Apollo’s Fire presents: FENCING MATCH: Round One – Sunday, August 10, 4:00 PM RRPC Sanctuary 

Late summer nights are for passion, romance, and sometimes… fiery duels. Join us for a red-hot concert of dueling double-concertos! Highlights include J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins; René Schiffer’s thrilling Tango Concerto for Two Violas da Gamba; a colorful suite by Marais; and Telemann’s Concerto for Flute and Recorder, with its famous Polish folk-inspired finale. AF principal players including concertmaster Alan Choo take turns stepping into the spotlight in this evening of dazzling agility.

Kathie Stewart, flute
Daphna Mor, recorder
Alan Choo & Susanna Perry Gilmore, violins
René Schiffer & Rebecca Landell, cellos

Tickets: https://apollosfire.org/tickets/?id=fencing2025

ANDREW SORDS – Sunday, September 21st, 4:00 PM  

RRPC Sanctuary 

Rocky River Presbyterian’s Artist Concert Series hosts works for voice, strings, and piano by the Baroque era’s “Red Priest”. Famous for his enduring tunes, Four Seasons, and flowing red hair, Antonio Vivaldi’s works come to life by some of Cleveland’s most prolific musicians, and guest artist Lara Nie (from New York City) lends her alluring mezzo soprano talents to the afternoon’s arias.

Lara Nie, mezzo soprano

Elizabeth DeMio, piano

Mari Sato and Andrew Sords, violins

Lynne Ramsey, viola

Nathanael Matthews, cello

Cost: Free and open to all, Donations greatly appreciated.

As a prolific recitalist, Sords has appeared in La Jolla, Washington, D.C., Maui, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and at St. Augustine’s (FL) EMMA Series at Flagler College. Sords has toured to Australia with concerti by Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Vaughan-Williams, as well as virtuoso programs for the Brunswick Beethoven Festival and the Arden Crescent Series. The Brahms “Double” concerto has been a popular vehicle of late: Sords has been featured with cellists John Walz, Joseph Johnson, Sawyer Thomson, and Scott Lykins in recent performances. A 2015 Canada tour with the Mendelssohn Piano Trios and Violin Sonata was reprised in 2017 with all-Brahms programs in Oshawa, Montreal, Guelph, and Toronto. First invited by San Miguel de Allende’s (Mexico) ProMusica Series in 2011, Sords has returned with six varied recitals; with pianist Eriko Izumida, the two returned to West Palm Beach’s Norton Museum Series and introduced baroque rarities to Cathedral of St. John’s Concert Series (Cleveland). Sords has been a frequent soloist in the Caribbean, appearing in Puerto Rico, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Grand Cayman, and the U.S. Virgin Islands – and “STRINGS MAGAZINE” profiled a series of performances with the Trinidad and Tobago Youth Philharmonic.

Sunday November 23rd, 2025, at 3:00 PM RRPC Sanctuary 

What evokes Cleveland better than a vision of sailboat on Lake Erie at sunrise? Cleveland composer Margaret Brouwer expresses this peaceful image in her tone poem The Art of Sailing at Dawn. Also on this program is the jazzy side of Aaron Copland as the orchestra performs his Music for the Theatre for small orchestra. The “King of Violin Concertos” concludes the concert, with David McCarroll, Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, joining with BlueWater as soloist in Beethoven’s monumental Violin Concerto.

Brouwer:  The Art of Sailing at Dawn

Copland:  Music for the Theatre

Beethoven:  Violin Concerto

David McCarroll, violin soloist

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra is committed to expanding the boundaries of what a chamber orchestra can be. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Daniel Meyer, the orchestra is creating an era of lively creative performance and educational experiences. Special educational and outreach concerts have taken the orchestra to Cleveland Metropolitan School District facilities, Rocky River, and Mansfield. BlueWater musicians also perform in various smaller ensembles throughout the region. Committed to welcoming new audiences while serving established chamber music aficionados, BlueWater celebrates the luminous world of inspiring chamber orchestra music.

COST: Free – Good-Will Offerings Appreciated. Learn more about BlueWater Chamber Orchestra here. 

Sunday May 4th, 2025, at 3:00 p.m.  – RRPC Sanctuary  

Songs from the 50’s and the 60’s with The Avon Lake Women’s Chorus with Special Guest Steppin’ Out. Avon Lake Women’s Chorus began in 1948 at the Avon Lake United Church of Christ.  It was started by a group of women who enjoyed singing at church, but wanted to sing a variety of secular music.  They perform everything from holiday music to old favorites, pop melodies, gospel, and rock ‘n’ roll.  Although they began with just Avon Lake members, they now have singers from Amherst, Avon, Bay Village, Elyria, Lorain, North Ridgeville, Rocky River, Sheffield Lake, Sheffield Village, and Westlake. New members are always welcome!! Steppin’ Out began as an all-female choir in 1956, named the Valley View Mothersingers.  In 1970 they became affiliated with the North Olmsted PTA Council and changed their name to the North Olmsted Choralaires.  Finally, in 1986, the group added dance numbers and became an all-female show choir called Steppin’ Out.  Today, the legacy continues with the Steppin Out Quartet, still offering entertainment on a smaller scale, but with the same big hearts for music!

COST: Free – Good-Will Offerings Appreciated

Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 7:00 PM – RRPC Sanctuary 
Cleveland Repertory Orchestra presents a program filled with color, energy, and musical brilliance! Featuring intimate and expressive works by Richard Strauss, Antonín Dvořák, Jennifer Higdon, and Igor Stravinsky, this concert highlights the warmth and vibrancy of wind instruments and chamber orchestra. From the youthful elegance of Strauss and the folk-inspired charm of Dvořák to the evocative beauty of Jennifer Higdon and Stravinsky’s dazzling neoclassicism, this is a program you won’t want to miss.

COST: Free – Good-Will Offerings Appreciated

Friday, November 22, 2024 – 7:30 PM – RRPC Sanctuary

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra – BlueWater Chamber Orchestra is committed to expanding the boundaries of what a chamber orchestra can be. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Daniel Meyer, the orchestra is creating an era of lively creative performance and educational experiences. Special educational and outreach concerts have taken the orchestra to Cleveland Metropolitan School District facilities, Rocky River, and Mansfield. BlueWater musicians also perform in various smaller ensembles throughout the region. Committed to welcoming new audiences while serving established chamber music aficionados, BlueWater celebrates the luminous world of inspiring chamber orchestra music.

COST: Free – Good-Will Offerings Appreciated. Learn more about BlueWater Chamber Orchestra here

Sunday, November 17, 2024 – 4:00 PM – RRPC Sanctuary*
*Note: This was a special performance and not part of the “Artist Concert Series”

Apollo’s Fire – Hope and Solitude. With the Acclaimed Reggie Mobley
RRPC was fortunate to host Apollo’s Fire in our very own Sanctuary. On Sunday, November 17 at 4:00 PM. The event featured internationally acclaimed singer Reggie Mobley, Apollo’s Fire concertmaster Alan Choo, and eight Apollo’s Fire friends for soulful music of Purcell and Bach, including Purcell’s O Solitude and Bach’s haunting Cantata no. 82, Ich habe genug, featuring oboist Debra Nagy. Two uplifting Southern spirituals round out this intimate evening of hope and renewal.

October 22, 2024

Apollo’s Fire – Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos 

Apollo’s Fire is an international Baroque orchestra whose home is right here in Northeast Ohio. This Grammy-winning ensemble will be performing at our very own Rocky River Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, October 22, in the main sanctuary. The event entitled, “Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos” begins promptly at 7:30 PM – please arrive 15 minutes early. Jeannette Sorrell leads the exhilarating Apollo’s Fire musicians in Bach’s masterpieces – featuring daredevil violinist Alan Choo in No. 4 and dazzling guest trumpeter Caleb Hudson of the Canadian Brass in No. 2.

Learn more about Cleveland Repertory Orchestra  here

May 2024:

Violinist Andrew Sords & Friends – “An Afternoon of Romantic Chamber Music”
Music lovers came to enjoy an afternoon with American-born Violinist Andrews Sords. He and fellow performers Mari Sato, John Walz, Elizabeth DeMio, and Daniel Singer performed 19th Century favorites including works by Brahms, Clara Schumann, Massenet, and others. The event included strings, piano, and vocals.

Sords has a celebrated career as a soloist on four continents and in performances with other talented musicians. Having collaborated with 300 orchestras, Sords has been cited for combining visceral virtuosity with a ravishing tone.

Learn more about Andrew Sords here.

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