The West Shore Chorale presents Johannes Brahms' Requiem
John Drotleff, music director
Coeli Ingold, soprano
Thomas Scurich, baritone
Friday, March 14, 2014
7:30 PM
The Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist
1007 Superior Ave E
Cleveland, OH 44114
Free Will Offering
Part of the Helen Schubert Concert Series
About John Drotleff
John Drotleff, conductor of the West Shore Chorale and Orchestra since 1984, is the fourth conductor of the Chorale.
Mr. Drotleff has directed choirs and taught music in northeastern Ohio since 1961 in four public schools, three colleges, seven churches and three community choruses. His work in high schools and colleges has included appearances at state adjudicated events, professional music conferences, and tours throughout the East and Midwestern parts of the country, including venues in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center and The National Cathedral.
Mr. Drotleff has served as a guest conductor and workshop clinician for many musical groups and professional organizations in the Northeastern part of the United States. His conducting repertoire includes such works as Bach’s Magnificat and B Minor Mass, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mass in C and Choral Fantasy, Berlioz’s Te Deum, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Bruckner’s Mass in E Minor, Handel’sMessiah, Dettingen Te Deum, Zadok the Priest, Haydn’s Creation, Lord Nelson Mass, Mass in the Time of War, Theresienmesse, Harmoniemesse, and Heiligmesse and Te Deum, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and St. Paul, Szymanowski, Stabat Mater, the Requiems of Brahms, Mozart, Faure, and Durufle, numerous contemporary composers and several hundred compositions from the traditional choral repertoire.
He has been a member of numerous professional organizations, but he is most grateful for his association with Ohio Choral Directors Association, where he twice served as President and has received that organization’s Distinguished Service Award.
He lives in Lakewood with his wife, Judy. Their son, Stefan, daughter-in-law, Misty, and grandson, Maxwell live nearby. He credits his first music teachers during elementary school, Christine Knuth and James Ramsey with nurturing his interest in music. He graduated from Dana School of Music, a division ofYoungstown State University, and Columbia University with additional work at Westminster Choir College. He has attended courses, clinics, and master classes given by many notable conductors throughout the country.
About the West Shore Chorale
The West Shore Chorale was founded in 1968 by a group of Lakewood residents dedicated to bringing excellent choral music to Cleveland’s West Side. The effort was spearheaded by former Lakewood Mayor, Robert Lawther, who was frustrated by the lack of opportunities to perform challenging choral repertoire close to home.
Debuting at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium in May 1969, the Chorale has been an anchor in the lives of singers and audience members for decades. The group’s annual holiday concert has become a community tradition for West Siders. The Chorale is known for the variety of repertoire they perform. Choral/Orchestral works which are often overlooked and are not usually performed by either church choirs or large symphony choruses have become a specialty with the Chorale.
Under the direction of Artistic Director, John Drotleff for the past 30 years, the Chorale has performed over 80 major choral/orchestral compositions, including many seldom-performed works such as Bruckner’s E minor Mass, Mendelssohn’s St. Paul and Handel’s Samson. As part of its community outreach the Chorale often collaborates with local schools and performance groups, featuring musicians of all ages and skill levels. In 2010, the Chorale began the Choral Scholars program, inviting area high school students to sing with the group.
In February 2011, the group appeared in a costumed concert version of the opera Aida with Opera Circle Cleveland and the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra. Other recent collaborators include the Cleveland Philharmonic, Canton Symphony, Avon Lake High School, Avon Lake Learwood Middle School, the Beck Center, the Lakewood High School Symphonic Mixed Choir and others. The group has also performed in England with John Rutter, for professional music organizations and even in a “flash mob” at Cleveland’s West Side Market.