Sachs and Wilson CD cover

The Musical Arts Association (parent organization of The Cleveland Orchestra, Severance Hall, and Blossom Music Center) have announced the release of a CD by Cleveland Orchestra Principal Trumpet Michael Sachs and Norton Memorial Organ Curator Todd Wilson titled Michael Sachs and Todd Wilson, Live from Severance Hall. The CD was recorded live in Severance Hall in Cleveland in April 2005.

The recording features performances of music for trumpet and organ by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Petr Eben, Johann Baptist Georg Neruda, Giuseppe Torelli, and Giovanni Bonaventura Viviani; music for solo organ by Leo Sowerby and a transcription for solo organ by Johann Sebastian Bach of a concerto by Antonio Vivaldi; and Gottfried Reiche's Abblasen.

Michael Sachs and Todd Wilson, Live from Severance Hall is available through the Cleveland Orchestra Store in person or by calling (+1) 216 231-7478. The album is also available online at the orchestra's website (link at page bottom).

The 2005-06 Severance Hall season celebrates the 75th anniversary of the hall, home of The Cleveland Orchestra. The dedication recital of the Norton Memorial Organ took place on March 6, 1931, a month after the opening of Severance Hall. After restoration and reinstallation by the Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, Ohio, the Norton Memorial Organ was rededicated on January 6, 2001, in a concert that marked the first public performance on the instrument in 25 years.

Sachs will appear as soloist in Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto with The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Franz Welser-Möst on March 23-26.

CD contents

• Gottfried Reiche Abblasen
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier Prelude from Te Deum
• Giuseppe Torelli Sinfonia in D major
• Antonio Vivaldi/J.S. Bach Concerto No. 5 in D minor, BWV 596
• Johann Baptist Georg Neruda Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major
• Giovanni Bonaventura Viviani Sonata Seconda Per Trombetta Sola in C major for Trumpet and Organ
• Leo Sowerby Comes Autumn Time
• Petr Eben Okna (Windows, after Marc Chagall)

Biographies

Michael Sachs

Michael Sachs joined The Cleveland Orchestra as Principal Trumpet in 1988. Hailed by critics for his "magisterial gifts," "spectacular chops," and "radiant tone," he is recognized internationally as a leading soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, teacher, author and clinician.

Michael Sachs is frequently featured as soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra. His next solo appearance with the Orchestra is in the Haydn Trumpet Concerto as mentioned above; he has appeared as guest soloist with major U.S. and international orchestras and chamber groups, including the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Highlights include the world premiere of the John Williams Concerto for Trumpet, commissioned by The Cleveland Orchestra for Mr. Sachs, and the United States premiere of Hans Werner Henze’s Requiem, followed by its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall, each conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi. Mr. Sachs can be heard on Cleveland Orchestra recordings of more than 125 works, and is featured in performances of Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat recorded for Deutsche Gramophone with Pierre Boulez, and Ives’s The Unanswered Question recorded for London/Decca with Christoph von Dohnányi.

Prior to joining The Cleveland Orchestra, Mr. Sachs was a member of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and also performed with the Houston Grand Opera. Mr. Sachs serves as Chairman of the Brass Division and Head of the Trumpet Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and formerly served on the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. In addition to serving on the faculty of leading summer festivals, Mr. Sachs presents master classes and workshops at conservatories and major universities throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. At the invitation of Sir Georg Solti, he served as Principal Trumpet/Instructor in the Solti Orchestral Project at Carnegie Hall. He is the author of Daily Fundamentals for the Trumpet and Mahler: Symphonic Works, Complete Trumpet Parts, both published by the International Music Company.

A native of Los Angeles, Michael Sachs attended UCLA, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History before attending The Juilliard School of Music. His former teachers include Mark Gould, Anthony Plog, and James Stamp.

For more information on Michael Sachs, please visit his website (link at page bottom).

Todd Wilson

Todd Wilson is curator of the Norton Memorial Organ at Severance Hall. He serves as Head of the Organ Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and as Director of Music at Cleveland’s Church of the Covenant, where he leads a program of choirs as well as a concert series. Mr. Wilson made his Severance Hall recital debut in April 2001, and his Cleveland Orchestra debut, performing Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante, during concerts in May and June 2001.

Mr. Wilson received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he studied organ with Wayne Fisher. He had further coaching in organ repertoire with Russell Saunders at the Eastman School of Music. He has won numerous competitions, including the Grand Prix de Chartres (France) and the Fort Wayne Competition. Mr. Wilson holds the Fellow and Choirmaster certificates from the American Guild of Organists, and was a featured performer at the 1996 Centennial National Convention of the Guild in New York City.

Todd Wilson has been heard in concert in many major cities throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, including concerts at Symphony Hall (Birmingham, UK), Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, and Dallas’ Meyerson Symphony Center. In 2003 he dedicated the organ in the new 21,000-seat Mormon Convention Center in Salt Lake City, and in 2004 he performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on the first subscription concerts featuring the new organ at Disney Hall in Los Angeles. He has appeared as a solo recitalist for Austrian Radio in Vienna, and in concert with the Slovakian Radio Symphony. Other orchestral appearances include performances with the Atlanta Symphony, the City of London Sinfonia, the Calgary Philharmonic, the New Mexico Symphony, and the Fort Worth Symphony. Recent highlights in Mr. Wilson’s performing schedule include his debut in Japan (January 2005), recitals at Westminster Abbey in London and at the Grote Kerk in The Hague (August 2005), a recital at Benaroya Hall in Seattle (April 2005), and performances on the newly-restored Skinner Organ at the Peristyle Theater at the Toledo Museum of Art (September 2005).

A sought-after adjudicator, Todd Wilson has been a jury member for many national and international playing competitions. An active interest in improvisation has led to his popular improvised accompaniments to classic silent films.

Websites:
Michael Sachs (to follow)
The Cleveland Orchestra