Venue: Blossom Music Center
Address: 1145 W Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44264
Town: Cuyahoga Falls, US

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. 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. The Board’s president, Frank E. Joseph, felt that the Blossom family was “more deserving of the honor than any other Cleveland family.” 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. 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. In the mid-1960s, music director George Szell was driven to find employment for his musicians throughout the summer months. 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 r