Cleveland Orchestra unveils 2021 Blossom Music Festival season

Classical music will return this summer to the Cuyahoga Valley. 

After canceling last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cleveland Orchestra on Sunday unveiled its 2021 Blossom Music Festival.

The festival will feature 11 concerts from July 3 to Sept. 5 at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls. Orchestra officials said the concerts will be in compliance with county, state and federal health guidelines, including limited capacity, social distancing and masks for entry.

Subscriptions are on sale now; individual tickets are available for purchase May 3.

“It has been more than a year since the Cleveland Orchestra played live concerts for the devoted people of our hometown community, and we’re eagerly looking forward to performing for music lovers across Northeast Ohio this summer,” said André Gremillet, president and chief executive officer of the Cleveland Orchestra, in a prepared statement.

“Although this has been a challenging and, for so many, a tragic time, we believe that the upcoming Blossom Music Festival season will provide a measure of joy and relief — offering an opportunity for our community to come together again through the extraordinary power of music. Enjoying picnics and music at Blossom is a beloved summertime tradition, and we hope this year’s concerts will mark a joyful reunion for all of us — musicians, audience, staff, volunteers, and our entire Northeast Ohio community.” 

Here are the program highlights:

• The festival will begin July 3 with “An American Celebration.” Former Cleveland Orchestra associate conductor Brett Mitchell will lead the Fourth of July weekend program featuring patriotic songs from American composers.

• The orchestra will present an all-Mozart program July 11 under the direction of British conductor Jane Glover. The composer’s Symphony No. 40 will be featured.

• The July 18 concert is titled “The Great American Songbook.” Broadway vocalist Capathia Jenkins and Canadian conductor Lucas Waldin will present songs by U.S. composers George Gershwin and Duke Ellington. 

• Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, music director of the San Diego Symphony, will make his Cleveland Orchestra debut July 25 in a concert featuring Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”). 

• Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt will return to Blossom on Aug. 1 for a program featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Blomstedt has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra in 15 of the last 20 years. 

• “The Classical Mystery Tour,” a tribute to the Beatles, will be Aug. 8, featuring “Penny Lane” with a live trumpet section, “Yesterday” with guitar and strings and other favorites from the Fab Four. 

• U.S. conductor Karina Canellakis, chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, will make her Cleveland Orchestra debut Aug. 15 with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. 

• Jahja Ling, former Cleveland Orchestra conductor and former music director of the Blossom Music Festival, will return Aug. 22 for a program featuring Brahms’ Third Symphony.

• Hong Kong conductor Elim Chan, who originally was scheduled to make her Cleveland Orchestra debut last season, will lead a concert Aug. 28 featuring English composer Edward Elgar’s "Enigma Variations." 

• The Labor Day weekend program “Hollywood Under the Stars” on Sept. 4-5 will feature movie conductor Richard Kaufman in a concert featuring music from “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter,” “E.T.” and other blockbuster films.

“This Blossom Music Festival season celebrates our community, with music that we know our fans have been eager to hear again,” said Ilya Gidalevich, artistic administrator of the Cleveland Orchestra, in a prepared statement. “For this long-awaited return to the Blossom stage, audiences will experience some of their favorite classical music — like the works of Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, Elgar, and Dvořák. As always, expect to see a mix of rising, international music stars and fan favorite conductors and soloists along with the unmatched musicians of ‘America’s Finest Orchestra.’”

During the pandemic, safety protocols will be enforced at Blossom Music Center.

Guests will be asked to wear masks covering their nose and mouth at all times, except when eating and drinking with members of their household. Guests are welcome to bring picnics and eat on the grounds of the venue.

Monitors will help maintain social distancing on the lawn, encouraging household members to set up chairs 6 feet from other groups. Pavilion seating also will include social distancing.

Cleveland Orchestra and Blossom Music Center staff, musicians and volunteers will wear masks, undergo daily temperature scans, frequently wash and sanitize hands and disinfect surfaces regularly. 

For subscription renewals or questions about this summer’s procedures, call the Severance Hall ticket office at 216-231-1111 or 1-800-686-1141, or send an email to boxoffice@clevelandorchestra.com. Tickets and packages can also be purchased online at clevelandorchestra.com. The Blossom box office will be open three hours before each concert.

Individual tickets for the rest of the Blossom Music Festival season will go on sale to the general public May 3. Tickets start at $25. 

Additional repertoire and guest artists will be announced in May. For more information, go to clevelandorchestra.com.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com.