Press Release - Celebrating Black Excellence: CityMusic Cleveland Features Debut Soloists Trevor Guillory, Elizabeth Hanje, and Benhur Mosazghi for Their October Orchestra Series
In the second series of their 20th season, CityMusic celebrates the wonder of African American musical heritage in this brilliant program featuring a piece by one of the most revered living Black composers, Jessie Montgomery, and the vocal talents of Oberlin Conservatory’s own Travis Guillory, Elizabeth Hanje, and Benhur Mosazghi.
Celebrating Black Excellence will feature excerpts from the iconic opera, Porgy and Bess by Jewish composer, George Gershwin. This opera was hailed as the first great American opera for its setting in black American communities and its performance by black artists at a time when black culture was exoticized by the white majority in the country. Artie Shaw’s Clarinet Concerto pairs virtuoso boogie-woogie blues and virtuoso riffs, and features a spotlighted solo from clarinetist, Daniel Gilbert. Montgomery’s Strum is full of dancing rhythms and folk-inspired melodies. The program will also include a lively performance of Manuel De Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance.
These concerts are free and open to the public, and will take place at the following venues:
Thursday, October 19 at 7:30p East Mount Zion Baptist Church in University Circle
Friday, October 20 at 8:30p La Sagrada Familia Church in Edgewater
Saturday, October 21 at 7:30p Shrine of St. Stanislaus in Slavic Village
Sunday, October 22 at 4:30p St. Sebastian Parish in Akron
The series will be CityMusic's first in Akron, as they continue to grow their repertoire of venues throughout Northeast Ohio to bring orchestral music to more communities. CityMusic will also pay homage to two black composer pioneers of the 19th and 20th century, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and William Grant Still, whose immense legacy is still not fully acknowledged at their October Chamber Series at Praxis Fiber Workshop on Friday, October 13th at 7:00p.
About the Featured Soloists
Travis Guillory Tenor
Travis Guillory is a student at Oberlin Conservatory pursuing a major in Classical Voice Performance and minors in African-American Music and French. He has been active in Oberlin’s opera productions, playing Guillot in Offenbach’s Le mariage aux lanternes, Don Eusebio in Rossini’s L’occasione fa il ladro, and the Governor in Bernstein’s Candide.
Additionally, Travis Guillory is an active member of Oberlin College Black Musicians Guild and the Denyce Graves Foundation Shared Voices Initiative.
Celebrating Black Excellence will be Travis’ solo debut with CityMusic Cleveland.
Elizabeth Hanje
Soprano
Elizabeth Hanje started her singing career in her hometown of Vestavia Hills, Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 15. After just 16 months of performing classical and operatic music, Hanje was invited to perform with the best classical singing students in the country in the High School Honors Series Performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
“There is not a lot of African American women who sing classic music in the first place and beingable to be one of them is really exciting and that’s where I want to be in life so that really motivates me,” Hanje said.
Hanje currently studies at Oberlin Conservatory and has attended the school since 2020.
Celebrating Black Excellence will be Elizabeth’s solo debut with CityMusic Cleveland.
Benhur Mosgazhi
Bass-Baritone
Benhur Mosgazhi is a Classical bass-baritone from Eritrea, East Africa and is currently studying at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He has previously studied and performed as a Young Artist at Brevard Music Center in North Carolina.
Mosgazhi received the New York Concert Prize in 2019 at the Lunigiana International Music Festival. He also was a recipient of the American Voices Scholarship the same year. The following year in 2020, Benhur was awarded as the Crescendo Program Winner by Union Avenue Opera.
Celebrating Black Excellence will be Benhur’s solo debut with CityMusic Cleveland.
Daniel Gilbert
Clarinet
Clarinetist Daniel Gilbert joined the faculty at the University of Michigan as Associate Professor of Clarinet in 2007. Previously, he held the position of Second Clarinet in the Cleveland Orchestra from 1995 to 2007. A native of New York City, Mr. Gilbert received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and both a Master of Music degree and Professional Studies Certificate from The Juilliard School. Prior to joining the Cleveland Orchestra, Mr. Gilbert was an active freelancer in New York City, appearing regularly with groups including: The Metropolitan Opera, American Ballet Theater, New Jersey Symphony, Solisti New York, the Stamford Symphony and the New Haven Symphony, where he played principal clarinet from 1992 to 1995. Mr. Gilbert was a member of the Quintet of the Americas in 1994-1995. The group toured throughout the United States and was in residence at Northwestern University.
An active soloist and chamber musician, Mr. Gilbert has appeared at the Classical Tahoe festival, Aspen
Music Festival, Maui Chamber Music Festival, St. Barth’s Music Festival, Music on the Hill, Rhode Island and Cape Cod Music Festival, among others. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras that include the Cleveland Orchestra, Classical Tahoe orchestra, Reno Chamber orchestra, City Music Cleveland Cleveland Heights Chamber orchestra, the Suburban Symphony Orchestra, the New Haven Symphony, Solisti New York and the Aspen Mozart Orchestra. Mr. Gilbert is an artist/clinician for Backun Musical, Canada and Vandoren companies. He is featured as a soloist and clinician throughout the US, Canada and Europe and his recitals and classes have received critical acclaim.
Aside from his position at the University of Michigan, he also serves on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University. In addition, Mr. Gilbert holds the position of principal clarinet of the chamber orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, Principal clarinet of the Classical Tahoe festival, the Napa Festival Orchestra and second clarinet of the All Star orchestra that is currently recording its third season for PBS. He formerly served on the faculties at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Oberlin Conservatory of Music. His teachers have included David Weber, Robert Marcellus, Stanley Hasty, Richard Waller, Burt Hara and Judith Kalin-Freeman. Mr. Gilbert plays exclusively on Backun and Vandoren products.