250 Years in Harmony
Exploring the Spirit of a Nation Through Sound

Saturday, April 11, 2026 – 7:00 PM

Legacy of Light
In tribute to Michael Tilson Thomas and the Spirit of American Music

Matthew Salvaggio, conductor
Kira McGirr, narrator

Location: Disciples Christian Church, 3663 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland Heights

Program:

Michael Tilson Thomas: From the Diary of Anne Frank

 Kira McGirr, narrator

Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring

Noted for the richness of her voice, and “clear, focused sound,” mezzo-soprano Kira McGirr is a dynamic and versatile vocalist, equally at home as a soloist and collaborator, whose repertoire spans from the Baroque to contemporary cutting-edge compositions. Ms. McGirr has been featured as soloist in Elgar’s Sea Pictures; Handel’s Messiah; Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mass in C Major, Op. 86; JS Bach’s BWV 166; Britten’s Ceremony of Carols and Rejoice in the Lamb; and Corigliano’s Fern Hill among many other works.

Highlights for the 2025/26 season include solo debuts with the Lexington Bach Festival (Bach Magnificat), Heights Chamber Orchestra (Larsen Raspberry Island Dreaming), The Cleveland Women’s Orchestra (Elgar Sea Pictures) and the Musical Theater Project (Nettie in Carousel), and return solo engagements with Cleveland Repertory Orchestra (Tilson Thomas From the Diary of Anne Frank), and Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra (Patriotic Pops). She is a frequent collaborator with Local4Music in their series featuring the work of living female and female-identifying composers.

Ms. McGirr sings with Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra as well as the Cleveland Chamber Choir, Trinity Cathedral Choir, and Schola Cantorum Lorain. Ms. McGirr is the Executive Director of the Cleveland Chamber Choir. She holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Oberlin College & Conservatory. kiramcgirrmezzo.com

Saturday, May 23, 2026 – 7:00 PM

The Art of Joy

Matthew Salvaggio, conductor
M. Isaac Ripple, oboe

Location: Rocky River Presbyterian Church, 21750 Detroit Rd., Rocky River

Program:

Zhou Tian: Joy

Jennifer Higdon: Oboe Concerto

M. Isaac Ripple, oboe

Christopher Theofanidis: Chamber Symphony No. 1 (After P.I. Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet Op. 11)

This concert is generously sponsored by Rocky River Presbyterian Church as part of their Artist Concert Series.

Michael Isaac Ripple is the Adjunct Professor of Oboe at Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music. He is Co-Artistic Director of The Horizon Series, a nonprofit chamber music collective and summer festival. Isaac is an in-demand educator, chamber musician, and performer throughout the country, currently based in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the owner/operator of Grind City Reeds. He is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music where he pursued his undergraduate degree in oboe performance as a student of Frank Rosenwein. He is also a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he was a student of Daniel Stolper. He was the founding oboist of Catharsis Winds, an international and national award winning wind quintet based in Cleveland, Ohio. He holds a Master of Music in oboe performance from the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music and he is currently pursuing his doctoral degree oboe performance with an additional focus in composition as the student of Dr. Michelle Vigneau and Dr. Kamran Ince.

Previous Concerts

Saturday, November 8, 2025 – 7:00 PM

Spiritual Landscapes

Matthew Salvaggio, conductor

Location: Federated Church, 76 Bell St., Chagrin Falls

Program:

Adolphus Hailstork: Fanfare on Amazing Grace

Florence Price: Andante moderato

Margaret Bonds: Montgomery Variations

Antonín Dvořák: American Suite