Blossom Festival facts for kids
The Blossom Festival is a fun summer music event. It takes place at the Blossom Music Center. This center is located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The festival mainly features orchestral music. This means music played by a large group of instruments. It was created especially for the Cleveland Orchestra. They wanted a place to play summer concerts. The first festival happened in 1968. It had six weeks of concerts by the Cleveland Orchestra. It also included eight jazz and folk music concerts. George Szell conducted the very first concert. That was on July 19, 1968.
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Discover the Blossom Festival
What Kind of Music Can You Hear?
Today, the Blossom Festival has grown. It now offers ten weeks of orchestral music. Most of these concerts are still performed by the Cleveland Orchestra. But you can also hear the festival's own Blossom Festival Orchestra. This orchestra is made up of talented musicians. They are often from the Cleveland area. Many play with groups like the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. Others come from the Opera Cleveland Orchestra or Apollo's Fire. The Blossom Festival Orchestra plays every year. They often perform when the Cleveland Orchestra is playing somewhere else.
A Special Performance in History
On July 28, 2007, something special happened. The Blossom Festival made history. They performed Hoctor's Ballet live for the first time ever. This piece of music was written by George Gershwin. It was one of his last orchestral works. It was a big moment for music fans.
Who Leads the Music at the Festival?
For many years, the Blossom Festival had its own music director. This person was in charge of all the music. The last person to hold this job was Jahja Ling. He stepped down in 2005. After that, the festival decided not to have a separate director. Now, the Cleveland Orchestra's main music director leads the classical concerts. This includes both the regular season and the summer Blossom Festival. The current director is Franz Welser-Möst. Before him, Leonard Slatkin was the Festival Director. He served from 1992 to 1999.
A Quiet Summer in 2020
In 2020, the Blossom Festival did not happen. This was a rare occurrence. It meant a summer without the usual beautiful music.
