place at the Blossom Music Center, the Orchestra’s summer home in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, from July 3 through September 3, 2023.

Newly announced performances include Beethoven’s triumphant Symphony No. 9 (“Choir”), Broadway classics sung by six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, and acclaimed pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Michael Feinstein joining forces for the first time in a program celebrating the Great American Songbook. The popular film series with live Orchestra accompaniment continues with a 30th anniversary performance of Jurassic Park, featuring legendary composer John Williams’ iconic score, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the second of the trilogy of films based on JRR Tolkien’s novels with Howard Shore’s epic score. Over Labor Day weekend, the Orchestra performs Disney: The Sound of Magic, which looks back on 100 years of Disney’s most beloved films.

Another highlight of the season is the Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Summer Soirée, a special event to benefit the Blossom Music Festival. This magical evening on Sunday July 23 includes an elegant dinner under the stars, followed by the concert.

Lawn ticket books are available now for $160. That’s $20 off the regular book price and over $100 off individually priced tickets. This special offer ends on December 31, 2022.

Individual tickets for all Blossom Pops subscription concerts and special events, including Jurassic Park, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Disney: The Sound of Magic, will go on sale for donors and subscribers of the Cleveland Orchestra on Monday, November 7. General ticket sales to the public begin Thursday, November 10. Single tickets range from $25 to $121.

Under 18s Free helps make attending Blossom Music Festival concerts more affordable for families. With every regular-priced adult ticket purchased, a family can get two free lawn coupons for children 17 and under.

Under 18s Free is a program of the Cleveland Orchestra’s Center for Future Audiences. The Center, established through a senior endowment gift from the Maltz Family Foundation, was established to fund programs aimed at developing new generations of audiences for Cleveland Orchestra concerts in northeast Ohio .

About the Blossom Music Center, summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra

The Blossom Music Center was established as the Cleveland Orchestra’s summer home and opened in July 1968 with performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by George Szell. The 200-acre musical park includes the award-winning and acoustically acclaimed Blossom Pavilion, designed by renowned Cleveland architect Peter van Dijk and accommodating more than 5,000 people under cover. The adjoining Blossom Lawn can accommodate up to 15,000 additional people outside in a vast amphitheater of natural lawn surrounded by bucolic woodlands.

In the more than half a century since Blossom opened, headliners and yet-to-be-discovered young artists across all genres have created unforgettable musical experiences for more than 21 million visitors. . In a typical summer, Blossom hosts over 400,000 visitors, who attend concerts ranging from rock, country and pop to classical. Live Nation operates Blossom under a long-term contract with the Cleveland Orchestra, splitting each year between the Orchestra’s Blossom Music Festival of orchestral performances and a series of presentations of many genres.

Located 25 miles south of Cleveland and just north of Akron, Blossom is located in the hills of Cuyahoga Valley State Park, which preserves 33,000 acres of natural parkland along the Cuyahoga River. The Blossom Music Center was named in honor of the Dudley S. Blossom family, who have been a mainstay of the Cleveland Orchestra throughout its history. Blossom is within the city limits of Cuyahoga Falls, an Ohio community first settled in the early 1800s at 1145 West Steels Corners Road in Summit County. For more information, visit clevelandorchestra.com/discover/blossom-music-center/.

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2023 Schedule of Blossom Music Festival Pops and Special Performances

All shows at the Blossom Music Center, summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Beethoven’s Ode to Joy

Saturday July 1 at 8:00 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Jahja Ling, conductor
Flower Festival Chorus

WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 (“Chorus”)

An ode to joy. A hymn to humanity. Discover one of the most powerful and inspiring works of art in history. A masterpiece whose staggering influence is felt across cultures around the world, it culminates in the famous Ode to Joy, a rallying cry for hope, humanity and universal brotherhood.

Special performance – not on subscription series.

Hello America

Sunday July 2 at 8:00 p.m.
Monday, July 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday July 4 at 8:00 p.m.

Flower Festival Orchestra
Loras John Schissel, conductor

Great music, fireworks and fun for the whole family! The traditional star-studded Blossom celebration with the Blossom Festival Band returns with a mix of patriotic marches, Broadway favorites, an armed forces salute and more complete with fireworks (weather permitting).

Live movie night:

jurassic park

Friday July 7 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday July 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday July 9 at 7:00 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Sarah Hicks, conductor

WILLIAMS Jurassic Park (film with live orchestral subtitle)

Welcome… to Jurassic Park! Relive the magic of Jurassic Park on the big screen with a thrilling rendition of John Williams’ iconic score by the Cleveland Orchestra. The action-packed adventure pits humans against prehistoric predators in the ultimate battle for survival. With visually stunning visuals and groundbreaking special effects, this epic film is pure cinematic magic 65 million years old.

Jurassic Park in Concert is produced by Film Concerts Live!, a joint venture between IMG Artists, LLC and The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc.

She has a soul

Sunday July 16 at 7:00 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Lucas Waldin, conductor

Capathia Jenkins, vocals

A varied review of R&B classics. The sensational Capathia Jenkins brings her powerful voice to the soulful hits of Adele, Toni Braxton, The Jackson 5, Earth, Wind and Fire, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder and other great soul and R&B artists.

Two pianos: what more could you ask for?

Sunday July 23 at 7:00 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Keith Lockhart, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Michael Feinstein, piano and vocals

Discover the music of Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers and many more when two of today’s most celebrated artists – Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Michael Feinstein – join forces for the first time in an innovative program for two pianos, celebrating the captivating music and world of George Gershwin, including the Rhapsody in Blue. Renowned singer and pianist Feinstein is a leading authority on the Great American Songbook, while Cleveland favorite Thibaudet brings his sparkling virtuosity as one of today’s finest pianists.

Summer Party: This special fundraising event takes place before the concert. For more information on the Blossom Summer Soirée, as well as ticket and table options, please contact Sean Brewster at specialevents@clevelandorchestra.com.

Live movie night:

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Friday July 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday July 29 at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday July 30 at 7:00 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra
Ludwig Wicki, conductor

Flower Festival Chorus
Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Choir

SHORE The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (film with live orchestral subtitle, choir and soloists)

A new power emerges…the Journey continues. Experience the second installment of the epic trilogy on the big screen, with the original score performed live by the Cleveland Orchestra! Composer Howard Shore brings the literary imagination of JRR Tolkien to life with his Academy Award- and Grammy-winning scores for the films of Peter Jackson. In the second chapter of the saga, The Two Towers, the world has darkened, hidden under the advancing shadow of Mordor and the threat of the evil One Ring.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is produced by Columbia Artists Music, LLC.

Sunday August 13 at 7:00 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Andy Einhorn, conductor

Audra McDonald, vocals

Named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2015, Emmy, Grammy and six-time Tony Award winner, Broadway icon Audra McDonald, star of CBS’ The Good Fight and The Gilded Age of HBO, joins the Cleveland Orchestra for a special evening of Broadway Favorites by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, George Gershwin and more, featuring songs from their latest album, Sing Happy.

Live movie night:

Disney: The Sound of Magic

Friday, September 1 at 7:00 p.m.

Saturday September 2 at 7:00 p.m.

Sunday September 3 at 7:00 p.m.

The Cleveland Orchestra

Susie Benchasil Seiter, conductor

Join the Cleveland Orchestra for Disney in Concert: The Sound of Magic, a symphonic celebration of Disney music, animation and memorabilia – 100 years in the making!

Your favorite characters and soundtracks from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Parks come to life on the concert hall stage and on the big screen in a live-to-film concert like never before. Performed live by The Cleveland Orchestra, this new concert takes you on a magic carpet through the most memorable songs, scores and films from The Walt Disney Company’s first 100 years, including Peter Pan, Moana, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Frozen, The Lion King, Fantasia, Encanto, Disney Park Classics, and more.

Join the party and experience The Sound of Magic.

All programs, artists and prices are subject to change.