Wednesday, July 1 was the first night of five concert rebroadcasting series hosted by the Kent Blossom Music Festival (KBMF). The KBMF is a concert series usually put on by students of the festival that are participating in a five-week long training program. The festival focuses on practicing each artist’s craft and sharpening their musical skills. 

Typically, the festival entails multiple concerts performed by the students in multiple locations around the Portage County area. At the end of the program, the students get to perform at the Blossom Music Center with members of the Cleveland Orchestra. 

The series began with an introduction by Ricardo Sepúlveda, director of the Kent Blossom Music Festival. The concert started with the Miami String Quartet performing four songs by Franz Joseph Haydn. The music had a very classical sound, very rhythmic. The strings have their own distinct sound that is displayed beautifully by The Cleveland Orchestra. 

Following the Miami quartet was pianist Spencer Myer.

Myer has been a visiting artist of the music festival since 2008. Myer’s hometown is North Ridgeville, Ohio, so the festival continues to give him a reason to come home in the summer for a few weeks now that he lives in New York City.

Myer has loved making music with his colleagues and continuing to learn chamber music. “I love to see the students experience this joy of making music with each other through this great repertoire, it is so satisfying for all of the faculty,” said Myer in his testimony that was pre-recorded for the virtual broadcast of the concerts this year. 

Myer introduced the next selection of songs which were composed by Ludwig van Beethoven; it was also in honor of celebrating the 250 anniversary of Beethoven music. They were performed by a string quartet accompanied by a pianist. 

After the quartet performed, a rebroadcast of a testimony from a young artist, Wei-An Hung, played. 

She is a cellist that participated in the festival in 2017 and 2018. “The festival is a chance to learn chamber music and orchestra,” said Hung. “We actually got the chance to play with TCO, side-by-side concert and that was a life-changing experience for me.”

Lastly, there were three selections by Max Bruch, performed by a string quartet. Each musician was very ardent about each motion and stroke they had to take. Each song was practiced too intensely, to perfect every note, to perform each selection, perfectly, the way they deserve to be performed. 

The songs are well respected and have passed through time so effortlessly. The more slow songs or Allegro ma non troppo, were very soothing and beautiful to sit back and listen to. 

But the fast, or presto songs, were magnificent in a way that the Allegro music cannot be. It has such a unique tone and rhythm. It is unlike any other kind of music. Its fast pace puts you in a tone of adrenaline. For someone that does not listen to classical music very often, enjoying the concert went from laying back and relaxing to the music, to wanting to watch how fast their arms moved. It was mesmerizing. 

Each of the songs performed was very different in their own unique way. There was a wide variety of types of songs performed. Including more fast-paced songs, andante, Largo ma non troppo, Allegro ma non troppo, Presto, Grave: Allegro, ma non troppo, Andante Cantabile, Rondo, and a few others. 

The festival that Kent and the Cleveland Orchestra put on together each is a great opportunity for all young musicians, looking for all ways to get better at their passion. 

Contact Jessica Urig at [email protected].