Cleveland Orchestra Brings Oberlin's Season to a Stirring Close April 21

The Cleveland Orchestra, the world-renowned ensemble whose 99-year history is intertwined with that of Oberlin College & Conservatory, will return to campus Friday, April 21, for a performance in Finney Chapel of works by Delius, Vaughan Williams, and Strauss.

The 8 p.m. concert represents the 241st time The Cleveland Orchestra has performed at Oberlin and marks the final date of Oberlin’s 2016-17 Artist Recital Series. Prior to the performance, the 2017-18 Artist Recital Series season lineup will be revealed, along with opportunities for subscribers to renew their seats for next year.

The program opens with Brigg Fair, Frederick Delius’ joyful orchestration of an English folk song in which woodwinds perform the original choral parts.

It will be followed by Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Oboe and Strings, a pastoral and nostalgic piece written by the English composer amid the horrors of World War II. It features principal oboist Frank Rosenwein as soloist.

The evening concludes with Don Quixote, Richard Strauss’ tone poem based on the Cervantes novel. The piece’s soloists, principal cellist Mark Kosower and violist Wesley Collins, represent the story’s titular protagonist and his companion, Sancho Panza, respectively.

The performance will be conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

Led today by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, The Cleveland Orchestra was founded in 1918 by the Musical Arts Association, a key member of which was industrialist and Oberlin alumnus John Long Severance (class of 1885). Years later, Severance made a pivotal donation for the construction of the symphony hall that bears his name and remains the orchestra’s home today. The Cleveland Orchestra will celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2017-18. It has performed in Oberlin every year since its formation.

Tickets for The Cleveland Orchestra at Oberlin are $35 ($30 for seniors, members of the military, and Oberlin staff, faculty, and alumni), with $10 tickets available for all students. Purchase yours by calling 800-371-0178, visiting oberlin.edu/artsguide, or stopping by Oberlin’s Central Ticket service at Hall Auditorium (67 N. Main St.) from noon to 5 p.m. weekdays.

For more information about spring events at Oberlin, please visit calendar.oberlin.edu.