Event Calendar
Events for Sunday, May 11, 2025
Heights Chamber Orchestra Concert
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Dean Buck, Guest Conductor
Dr. Konrad Kowal, violin
Award-winning Conductor Dean Buck has been described by Cleveland Classical as “fearless and firm,” and “precise and confident.” In September 2023, Dean was awarded Second Prize (First Prize was not awarded) at the 2nd International Italian Conducting Competition - Alceo Galliera in Bordighera, Italy.
Dean serves as opera conductor at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. In 2021, he was co-music director for Operas [In Place]: a series of virtual operas that won Opera America’s Award for Digital Excellence in Opera. For this, Buck collaborated with numerous composers and librettists to premiere works specifically written for virtual performance. He is the Interim Director of Orchestras at The University of Akron, and Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master of Cleveland Opera Theater.
Dean previously served as Principal Conductor of the New York City based LoftOpera where he conducted eight productions. The New York Times called his conducting “tender and gentle,” as well as “agile and well balanced.”
Since relocating to Cleveland, Dean has cemented himself in the orchestral scene. He is a frequent Guest Conductor of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and The Firelands Symphony Orchestra. He regularly appears with the Heights Chamber Orchestra and Suburban Symphony Orchestra, and has worked extensively with the Blue Streak Ensemble, a contemporary chamber group founded by renowned composer Margaret Brouwer.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dean holds a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from The Cleveland Institute of Music and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from The New School.
Dr. Konrad Kowal is a Chicago born Polish American violinist. In May 2024, Konrad received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) and was the recipient of the Hope and Stanley Adelstein Prize for Excellence in Orchestral Performance. A committed orchestral musician, Konrad serves as the Concertmaster of the Canton Symphony Orchestra and the Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra. He also performs with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and CityMusic. As a soloist, Konrad was a winner of the Park Ridge Civic Orchestra Scholarship Competition, received honorable mention in the DePaul Concerto Competition, and was a semi-finalist in the Kosciuszko Foundation Wieniawski Competition. He regularly performs recitals across the United States. As a chamber musician, Konrad has collaborated with the Emerson String Quartet and with members of the Cleveland Orchestra. His mentors include Olga Kaler, Ilya Kaler, Malcolm Lowe, and Stephen Rose, and he has had masterclasses with renowned artists Vadim Gluzman, Phil Setzer, Robert Chen, Philippe Quint, and Yo-Yo Ma among others. 2024–25 Season highlights include a solo debut with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, performing Max Bruch’s First Violin Concerto and performing Brahms Violin Concerto with the Heights Chamber Orchestra. In addition to performance, Konrad teaches privately and is the teaching assistant of Olga Kaler. Konrad plays on a violin made by Joseph Curtin. He resides in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with his wife, Weronika.
Fierrabras is a three-act opera written by composer Franz Schubert in 1823, The libretto, combined the ancient French epic poem the Chanson de Roland, a fictional tale based on Charlemagne’s campaign against the Moors. Although Fierrabras did not premier in its entirety until 1897, parts of the piece saw performances at various times in the nineteenth century, including a number of concert appearances for the overture. An 1867 review in The Musical World reports that the overture “has the imprint of Schubert’s individuality stamped on every theme and passage ... [and] found a large number of hearers, and hearty appreciation to boot,” while an 1872 review in the same publication states that “Schubert’s overture ... deserves more frequent hearing. It is very original, like everything that came from the pen of its wonderfully gifted author ... and [it] made a deep impression.”
Finlandia, is a tone poem for orchestra by Jean Sibelius. It was composed in 1899 and premiered in the composer’s native Finland. The central melody is sometimes sung as the hymn “Be Still, My Soul.” Finlandia had its origins in political protest. It was written for the Finnish Press Pension Celebration of 1899, a thinly veiled rally in support of freedom of the Finnish press, then largely controlled by tsarist Russia. Sibelius’s contribution to the three-day pageant was a set of nationalistic musical tableaux. Several of these pieces he later recycled into the suite Historic Scenes No. 1, but the grand finale, originally called “Finland Awakes,” became what is now known as Finlandia.
The tone poem begins with brass and timpani setting a tense and ominous mood. A darkly regal atmosphere is created by the gradual addition of strings and woodwinds. A brisk, driving passage of energy follows, leading gradually to a new mood that is bright and festive. The serene central melody then plays out in expansive phrases.
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77, is a three-movement concerto for violin and orchestra by Johannes Brahms featuring the talents of a longtime friend, the Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim. The work, which is known for its lyrical melodies and orchestration, melded the sense of grandeur present in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and the flavor of the Hungarian folk rhythms of Joachim’s native land. The Brahms violin concerto has long been a favorite of virtuoso violinists.
Brahms began to write this work in the summer of 1878, although Joachim and Brahms had performed together for decades, Brahms nevertheless sent him the first movement solo part, instructing him,
You should correct it, not sparing the quality of the composition…. I shall be satisfied if you will mark those parts which are difficult, awkward, or impossible to play.
The violinist complied, starting a lengthy correspondence concerning the concerto. Some listeners were skeptical of the new piece, which seemed as if it would prove to be beyond the abilities of most violinists. One observer, conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow, asserted that it was a concerto not for but “against the violin,” and Brahms and Joachim continued to revise the work until its publication six months later. One feature of the work that remained was a passage in the second movement in which the violin soloist steps out of the spotlight to allow for an extended oboe solo.
Location:
Communion of Saints, St. Ann's Church
2175 Coventry Road
Cleveland Heights, OH
Click here for more information
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Dean Buck, Guest Conductor
Dr. Konrad Kowal, violin
Award-winning Conductor Dean Buck has been described by Cleveland Classical as “fearless and firm,” and “precise and confident.” In September 2023, Dean was awarded Second Prize (First Prize was not awarded) at the 2nd International Italian Conducting Competition - Alceo Galliera in Bordighera, Italy.
Dean serves as opera conductor at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. In 2021, he was co-music director for Operas [In Place]: a series of virtual operas that won Opera America’s Award for Digital Excellence in Opera. For this, Buck collaborated with numerous composers and librettists to premiere works specifically written for virtual performance. He is the Interim Director of Orchestras at The University of Akron, and Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master of Cleveland Opera Theater.
Dean previously served as Principal Conductor of the New York City based LoftOpera where he conducted eight productions. The New York Times called his conducting “tender and gentle,” as well as “agile and well balanced.”
Since relocating to Cleveland, Dean has cemented himself in the orchestral scene. He is a frequent Guest Conductor of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and The Firelands Symphony Orchestra. He regularly appears with the Heights Chamber Orchestra and Suburban Symphony Orchestra, and has worked extensively with the Blue Streak Ensemble, a contemporary chamber group founded by renowned composer Margaret Brouwer.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dean holds a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from The Cleveland Institute of Music and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance from The New School.
Dr. Konrad Kowal is a Chicago born Polish American violinist. In May 2024, Konrad received his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) and was the recipient of the Hope and Stanley Adelstein Prize for Excellence in Orchestral Performance. A committed orchestral musician, Konrad serves as the Concertmaster of the Canton Symphony Orchestra and the Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra. He also performs with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and CityMusic. As a soloist, Konrad was a winner of the Park Ridge Civic Orchestra Scholarship Competition, received honorable mention in the DePaul Concerto Competition, and was a semi-finalist in the Kosciuszko Foundation Wieniawski Competition. He regularly performs recitals across the United States. As a chamber musician, Konrad has collaborated with the Emerson String Quartet and with members of the Cleveland Orchestra. His mentors include Olga Kaler, Ilya Kaler, Malcolm Lowe, and Stephen Rose, and he has had masterclasses with renowned artists Vadim Gluzman, Phil Setzer, Robert Chen, Philippe Quint, and Yo-Yo Ma among others. 2024–25 Season highlights include a solo debut with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, performing Max Bruch’s First Violin Concerto and performing Brahms Violin Concerto with the Heights Chamber Orchestra. In addition to performance, Konrad teaches privately and is the teaching assistant of Olga Kaler. Konrad plays on a violin made by Joseph Curtin. He resides in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with his wife, Weronika.
Fierrabras is a three-act opera written by composer Franz Schubert in 1823, The libretto, combined the ancient French epic poem the Chanson de Roland, a fictional tale based on Charlemagne’s campaign against the Moors. Although Fierrabras did not premier in its entirety until 1897, parts of the piece saw performances at various times in the nineteenth century, including a number of concert appearances for the overture. An 1867 review in The Musical World reports that the overture “has the imprint of Schubert’s individuality stamped on every theme and passage ... [and] found a large number of hearers, and hearty appreciation to boot,” while an 1872 review in the same publication states that “Schubert’s overture ... deserves more frequent hearing. It is very original, like everything that came from the pen of its wonderfully gifted author ... and [it] made a deep impression.”
Finlandia, is a tone poem for orchestra by Jean Sibelius. It was composed in 1899 and premiered in the composer’s native Finland. The central melody is sometimes sung as the hymn “Be Still, My Soul.” Finlandia had its origins in political protest. It was written for the Finnish Press Pension Celebration of 1899, a thinly veiled rally in support of freedom of the Finnish press, then largely controlled by tsarist Russia. Sibelius’s contribution to the three-day pageant was a set of nationalistic musical tableaux. Several of these pieces he later recycled into the suite Historic Scenes No. 1, but the grand finale, originally called “Finland Awakes,” became what is now known as Finlandia.
The tone poem begins with brass and timpani setting a tense and ominous mood. A darkly regal atmosphere is created by the gradual addition of strings and woodwinds. A brisk, driving passage of energy follows, leading gradually to a new mood that is bright and festive. The serene central melody then plays out in expansive phrases.
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77, is a three-movement concerto for violin and orchestra by Johannes Brahms featuring the talents of a longtime friend, the Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim. The work, which is known for its lyrical melodies and orchestration, melded the sense of grandeur present in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and the flavor of the Hungarian folk rhythms of Joachim’s native land. The Brahms violin concerto has long been a favorite of virtuoso violinists.
Brahms began to write this work in the summer of 1878, although Joachim and Brahms had performed together for decades, Brahms nevertheless sent him the first movement solo part, instructing him,
You should correct it, not sparing the quality of the composition…. I shall be satisfied if you will mark those parts which are difficult, awkward, or impossible to play.
The violinist complied, starting a lengthy correspondence concerning the concerto. Some listeners were skeptical of the new piece, which seemed as if it would prove to be beyond the abilities of most violinists. One observer, conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow, asserted that it was a concerto not for but “against the violin,” and Brahms and Joachim continued to revise the work until its publication six months later. One feature of the work that remained was a passage in the second movement in which the violin soloist steps out of the spotlight to allow for an extended oboe solo.
Location:
Communion of Saints, St. Ann's Church
2175 Coventry Road
Cleveland Heights, OH
Click here for more information