Westmoreland symphony's next livestream to feature Cleveland cellist

There is certainly no love lost between Pittsburgh and Cleveland’s football teams. But unless he tries a dirty tackle on the conductor, no one is likely to boo cellist Mark Kosower, even if he does hail from the Browns’ hometown.

Kosower, principal cello for the Cleveland Orchestra, will be the featured performer at the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming livestreamed concert, “Classical Heart” on Feb. 13.

Kosower is a cello teacher at the Cleveland Institute of Music and at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival. He has been a top prize-winner at both the Rostopovich and Pablo Casals international cello competitions.

It will be the third entry in the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s “Front Row Season,” a series of livestreamed shows from the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

“Assembling a livestream season was a brand new undertaking for us,” said WSO Executive Director Endicott Reindl. “Our first two concerts in this format not only reached longtime WSO supporters, but many new viewers across the U.S. and Canada, and from multiple countries as far away as Japan and Germany.”

Concert links can be purchased for $35. Three-concert subscription packages are also available at WestmorelandSymphony.org or by calling 724-837-1850.

Reindl said he’s grateful for the support the orchestra has received for the livestreams.

“It’s exhilarating to turn a challenging situation into the WSO reaching audiences we never could before,” he said.

Kosower will perform Boccherini’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major and Tchaikovsky’s Andante Cantabile in B Major for Cello and Strings. The concert will also include Vaughan Williams’ Charterhouse Suite and Rossini’s String Sonata No. 3.

Daniel Meyer, the Erie Philharmonic musical director and Duquesne University director of Orchestral Activities will conduct the evening’s performance.

For more, see WestmorelandSymphony.org.