Meet the Performers!
The _____ Experiment
Sunday, February 1 2025
3pm in the Sanctuary
Avant-garde Chamber
The _____ Experiment (pronounced The “Blank” Experiment) was founded in 2017. It is an up and coming flexible instrumentation ensemble based in the midwest. With over 30 commissions, this group is committed to expanding the repertoire for mixed chamber ensembles including avant-garde genres. Their first album, Conversations, with Sly Pup Production was released in March 2020. This album featured seven world premiere recordings featuring composers from multiple states. They also started a series of virtual projects aimed at cross disciplinary collaboration entitled Visual Soundscapes. Since then the ensemble has performed across North America including performances at Frost School of Music, University of Florida, NUMUS New Music, along with performances in Chicago and Cleveland.
This concert will feature Michelle Cusick (clarinets), Maya Grossman (bassoon), Andrew Hosler (saxophones) and Ava Wirth (oboe). The ensemble is a member of New Music Chicago and Chamber Music America.
Hearts for Music & a trio from the Akron Symphony
Sunday, March 15 2025
3pm in the Sanctuary
Classical & Broadway
Kitrael Chin, a board-certified music therapist, founded Hearts for Music in 2016 and is now the artistic director and president. The Hearts for Music orchestra is made up of 10-25 individuals with a variety of special needs, such as Down's syndrome or autism. By manipulating and playing a combination of acoustic instruments, digital instruments, and adaptive instruments, this special needs orchestra tackles a broad range of musical works ranging from classical symphonies to Broadway tunes and pop music. In April 2025, they performed at the Vatican in Rome for the Jubilee celebration of people with disabilities as a part of a larger local ensemble - a first of its kind concert!
This concert will feature a trio from the Akron Symphony who will perform along with the Hearts for Music ensemble with a program of classical and Broadway music. Music truly unites us all!
Julie Anna Gulenko & Trio
Sunday, April 12 2025
3pm in the Sanctuary
Italian Opera & Neapolitan
Julie Anna Gulenko is praised for her graceful soprano voice and sensitive musical interpretations. The Northeast Ohio native is an alumna of Oberlin Conservatory, where she studied with Marlene Rosen and performed in several Oberlin Opera Theater productions. Julie embraces the worlds of opera, musical theater and early twentieth century pop. She’s recently collaborated on performance projects with the Cleveland Ballet, the Western Reserve Historical Society, and the Tuesday Musical Association Members Program. In recent seasons, Julie has appeared on stage with the vocal trio Two Gents & the Lady in New York City, New Jersey, Delaware and Ohio. Julie was a 2017 OC Ars Vocalis Academy young artist and a 2018 and 2019 artist fellow with the Ukrainian Art Song Project Summer Institute in Toronto, Canada.
For this performance of Italian Opera and Neapolitan music, Julie Anna will be accompanied by piano, cello and violin.
Singers Companye
Sunday, April 19 2025
3pm in the Sanctuary
Modern Choral
Singers Companye is one of northeast Ohio’s premiere chamber choirs. Under the direction of founding executive artistic director, Samuel Gordon, the ensemble consists of about 32 singers whose collective vocal/musical backgrounds constitute a vibrant sound and extraordinary musicianship. In recent years, the ensemble has concentrated on primarily modern choral works which often involve collaborative instrumentalists who bring a wide variety of musical textures to the listening experience. The ensemble regularly appears on the finest music series in the region and has also garnered superb reviews in Europe. The 2026 season will feature them as Choir-in-Consortium at the Bath Church, their current home base, where they will offer an exhilarating series of concerts.
CLE Mixtape Live
Sunday, May 3 2025
3pm in the Sanctuary
Jazz Octet & Vocalists
This unique “mixtape” concert was created by Dan Bruce, known throughout the Midwest and nationally as a guitarist, recording artist, composer and educator. Though hip-hop artists have made it a genre unto itself, the mixtape, a homemade cassette of songs, was the Spotify playlist of the 1980s and ‘90s. Mixtapes were playable, tradable declarations of musical allegiances and taste, a medium of exchange and sometimes winsome mash notes to crushes. The featured vocalists collaborated with composer-arranger Dan Bruce as he reimagined their works to feature them with a jazz octet, blending intimate storytelling with innovative orchestration. This one of kind concert first debuted at the Cleveland Museum of Art in November 2025.
Ensemble performers include Chris Coles (tenor and alto sax), Brad Wagner (soprano and alto sax, bass clarinet), Chris Anderson (trombone), Theron Brown (piano, keyboards), Dan Bruce (electric guitar), Aidan Plank (bass), Anthony Taddeo (drum set), Jamey Haddad (percussion), Liz Bullock (vocals), Ray Flanagan (vocals), and Jinari Kemet (vocals).
U4U Band
Saturday, May 16 2025
5pm in Fellowship Hall
Ukrainian Folk & Rock
U4U is a Cleveland-based folk pop/rock band founded by Ukrainian refugees who came to the United States after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At its core, U4U is more than just a band — it is a cultural movement. Their mission is to preserve and develop Ukrainian music, share it with diverse audiences, and integrate it into American society. Through their performances, U4U seeks to inspire unity, celebrate identity, and prove that music can transcend borders. U4U stands for “Uniting for Ukraine” — and for uniting people everywhere through music.
Since their founding, U4U has performed at cultural festivals, benefit concerts, and community events across Northeast Ohio, gaining recognition for their powerful stage presence, heartfelt storytelling, and ability to connect with both Ukrainian and American audiences.
Performers for this concert include Ivan Prodanyk (vocals), Dan Verkhlin (bass guitar), Candee Brown (drums), Olena Aleksieieva (keyboard), Yaryna Tsarysnka (violin), Darren Hamm (guitars).