Does Your Church Have Chops?

Want to know if your church has acoustic potential? Host a classical concert.

Elizabeth Rhodes, my former morning traffic reporter, and I learned Saturday night that St. Ann Church in Cleveland Heights is tops in acoustic chops. The St. Ann Chamber Orchestra performed a classical and pops concert, part of its "Angels in the Heights" series. Domenico Boyagian conducted. Caroline Goulding, nominated for a Grammy for her Telarc debut CD, looked serene but was all business in the finale from the Bruch Scottish Fantasy.

The acoustics at St. Ann made the orchestra of young folks sound like an ensemble twice the size. As always at pops concerts, those hammy brass and drum players in the back get to upstage the strings. Fabulous sound.

Caroline wore a sleeveless royal blue floor-length dress with a single sparkly ornament on the fabric belt. William Laufer, the impressario who arranges the concert series at St. Ann, presented her with a multi-colored floral bouquet after her performance.

Caroline's last name looks like "GOOL-ding" but it's pronounced "GOLD-ing." Trust me.