FP Creative Gives Classical Music A New Face

If the words “classical music” conjure visions of coattails and cuff links, Devin Hinzo may change your tune.  With FP Creative, the 29-year-old launched an arts organization that aims to make the genre more accessible in the digital age through a collaborative concert series, a hip warehouse performance space and educational programming.

“People have this general idea of what classical music is, that it’s this very fancy thing,” Hinzo says. “While it can be, that’s not everything. There’s a breadth of classical and experimental music that’s being created and performed today that sort of defies all of that nonsense.”

Hinzo founded FP Creative last year, first focusing on curating classical performances that pushed stylistic boundaries and provided more diverse audiences access. Now, he’s gearing up for a second season centered on education, offering professional development programs for up-and-coming musicians and showcasing local and national talent through concerts in the Artcraft building on Superior Avenue.

“The attention around classical music is dying because the presentation of the art form has really been the last to modernize and adapt to contemporary times,” he says. Before the new season kicks off in November, here’s four reasons we’re keeping all ears on Hinzo. 

Wide Open Spaces

As a person of color, Hinzo says he’s always felt like he doesn’t fit into everyday spaces. He’s found a welcoming, chameleonic performance location in Snap House Studios on the Artcraft building’s fifth floor. The bright, airy warehouse studio is a 3,000-square-foot blank slate that Hinzo redesigns for every show. “Before any music starts, before you see anybody, there’s a physical reaction to space,” he says. “I’m playing with that in our projects because what’s unique about the studio is that it’s very open.” 

Fresh Sound

FP Creative’s flagship events, Fresh Perspective concerts, flips the script on typical classical music performances. For the 2019-2020 concert series, guest curators are set to take the reins. On Jan. 23, Mourning [A] BLKstar’s trumpeter Theresa May leads six musicians and video artists in a concert of works by Rachmaninoff and current classical composers Ahmed Al Abaca and Regina Harris Baiocchi. On Feb. 20, Melanie Emig produces a show which finds musicians playing in the corners of Snap House Studios while the audience sits in the center, creating a surround-sound experience. “You can interact with it as you like, but it can also be a transient experience where you just follow the sound,” says Hinzo. 

Class Act

This season, Hinzo launches a yearlong emerging artists-in-residency program for local musicians, with performance showcases and professional development lessons on branding, marketing and selecting a manager. “We’re offering personalized support that takes them out of school and challenges them to work and interact with all types of people in the community,” he says. First up is Catharsis Winds, a woodwind quintet from the Cleveland Institute of Music headlining the Nov. 14 opening gala.  

Going Live

In an effort to reach beyond Cleveland and provide access for classical artists without a platform, Hinzo is launching Instagram livestreams throughout the season featuring impromptu concerts and interviews. “In classical music, the focus is mostly on composers,” he says. “By illuminating performers, I feel people will have more of a connection to the individual and the music.