Underground Classical enriches the community through innovative chamber music performances that reinvigorate the seasoned listener while revitalizing and inspiring new audiences. Strong community ties to the arts are built through creative collaboration with business, organizations, and individuals within the community.
The series’ home base is located in the Waterloo Arts District in the North Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland at the Praxis Fiber Workshop and Gallery. Just east of the downtown, and directly off of the highway, this once-downtrodden East Side neighborhood near Lake Erie is building a national reputation as a vibrant cultural hub. It has become the home to an eclectic mix of indie music venues, art galleries, musicians, artists, and writers.
Amanda Powel & Friends-August 12, 8:00
Vocalist, Amanda Powell offers music from her acclaimed album, Beyond Boundaries. Together with bassist, Dave Morgan, pianist, Theron Brown, percussionist Dylan Moffitt, and saxophonist, Christopher Coles, Amanda will present an engaging program that celebrates the crossroads of musical styles and traditions. This ensemble of exceptional musicians brings a wealth of experience on the concert stage, in the jazz club and in unique performance settings around the world. Come journey beyond the boundaries of genre, style, language, region and expectation into the connective heart of music.
Oblivion Project-Nuevo Tango-September 2, 8:00
THE OBLIVION PROJECT, formed in 2003, is dedicated to the exploration and performance of the over 3000 Nuevo Tango works of Argentine tango master Astor Piazzolla. For the past decade, musicians from all across the Americas have collaborated to explore and share the uncompromisingly unique, unequivocally attractive language of Piazzolla's tangos. The group is based in the musical crossroads of Cleveland.
The group has had several outstanding successes including a sold-out debut at Severance Hall with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, a residency with the nationally-acclaimed Contemporary Youth Orchestra, and a slew of other performances both educational and entertaining at a variety of venues.
Carpe Diem String Quartet-October 28, 8:00
One of the most unique and sought-after chamber ensembles on the concert stage today, the Carpe Diem String Quartet is a boundary-breaking ensemble that has earned widespread critical and audience acclaim for its innovative programming and electrifying performances. Carpe Diem defies easy classification with programming that reflects its passions for Gypsy, tango, folk, pop, rock, and jazz-inspired music, and has become one of America's premiere “indie” string quartets, without sacrificing its commitment to the traditional quartet repertoire. From a recent review "Until Saturday evening, I had never heard a performance by one of these multilingual quartets where the classical repertoire was delivered at a level that was competitive with the finest traditional groups. But the Carpe Diem Quartet, appearing at the Dumbarton Church, was extraordinary. Among these contemporary quartets who speak in different tongues, the Carpe Diem is the best one out there." (The Washington Post, Washington, DC)
The quartet continues to rack up accolades and awards. For three consecutive years, Carpe Diem was the only quartet in America chosen to receive an ArtsAlive Award from the PNC Foundation, and they received rave reviews such as: “This is an accomplished ensemble with a distinctive sound and personality” (San Diego Union Tribune); “One would have to search long and hard to find a more charming and enjoyable chamber music concert. A number of elements contributed to this end result, not the least of which the superb musicianship of the four musicians - Carpe Diem is a seriously talented quartet in the most traditional definition.” (Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, FL).
Carpe Diem seeks out, and is sought after by, artists from many different genres for collaborations. Carpe Diem’s diverse musical partnerships include American singer/songwriter/guitarist Willy Porter, Latin Grammy winner/bandoneón player Raul Juarena, klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer, cellist Yo Yo Ma, banjo virtuoso and Canadian Folk Music "Artist of the Year" Jayme Stone, Dixieland trumpeter Tom Battenberg, Chinese pipa player Yihan Chen, and world master of the Persian santoor Dariush Saghafi. The quartet is the resident ensemble for Columbus Dance Theatre, and their joint project The String Machine was aired by WOSU-PBS television through 2007-2008, and nominated for an Emmy award. Carpe Diem champions the music of living composers, and has commissioned, premiered, and performed works from a broad and stylistically diverse range of composers including Frank Bennett, Lawrence Dillon, Danny Elfman, Ken Fuchs, Korine Fujiwara, Osvaldo Golijov, Andre Hajdu, Donald Harris, Jennifer Higdon, Jonathan Leshnoff, Nicholas Maw, William Thomas McKinley, Clancy Newman, Carter Pann, Kevin Putts, Eric Sawyer, Gunther Schuller, Richard Smoot, Bradley Sowash, Reza Vali, and Bruce Wolosoff, among others.