Jon Batiste & Cleveland Orchestra in Cuyahoga Falls

Jon Batiste is an American pianist, singer, composer and bandleader born in Metairie, Louisiana, in 1986. He plays jazz, soul, R&B and pop, and became widely known as the bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. His major works include the album We Are, the song “Freedom” and the score for Pixar’s Soul, co-written with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. In 2022, Jon Batiste premiered American Symphony at Carnegie Hall, performing the work with an orchestra and guest musicians. The Uneasy Tour: Purifying the Airwaves for the People followed in 2024, bringing material from World Music Radio to North American stages. That year he also performed at Coachella and Glastonbury Festival.

The Cleveland Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra founded in Cleveland in 1918. Recordings made during George Szell’s tenure as music director, particularly works by Beethoven, Brahms, Dvořák and Richard Strauss, form a central part of its discography. The orchestra opened Severance Hall as its permanent home in 1931, then made its first European tour under George Szell in 1957. It inaugurated Blossom Music Center as its summer home in 1968, establishing an annual outdoor concert season in Ohio. Its festival history includes appearances at the Salzburg Festival and Lucerne Festival.