The haunting melodies of Fanny Mendelssohn’s darker first movement from her String Quartet in E-flat Major, the dramatic conclusion to Britten’s Simple Symphony, and the soaring rhythms of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 will ring throughout the Fine Arts Center stage at the Mentor High School as the Cleveland Institute of Music’s (CIM) Orchestra performs this intense program on Wednesday, November 20th at 7:30 p.m. Resonating far beyond the final note and preceding the actual CIM program, there will be a unique side-by-side performance of Sibelius’s heroic Finlandia, which brings CIM’s world-class performers together with the talented students of Mentor High School’s Symphony Orchestra. 

This program is more than a simple event. This program is more than a concert. On November 20th, not only will the community be provided with rich, evocative, and lively music, but young Mentor High School students and musicians will possess the immersive opportunity to gain invaluable first-hand experience and insight into what studying at one of the world’s top conservatories entails.

Cardinal Nation reached out to different individuals from CIM to provide their fruitful insight into the uniqueness of the CIM and the tremendous impact this performance has on both aspiring young musicians and the community. 

“By bringing the CIM orchestra to the Mentor High School campus,” CIM’s President and CEO Paul Hogle says, “high school musicians can have real time, casual conversations with current college students enrolled in one of the nation’s most prestigious conservatories of music.”

Rarely does such an opportunity arise for young students. Commonly, young musicians attend musical events as the spectator and listener. They do not have the opportunity to personally engage with a member of a prestigious conservatory. They do not have the opportunity to sit inside a world-class ensemble.

On November 20th, however, Mentor High School students will be provided with a precious opportunity to feel, see, and hear what it is like to be part of an elite musical group.

“There’s both a pragmatic and a practical dimension to our concert in Mentor,” Hogle explains. “CIM‘s main concert hall has been under construction for a year, and therefore all of the orchestra concerts have been distributed to venues across northeast Ohio, from Mentor High School to Severance Hall; John Hay High School to the Maltz Performing Arts Center.”

With their regular performing centers under renovation, the CIM sought this opportunity to perform in Mentor as “a thank you and an introduction.” Although through the CIM Academy, students at the middle and high school level from Lake to Lorain County are provided with music study and lessons, with this renovation being undergone for over a year, the CIM has been performing at locations all across northeast Ohio, with many being a first-time occurrence, such as this upcoming performance in Mentor.

Digging deeper into the impact this event will have on students, it is important to see what aspects make CIM unique and distinct from other ensembles and opportunities for growth.

“The Cleveland Institute of Music is one of America’s seven independent, private conservatories of music,” Hogle says, “which includes schools like the New England Conservatory, The Juilliard School, and others.”

The programs at CIM are world-class. Talented students from around the globe undergo an extremely thorough application and scrupulous audition process. The College of CIM is made up of a smaller number of 300 students, so naturally, there is meticulous attention to detail, with a focus on individual and group mastery of musicianship. Members of the CIM Conservatory are provided with a highly conscientious, intimate, and personalized path of immense growth and education musically. Students of CIM can earn a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree and continue to pursue elite-tier careers in music. The ensemble that is coming to Mentor for this upcoming performance is particularly unique, as they are a conductor-less ensemble, where the concertmaster (first chair violinist) is the ensemble leader. 

Todd Phillips, a highly acclaimed musician, founder of the Orion String Quartet, and the concertmaster and ensemble leader for this performance, also answered questions that better highlight how the side-by-side performance of Finlandia will impart vast benefits and experience to the Mentor High School musicians participating in the concert.

“In the case of the upcoming performance of Finlandia where some CIM musicians will join with Mentor High School students,” Phillips substantiates, supporting Hogle, “the younger players can get a feel for what their musical community might be like in a few years if they decide to pursue a college Music Conservatory degree.”

Students at Mentor High School are privileged to have such a tremendously successful musical program in their district, but the lessons that can be learned from a world-class ensemble like the CIM orchestra are unparalleled.

Underscoring the uniqueness of this event is the difference in the setting and processes that make up this ensemble compared to other orchestral groups.

“What makes this ensemble different from a regular orchestral setting is that during the rehearsal process,” Phillips emphasizes, “all of the players are encouraged to make suggestions as to how to interpret the musical selections being played.”

With each player being encouraged to share how they interpret the music, a consistent dialogue of collaboration, learning, and emotion is facilitated. Although the audience is not directly involved in this process, often the audience recognizes the electric environment that emits immense dedication, commitment, and cooperation from the group. Part of the goal of this program is to inspire the next generation of music, and seeing how an ensemble does not always take a set shape encourages high school musicians to pursue the path that fits their own person and character.

This dynamic and highly especial program will be a ticketed event but tickets will be free of charge. The CIM and the Mentor Fine Arts program encourage you to come and enjoy this outstanding program. Reach out to your friends and family to come to this event to experience phenomenal collegiate-level playing. Come to this event where music inspires, music connects, and where the music played stays and resonates with you.