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{{Short description|Outdoor amphitheatre in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio}}
{{Infobox venue
{{Infobox venue
| name = Blossom Music Center
| name = Blossom Music Center
| nickname =
| nickname =
| image = [[Image:Blossom Music Center.jpg|250px]]
| logo_image = Blossom logo.gif
| image = Blossom Music Center.jpg
| image_caption =
| image_caption =
| address = 1145 W Steels Corners Rd.
| address = 1145 W Steels Corners Rd.
Line 10: Line 12:
| genre =
| genre =
| built =
| built =
| opened = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| opened = 1968
| renovated =
| renovated =
| expanded =
| expanded =
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| seating_type =
| seating_type =
| seating_capacity = 23,000
| seating_capacity = 23,000
| website = http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/plan-your-visit/blossom-music-center/
| website = {{URL|clevelandorchestra.com/discover/blossom-music-center/}}
}}
}}
[[File:Blossom logo.gif|right]]
⚫
'''Blossom Music Center''' (referred to locally as '''Blossom''') is an outdoor [[amphitheatre]] located in [[Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio]]. The pavilion seats 6,051 people, with space for about 15,000 more on the general admission lawn.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW6ACKlfjuw | title = Blossom Music Center | accessdate = 2018-09-15 | | quote = In the pavilion, we seat six thousand and fifty-one people, and on the lawn we can seat up to fifteen-thousand people.}}</ref> It is the summer home of the [[Cleveland Orchestra]], which performs its annual [[Blossom Festival]] there. The venue is also host to a full summer schedule of popular music acts and symphonic performances. It is owned by the Musical Arts Association, the orchestra's non-profit parent organization.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/about/blossom-festival/Blossom-History.aspx |title=History of Blossom Music Center |publisher=Cleveland Orchestra |accessdate=July 17, 2011}}</ref>


⚫
'''Blossom Music Center''', locally referred to simply as '''Blossom''', is an outdoor [[amphitheatre]] in [[Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio]], United States. The venue is the summer home of [[The Cleveland Orchestra]] and the site of the ensemble’s annual Blossom Festival. Blossom Music Center is owned by the Musical Arts Association, the Orchestra’s parent organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/about/blossom-festival/Blossom-History.aspx|title=History of Blossom Music Center|publisher=Cleveland Orchestra|access-date=July 17, 2011}}</ref>
Blossom Music Center is named after the family of Dudley S. Blossom, who served as president of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1936 to 1938. The site's natural parabolic setting, the pavilion's sloping slate roof, and the area's natural wooded surroundings distinguish it from other contemporary amphitheatres. The facility, designed by architect Peter van Dijk, is located on {{convert|800|acre|ha}} of natural woods inside the [[Cuyahoga Valley National Park]], about {{convert|10|mi|km}} north of downtown [[Akron, Ohio|Akron]] and {{convert|33|mi|km}} south of downtown [[Cleveland]]. There are currently{{When|date=July 2014}} plans to sell {{convert|580|acre|ha}} of Blossom's undeveloped acreage to the National Park Service to add to the park. As of March 2011, {{convert|233|acre|ha}} have been purchased by the National Park Service for US $4 million,<ref>{{cite web |title=Cuyahoga Valley National Park buys chunk of Blossom Music Center land|url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/03/cuyahoga_valley_national_park_3.html | publisher=Cleveland Plain Dealer |first=James |last=Ewinger |date=March 17, 2011 | accessdate=October 21, 2011}}</ref> with hopes for NPS to purchase the remaining unused land in 2012.{{Update-inline|date=July 2014}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Land around Blossom goes to Cuyahoga Valley National Park if Obama signs bill |url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/10/blossoms_surroundings_closer_t.html | publisher=Cleveland Plain Dealer |first=Jim |last=Nichols |date=October 31, 2009 | accessdate=October 21, 2011}}</ref> This would financially benefit the owners and serve to protect the natural setting of Blossom. In 2003, the venue underwent a $17 million renovation.


==History==
The annual Carnival of Horrors has been held every October since 2003.
The Blossom Music Center is named after the families of Dudley S. Blossom Sr., and Dudley S. Blossom Jr. The former had served as the president of the Musical Arts Association from 1936 to 1938, and his widow Elizabeth and daughter-in-law Emily continued to support the Musical Arts Association after Dudley Jr.’s death in 1961.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|first=Donald|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|publisher=Gray & Company|year=2000|location=Cleveland|pages=351; 357}}</ref> The Board’s president, Frank E. Joseph, felt that the Blossom family was “more deserving of the honor than any other Cleveland family.”<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roseberg|first=Donald|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=351}}</ref> The pavilion is constructed of slate and tubular steel, and seats 6,051 people. Behind the pavilion is a general-admission lawn section, which can seat an additional 15,000 audience members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW6ACKlfjuw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/NW6ACKlfjuw| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Blossom Music Center|website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2018-09-15|quote=In the pavilion, we seat six thousand and fifty-one people, and on the lawn we can seat up to fifteen-thousand people.}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The venue is also host to a full summer schedule of popular music acts and symphonic performances. Blossom’s natural parabolic setting, the pavilion’s sloping slate roof, and the countryside’s wooded surroundings distinguish it from other contemporary amphitheaters.


For many years, members of The Cleveland Orchestra had struggled to gain year-round employment playing music. During the early 1950s, summer performances were held at [[Public Auditorium|Public Hall]] in downtown [[Cleveland]] and, on occasion, in the outfield of [[Cleveland Stadium]] before [[Cleveland Indians|Indians]]’ games.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=347}}</ref> In the mid-1960s, music director [[George Szell]] was driven to find employment for his musicians throughout the summer months.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=270–271}}</ref> Beginning in 1965, the Musical Arts Association began to investigate possible sites on which to build the Orchestra’s new summer home. Szell had a clear vision in mind: “It is of course IMPERATIVE to have such an installation for the summer, it seems to me even more important to have it turn out to be exceptional, absolutely first rate, terribly attractive...”<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=348}}</ref>
The amphitheatre has played host to many music festivals, including [[All That! Music and More Festival]], Buzzard Festival, Country Throwdown Tour, [[Crüe Fest]], [[Crüe Fest 2]], [[Curiosa]] Festival, EndFest, Furthur Festival, [[H.O.R.D.E.]] Festival, [[Honda Civic Tour]], [[Lilith Fair]], [[Lollapalooza]], [[Mayhem Festival]], [[Ozzfest]], [[Projekt Revolution]], [[Uproar Festival]] and [[Vans Warped Tour]].


In July 1966, the Musical Arts Association decided to purchase {{convert|571|acre}} of land near in what was then [[Northampton Township, Summit County, Ohio|Northampton Township]], approximately {{convert|10|mi}} north of [[Akron, Ohio|Akron]] and about {{convert|30|mi}} south of Cleveland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/plan-your-visit/blossom-music-center/getting-there---bf13/|title=Directions--Getting There|website=The Cleveland Orchestra|access-date=15 April 2020}}</ref> Eventually, more land was acquired to bring the total amount owned by the Musical Arts Association to {{convert|800|acre}}. By 1967, the Musical Arts Association would launch its “Half Century Campaign” to raise money for the construction of Blossom’s pavilion.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=353}}</ref> The initial collaboration included Connecticut-based acoustician [[J. Christopher Jaffe|Christopher Jaffe]] and Cleveland architectural firm Shafer, Flynn and Van Dijk, which oversaw the modeling and building of the amphitheater.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=350}}</ref> As construction proceeded, Jaffe was replaced by German recording engineer Heinrich Heilholz, whom Szell preferred.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=352}}</ref> The fundraising campaign reached its goal of $6.6 million, and ground was broken on July 2, 1967.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=353–354}}</ref>
The largest recorded show attendance at Blossom was for a [[Blood, Sweat and Tears]] concert in 1969, just one year after the venue's opening, totaling in 24,364. An unofficial estimate to a [[Pink Floyd]] concert in 1973 claims 32,000 were in attendance.<ref>Hullett, Julie. 'Five things you don't know about ... Blossom Music Center" ''Fresh Water'' July 11, 2018: L1</ref>


The Blossom Festival’s inaugural concert, featuring [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony]] conducted by Szell, took place on July 19, 1968, with a live television broadcast on [[WKYC|WKYC-TV3]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=356–358}}</ref> Soloists in the 9th included soprano [[Phyllis Curtin]], mezzo Jane Hobson, tenor [[Ernst Haefliger]], and bass [[Thomas Paul (bass)|Thomas Paul]].<ref>{{cite book|page=358|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CU99mBhbcxoC|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story|author=Donald Rosenberg|year=2000|publisher=Gray|isbn=9781886228245}}</ref> The following year the Orchestra hosted its first Fourth of July concert at Blossom — led by [[Meredith Willson]], who composed ''[[The Music Man]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/about/choruses-and-ensembles/blossom-festival-band/|title=Blossom Festival Band|website=The Cleveland Orchestra|access-date=15 April 2020}}</ref>
The [[Michael Stanley]] Band, intensely popular in [[Northeast Ohio]], but virtually unknown elsewhere, set an attendance record, of 74,404, with four sold-out shows, on August 25–26 and 30–31, 1982.<ref>Faris, Mark. "Breaking up is hard to do" ''Akron Beacon Journal'' December 14, 1986: L1</ref>


In 2003, Blossom underwent a $17 million renovation intended to enhance a number of areas across the venue, including the sound system, stage, guest services, parking lots, and landscaping. In a transaction designed to give the Orchestra a financial boost and protect Blossom’s natural surroundings, the Musical Arts Association sold 580 acres of the site’s undeveloped land to the [[National Park Service]] in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2011/03/cuyahoga_valley_national_park_3.html|title=Cuyahoga Valley National Park buys chunk of Blossom Music Center land|last=Ewinger|first=James|date=17 March 2011|website=Cleveland.com|access-date=22 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tpl.org/media-room/blossom-music-center-land-will-be-added-cuyahoga-valley-np|title=Blossom Music Center Land Will Be Added to Cuyahoga Valley NP|date=16 March 2011|website=The Trust for Public Land|access-date=22 April 2020}}</ref>
Rock artist [[James Taylor]] was the first artist to play double nights at the amphitheater in 1979, with a combined attendance of over 42,000. Since then, artists including [[Jimmy Buffett]], [[Barry Manilow]], and [[Luke Bryan]] have also accomplished selling out two nights in a row at Blossom.

Blossom is also widely used for popular music events, especially folk, rock, and country. The largest recorded show attendance at Blossom was for a [[Blood, Sweat and Tears]] concert in 1969, just one year after the venue's opening, totaling in 24,364.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rosenberg|title=The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None|pages=385}}</ref> An unofficial estimate to a [[Pink Floyd]] concert in 1973 claims 32,000 were in attendance.<ref>Hullett, Julie. 'Five things you don't know about ... Blossom Music Center" ''Fresh Water'' July 11, 2018: L1</ref> The amphitheater has played host to many music festivals, [[Lollapalooza]], [[Mayhem Festival]], [[Ozzfest]], and [[Vans Warped Tour]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.clevelandamphitheater.com/blossom-music-center/|title=Blossom Music Center Information|website=Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio|access-date=15 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.clevelandamphitheater.com/events/vans-warped-tour-5/#.XqBphMhKg2x|title=Vans Warped Tour at Blossom Music Center|website=Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio|access-date=15 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleveland.com/remembers/2011/08/the_first_lollapalooza_festiva.html|title=The first Lollapalooza Festival and Jane's Addiction: Greatest concert ever? Cleveland Remembers|date=1 August 2011|website=Cleveland.com|access-date=15 April 2020}}</ref> The [[Michael Stanley]] Band, intensely popular in [[Northeast Ohio]], but virtually unknown elsewhere, set an attendance record, of 74,404, with four sold-out shows, on August 25–26 and 30–31, 1982.<ref>Faris, Mark. "Breaking up is hard to do" ''Akron Beacon Journal'' December 14, 1986: L1</ref> Rock artist [[James Taylor]] was the first artist to play double nights at the amphitheater in 1979, with a combined attendance of over 42,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/2014/07/blossom_music_center_concert_d.html?appSession=27B6LZ29412911KJ4L4XXSGV1FJT696TFQM2C52N7OP93KHP1578W08906D9698F08B27V5N6K98E9RL578BWXMLDYAYNXBH2Z355837SYQEUB8P4I1XN1N0H713C0HH|title=Blossom Music Center concert database: 1968 to present|last=Exner|first=Rich|website=Cleveland.com|access-date=15 April 2020}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[List of contemporary amphitheatres]]
*[[List of contemporary amphitheatres]]
*[[Live Nation (events promoter)|Live Nation]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
Line 51: Line 55:
{{Live Nation}}
{{Live Nation}}
{{Music venues of Ohio}}
{{Music venues of Ohio}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Music venues in Ohio]]
[[Category:Music venues in Ohio]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Summit County, Ohio]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Summit County, Ohio]]

Latest revision as of 16:32, 21 December 2023

Blossom Music Center
Map
Address1145 W Steels Corners Rd.
LocationCuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Coordinates41°11′29″N 81°33′38″W / 41.191298°N 81.560678°W / 41.191298; -81.560678
OwnerMusical Arts Association
(non-classical booking by
Live Nation)
Typeamphitheater
Capacity23,000
Opened1968
Website
clevelandorchestra.com/discover/blossom-music-center/

Blossom Music Center, locally referred to simply as Blossom, is an outdoor amphitheatre in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, United States. The venue is the summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra and the site of the ensemble’s annual Blossom Festival. Blossom Music Center is owned by the Musical Arts Association, the Orchestra’s parent organization.[1]

History

[edit]

The Blossom Music Center is named after the families of Dudley S. Blossom Sr., and Dudley S. Blossom Jr. The former had served as the president of the Musical Arts Association from 1936 to 1938, and his widow Elizabeth and daughter-in-law Emily continued to support the Musical Arts Association after Dudley Jr.’s death in 1961.[2] The Board’s president, Frank E. Joseph, felt that the Blossom family was “more deserving of the honor than any other Cleveland family.”[3] The pavilion is constructed of slate and tubular steel, and seats 6,051 people. Behind the pavilion is a general-admission lawn section, which can seat an additional 15,000 audience members.[4] The venue is also host to a full summer schedule of popular music acts and symphonic performances. Blossom’s natural parabolic setting, the pavilion’s sloping slate roof, and the countryside’s wooded surroundings distinguish it from other contemporary amphitheaters.

For many years, members of The Cleveland Orchestra had struggled to gain year-round employment playing music. During the early 1950s, summer performances were held at Public Hall in downtown Cleveland and, on occasion, in the outfield of Cleveland Stadium before Indians’ games.[5] In the mid-1960s, music director George Szell was driven to find employment for his musicians throughout the summer months.[6] Beginning in 1965, the Musical Arts Association began to investigate possible sites on which to build the Orchestra’s new summer home. Szell had a clear vision in mind: “It is of course IMPERATIVE to have such an installation for the summer, it seems to me even more important to have it turn out to be exceptional, absolutely first rate, terribly attractive...”[7]

In July 1966, the Musical Arts Association decided to purchase 571 acres (231 ha) of land near in what was then Northampton Township, approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Akron and about 30 miles (48 km) south of Cleveland.[8] Eventually, more land was acquired to bring the total amount owned by the Musical Arts Association to 800 acres (320 ha). By 1967, the Musical Arts Association would launch its “Half Century Campaign” to raise money for the construction of Blossom’s pavilion.[9] The initial collaboration included Connecticut-based acoustician Christopher Jaffe and Cleveland architectural firm Shafer, Flynn and Van Dijk, which oversaw the modeling and building of the amphitheater.[10] As construction proceeded, Jaffe was replaced by German recording engineer Heinrich Heilholz, whom Szell preferred.[11] The fundraising campaign reached its goal of $6.6 million, and ground was broken on July 2, 1967.[12]

The Blossom Festival’s inaugural concert, featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by Szell, took place on July 19, 1968, with a live television broadcast on WKYC-TV3.[13] Soloists in the 9th included soprano Phyllis Curtin, mezzo Jane Hobson, tenor Ernst Haefliger, and bass Thomas Paul.[14] The following year the Orchestra hosted its first Fourth of July concert at Blossom — led by Meredith Willson, who composed The Music Man.[15]

In 2003, Blossom underwent a $17 million renovation intended to enhance a number of areas across the venue, including the sound system, stage, guest services, parking lots, and landscaping. In a transaction designed to give the Orchestra a financial boost and protect Blossom’s natural surroundings, the Musical Arts Association sold 580 acres of the site’s undeveloped land to the National Park Service in 2011.[16][17]

Blossom is also widely used for popular music events, especially folk, rock, and country. The largest recorded show attendance at Blossom was for a Blood, Sweat and Tears concert in 1969, just one year after the venue's opening, totaling in 24,364.[18] An unofficial estimate to a Pink Floyd concert in 1973 claims 32,000 were in attendance.[19] The amphitheater has played host to many music festivals, Lollapalooza, Mayhem Festival, Ozzfest, and Vans Warped Tour.[20][21][22] The Michael Stanley Band, intensely popular in Northeast Ohio, but virtually unknown elsewhere, set an attendance record, of 74,404, with four sold-out shows, on August 25–26 and 30–31, 1982.[23] Rock artist James Taylor was the first artist to play double nights at the amphitheater in 1979, with a combined attendance of over 42,000.[24]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "History of Blossom Music Center". Cleveland Orchestra. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  2. ^ Rosenberg, Donald (2000). The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. Cleveland: Gray & Company. pp. 351, 357.
  3. ^ Roseberg, Donald. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. p. 351.
  4. ^ "Blossom Music Center". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2018-09-15. In the pavilion, we seat six thousand and fifty-one people, and on the lawn we can seat up to fifteen-thousand people.
  5. ^ Rosenberg. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. p. 347.
  6. ^ Rosenberg. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. pp. 270–271.
  7. ^ Rosenberg. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. p. 348.
  8. ^ "Directions--Getting There". The Cleveland Orchestra. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  9. ^ Rosenberg. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. p. 353.
  10. ^ Rosenberg. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. p. 350.
  11. ^ Rosenberg. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. p. 352.
  12. ^ Rosenberg. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. pp. 353–354.
  13. ^ Rosenberg. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. pp. 356–358.
  14. ^ Donald Rosenberg (2000). The Cleveland Orchestra Story. Gray. p. 358. ISBN 9781886228245.
  15. ^ "Blossom Festival Band". The Cleveland Orchestra. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  16. ^ Ewinger, James (17 March 2011). "Cuyahoga Valley National Park buys chunk of Blossom Music Center land". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Blossom Music Center Land Will Be Added to Cuyahoga Valley NP". The Trust for Public Land. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  18. ^ Rosenberg. The Cleveland Orchestra Story: Second to None. p. 385.
  19. ^ Hullett, Julie. 'Five things you don't know about ... Blossom Music Center" Fresh Water July 11, 2018: L1
  20. ^ "Blossom Music Center Information". Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Vans Warped Tour at Blossom Music Center". Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  22. ^ "The first Lollapalooza Festival and Jane's Addiction: Greatest concert ever? Cleveland Remembers". Cleveland.com. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  23. ^ Faris, Mark. "Breaking up is hard to do" Akron Beacon Journal December 14, 1986: L1
  24. ^ Exner, Rich. "Blossom Music Center concert database: 1968 to present". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
[edit]
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