I thought it would be useful to have a thread devoted to arts news not specifically related to a development project.  My apologies if there is already something like this, but if so, I couldn't find it.

 

To kick us off, some bad news: I was seriously bummed to read that Red (an Orchestra) was was discontinuing operations.  I'd never been to one of their shows (I never seemed to be in town on the right days), but (despite the gimmicky name) it sounded very cool, and high quality.  The PD story below.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/stories/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/120617482612740.xml&coll=2

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2008/04/cleveland_institute_of_music_t.html

 

Good news for one of Cleveland's quietest all-star institutions:

 

Cleveland Institute of Music taps Juilliard professor as new president

by Donald Rosenberg / Plain Dealer Music Critic

Tuesday April 29, 2008, 2:00 PM

Peter Schaaf

 

Joel Smirnoff, who leads the violin program at New York's Juilliard School, will be named president of the Cleveland Institute of Music Wednesday...

 

Good idea to start this thread. And good news about Smirnoff coming to CIM.

Slam U: 6 local teens to compete in national poetry slam

 

 

Posted by dpolveri April 28, 2008 07:11AM

 

Six Northeast Ohio teens will begin training soon to compete at Brave New Voices, the 11th international national youth poetry slam festival, July 15-19 in Washington, D.C.

 

The Cleveland poetry team participated this spring in Slam U, a program of workshops and competitions presented by Playhouse Square. Poets were chosen after performing in several rounds of competition this month...

 

[glow=red,2,300]Watch the video within the link.[/glow]

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/04/6_local_teens_to_compete_in_na.html

Contract extension for Franz Welser-Möst as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, as reported in the NY Times.  Also in the article, excellent news about resuming full opera staging at Severance Hall and brining ballet to Blossom.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/arts/music/07cond.html

It's not really part of the expansion project, so maybe this is the best place to post the sad news about Timothy Rub leaving the art museum for Philadelphia.  Hopefully this won't hurt the expansion project.

 

The PD article: http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2009/06/directory_timothy_rub_leaving.html

 

The NYTimes Philly-centric coverage: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/arts/design/29museum.html?_r=1&ref=arts

I thought this was a great article.  I knew their were some community orchestras out there, but not this many:

 

Amateur musicians everywhere finding outlets in community orchestras

 

In the musical solar system of Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Orchestra is undoubtedly the sun, the large body around which other entities revolve.

But the brightness of one organization shouldn't leave the others in the shadows. For there are an astonishing number of small, non-professional orchestras in the region, and to their many members and home communities, they're hugely significant.

 

Read more at:

 

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/03/post_44.html

Ugh, this is really sad.  I would be really bummed if Cleveland ended up without a professional opera company. 

 

Future uncertain as Opera Cleveland's 2010 season nears end

After this week's double bill of "I Pagliacci" and Poulenc's "La voix humaine" at the State Theatre, the financially beleaguered company will go into performance hiatus while a task force tries to figure out where Opera Cleveland should head.

 

Is it curtains, in other words, for the company that began life in 1976 as Cleveland Opera? Or will the organization be able to survive by adopting a mission that veers dramatically from its grand-opera sensibility?

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/11/opera_clevelands_future_up_in.html

 

Check the Opera's website.  They give an detail explanation of their finances.

An awesome writeup of the thriving CSU music department from the PD:

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/12/a_renaissance_period_for_music.html

 

With CIM, Oberlin, BWC and an emergent CSU music department, that's a pretty nice cluster.

Any info on the Opera's future?

I think this is the proper thread for this:

 

Opera Cleveland's curtain could rise again

Published: Sunday, October 16, 2011, 6:00 AM

By Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer

 

 

Nearly a year has passed since Opera Cleveland made a sound. After presenting the double bill of Poulenc's "La voix humaine" and Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci," the company went on hiatus to take stock of its future.

 

More than a few skeptics in town believe it will never come back. Not necessarily, said board President Nikki DiFilippo.

 

"Opera Cleveland still exists," she said in a joint interview with former President Pauline Ramig.

 

For now, at least. In January, the job of exploring how -- if -- Opera Cleveland could continue was entrusted to a task force of local and national figures, who submitted a report to the board several months ago.

 

At this point, the company's remaining 13 board members -- down from a high of 55 -- continue to ponder the task force's recommendations. The report advises Opera Cleveland to perform small-scale productions in small venues -- not at the State Theatre in PlayhouseSquare, where it performed for 26 years -- and to partner with local organizations to share resources.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2011/10/opera_cleveland.html

Panels to Review Grant Applications for 2011 Project Support Funding

Record number of applicants for 2011 Cuyahoga Arts & Culture

 

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture will convene its fourth panel review of Project Support grant applications in public sessions Monday, October 17th through Wednesday, October 19th. The review panels will take place at the Idea Center in Playhouse Square, and applicants and the public are encouraged to attend. Sessions begin at 10am. 

 

The 100 applicants come from a wide range of Cuyahoga County-based organizations, large and small, suburban and urban.  This is a 30% increase in applications, and there are 33 organizations applying for the first time.  New this is year is a small grant program, Project Support II, which attracted 49 applicants for grants up to $5,000.  51 organizations applied to the traditional Project Support program which provides grants up to $50,000.  Local nonprofit organizations with 501c3 status that conduct arts and cultural programs open to the public are eligible to apply for project support grants.

CAC's review process is open to the public and will be streamed live via CAC's website,

www.cacgrants.org. NEW THIS YEAR: CAC will be Tweeting throughout the review sessions to keep followers up-to-date. We will also be updating our Facebook page regularly. If you have not done so, we encourage you to follow the links to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, and share the links with your networks. This will help greatly in our efforts to keep our review process accessible to everyone.

Wasn't 100% sure where to put this but David Franklin, director of Cleveland Museum of Art has suddenly resigned for personal reasons. This is pretty shocking... Nobody seems to know what's going on here.

 

www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/10/cleveland_museum_of_art_direct_1.html

Very shocking indeed (He is a neighbor of mine, I'll have to see what I can find out). 

 

Also, Accent closed in Uptown...

Wow...will be interesting to hear the story here. I recall he had an ugly exit from his prior appointment in Ottowa, but who knows if it was a similar issue...

 

Cleveland Museum of Art Director David Franklin resigns for personal reasons, effective immediately

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- David Franklin, who joined the Cleveland Museum of Art as its ninth director a little over three years ago, has resigned his post, effective immediately.

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/10/cleveland_museum_of_art_direct_1.html#incart_m-rpt-2

 

 

Thanks for posting here, I had this in another thread because I didn't know where to post.  There is something really weird going on, if you read the PD comments (I KNOW DANGER!) multiple people with, seemingly, knowledge of the situation indicate that some tragedy has forced this to happen.  I suppose we will find out soon enough.  Too bad

Thanks for posting here, I had this in another thread because I didn't know where to post.  There is something really weird going on, if you read the PD comments (I KNOW DANGER!) multiple people with, seemingly, knowledge of the situation indicate that some tragedy has forced this to happen.  I suppose we will find out soon enough.  Too bad

 

Also in the comments was this item:

 

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=f718982b-6273-45be-beb5-4d5c62783ff6

 

The fact that it goes completely unmentioned in the original article is sloppy journalism at best, and lends credence to the idea that something's been left out.

The Scene has details that the PD declined to print:

 

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2013/10/23/former-cleveland-museum-of-art-director-david-franklin-resigns-after-affair-suicide-cell-phone-of-victim-missing

And the PD has confirmed what The Scene already printed (as well as gave a better summation of Dr. Franklin's time with the National Gallery of Canada).

 

Cleveland Museum of Art confirms that an extramarital affair led to David Franklin's resignation as director

 

By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer

on October 24, 2013 at 10:58 AM, updated October 24, 2013 at 11:02 AM

 

The chairman of the Cleveland Museum of Art confirmed Wednesday that an extramarital affair with a museum employee, who committed suicide in April, led to David Franklin’s resignation on Monday as the institution’s director.

 

Cleveland lawyer R. Steven Kestner, the museum board chairman, said on Monday that Franklin resigned for “personal reasons.”

 

On Wednesday, Kestner said that the museum became aware in early October of a Cleveland Heights police report stating that Franklin called the police just after midnight on Sunday, April 29 to report the suicide by hanging of a then-former museum employee with whom he was later widely rumored to be having an affair.

 

Read More...

I'll give the Scene credit, they seem to get news first such as the Nashville Med Mart was going under.  My view is the PD is looking bad and had to do this story.

I'll give the Scene credit, they seem to get news first such as the Nashville Med Mart was going under.  My view is the PD is looking bad and had to do this story.

 

It's kind of embarrassing to get scooped by a free weekly, I would think.

 

The PeeDee did this completely half assed.  If you're going to report the story, report what is known.  Don't ignore the whole "why" part because you find it unsavory.

 

But yeah, they are reporting it because they have to.  It's kind of like the Lewinsky case.  Mainstream media knew stuff like that was going on, but until Drudge broke the story they preferred to ignore it.

A little background: Gatson had been living with her ex-boyfriend until he learned about the affair, and then kicked her out. She had also been very deep into suicidal tendencies and depression, and apparently used that darkness to manipulate the ex. It's also very likely Franklin stole her phone.

 

And Kestner is UTTERLY and COMPLETELY full of $hit. His resignation is a must.

I believe that the PD wanted some confirmation before printing a lurid story about a prominent citizen.  The Scene has no such compunctions.

I'm sure the PD's initial silence had nothing to do with the fact that their publisher was on the art museum's board of trustees....

 

EDIT: now the PD has gone to the exact opposite extreme and is publishing the name of the girl who committed suicide and reporting other things that I do not believe should be published. I think some at the PD need to go back to J-school.

I'm sure the PD's initial silence had nothing to do with the fact that their publisher was on the art museum's board of trustees....

 

EDIT: now the PD has gone to the exact opposite extreme and is publishing the name of the girl who committed suicide and reporting other things that I do not believe should be published. I think some at the PD need to go back to J-school.

 

Oh, long since.  Actually, what they need is some strong leadership.  They either completely slack, or try way too hard.

Oh boy - the shite is going down

 

David Franklin Lied to Cleveland Heights Police the Night He Found Christina Gaston's Body

 

Phone records provided to Scene by Christina Gaston’s family show definitively that former Cleveland Museum of Art Director David Franklin gave false information to Cleveland Heights police officers on April 29, 2013, when he allegedly discovered Gaston’s body at her apartment on Euclid Heights Boulevard in the very early morning.

 

Franklin told police, and provided handwritten testimony in their report, that he’d received a text message from Christina Gaston at 8 p.m. the previous night (Saturday, April 27). According to Franklin, that text said: “depressed from work.”

 

But Christina Gaston’s phone records show only one text on April 27. It was sent from Gaston’s phone at 6:06 p.m. to a number which Scene has confirmed is not David Franklin’s. What prodded Franklin to allegedly visit her apartment that night if that text was never sent?

 

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2013/10/31/david-franklin-lied-to-cleveland-heights-police-the-night-he-found-christina-gastons-body

 

I assumed he was being shady to hide his relationship with her from the police, the CMA, and his wife.  Maybe not, though

If anyone's into spoken word poetry, Mahall's in Lakewood has a Monday night event going.

 

My brother, who was active until '02 or so, kicked it off last night.

freshwatercleveland.com

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture seeks diversity and equity in next decade

Karin Connelly Rice Thursday, October 05, 2017

13-17 minutes

 

Northeast Ohio is known around the globe for its rich cultural centers. The Cleveland Orchestra is internationally acclaimed, while Playhouse Square forms the largest theater district outside of New York City. Museums, community theaters, beachfront concerts, dance companies, and more round out the region's wealth of cultural attractions.

 

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) helps ensure the arts continue to thrive in Cuyahoga County through its public funding of non-profit organizations—both large and small—that bring cultural programming to millions of residents each year. Founded in 2007 through a cigarette tax that was overwhelmingly renewed in 2015, CAC is one of the largest public funders of the arts in the United States; to date, the organization has invested more than $158 million in approximately 350 arts groups within its first 10 years.

 

http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/features/CACSecondDecade100517.aspx?utm_source=Emma&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Cuyahoga+Arts+%26+Culture+seeks+diversity+and+equity+in+next+decade&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_campaign=ICYMI%3a+The+reinvention+of+Kinsman%2c+plus+a+new+Who%27s+Hiring+in+CLE

Very nice puff piece about the Orchestra in the NYTimes today:

 

At 100, the Cleveland Orchestra May (Quietly) Be America’s Best

CLEVELAND — Sound the trumpets, peal the bells! The Cleveland Orchestra, which many consider one of the finest ensembles in the nation and the world, turns 100 this year.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/22/arts/music/cleveland-orchestra-carnegie-hall.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront

 

[EDIT: "Puff piece" a poor choice of words. It's just a plain old nice piece.]

its nice to see something in the nytimes, but re that headline i dont think there is anything quiet about the cle orchestra. its been consistently that well known for quite awhile.

its nice to see something in the nytimes, but re that headline i dont think there is anything quiet about the cle orchestra. its been consistently that well known for quite awhile.

 

Ditto with the Cleveland Cinemateque. Stellar national reputation.

At least they didn't mention Levine. 

At least they didn't mention Levine. 

 

he's from Cincinnati anyway, so ultimately they're responsible. Kidding ::)

Google Arts & Culture launches website devoted to the riches of Cleveland’s ‘outsized’ cultural scene

Published: Nov. 16, 2022, 5:30 a.m.

By Steven Litt, cleveland.com

 

Quote

Google, the global search engine, wants the world to know more about Cleveland’s vibrant arts and culture community — much more.

 

On Wednesday, November 16, the company is scheduled to launch a new website on its Google Arts & Culture platform devoted exclusively to Cleveland: goo.gle/explorecleveland.

 

Entitled, “Created in Cleveland: From industrial powerhouse to bustling arts city,’’ the site will go live at 4 p.m., during an event at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/11/google-arts-culture-launches-website-devoted-to-the-riches-of-clevelands-outsized-cultural-scene.html