The Hope College Great Performance Series will feature CityMusic Cleveland, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

This young chamber orchestra has been garnering attention around Cleveland for the past five years. Founded in the summer of 2004, CityMusic Cleveland exploded onto the scene with eight concerts in different neighborhoods. As audiences have discovered the joys of CityMusic Cleveland concerts, the orchestra has grown into larger venues.

Now the orchestra is embarking on its first tour ever and the Great Performance Series will be one of the ensemble's first stops. Since 2005 James Gaffigan has been the music director of CityMusic Cleveland; he also serves as associate conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, under Michael Tilson Thomas.  "Gramophone" magazine has praised him, saying "[Music Director James] Gaffigan draws incisive and flexible playing from the orchestra, whose strings are elegant and precise, woodwind full of character, brasses firm and timpani pointed." "Fanfare" magazine added, "Bravo!" The "Cleveland Plain Dealer" has called the orchestra "pure genius," with music "superbly played." In addition Gaffigan was recognized by the League of American Orchestras with its 2008 Helen M. Thompson Award for emerging music directors and highlighted in the October "Gramophone" in the publication's "One to Watch" feature.

The performance will feature the highly acclaimed young cellist Joshua Roman performing Schumann's "Cello Concerto." The orchestra will also perform Mozart's "Idomeneo Ballet Music" and Beethoven's "Symphony No. 2."

Since winning the principal chair in the cello section of the Seattle Symphony at the age of 22, Roman has become a favorite of Seattle music lovers, with sold-out solo and chamber performances throughout the city. When not performing in or in front of a Symphony Orchestra, Roman is likely to be found on the stage of a club, performing music as varied as jazz or rock, as well as chamber music or a solo sonata by Kodaly or Bach.

This presentation is supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art, with additional contributions from Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs, General Mills Foundation and Land O'Lakes Foundation.

Tickets for the performance are on sale at the ticket office in the DeVos Fieldhouse, and cost $17 for regular admission, $12 for senior citizens, and $6 for children 18 and under. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at (616) 395-7890.

The ticket office is in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse, which is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets.  Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., on College Avenue at 12th Street.

Additional information may be obtained online by visiting www.hope.edu/gps.