CutTime Players® is a BOLD idea... A CLASSICAL MUSIC BAND!   ... a DAZZLING and FLEXIBLE ensemble with hosted variety concerts of classica covering 300 YEARS of written music's GREATEST HITS! CutTime Players® is your SHORTCUT to LOVING classical music and was started by Detroit Symphony Orchestra Musicians.     • POPULAR MUSICAL STORIES: Click or download these MP3 links to hear how they play... Peter and the Wolf,  The Sorcerer's Apprentice and the amazing new Animal Circus Suite. • NARRATED DRAMAS: Pictures at an Exhibition, Carmen, The Three-Cornered Hat, plus The Soldier's Tale with 3 actors. • SYMPHONY MOVEMENTS: from Mozart to Beethoven to Mendelssohn to Tchaikovsky to Mahler. • CONCERTOS that feature deepest personal expression & virtuosic control: The Four Seasons. • OVERTURES that set the stage for opera: Russlan and Ludmilla, William Tell, The Magic Flute. • PIANO WORKS: from Beethoven's Fur Elise to Rachmaninoff's Prelude in c-sharp and shorts. • JAZZ SUITES by Claude Bolling, jazz standards, Joplin rags, gospel on into FUNK! • FOLK MUSIC SUITES from Romania, Hungary, Spain, England and Russia... even KLEZMER! • ENCORES: Ride of the Valkyries, Tico Tico, Hungarian Dance #5 & Stars and Stripes Forever. • SPECIAL FAMILY PROGRAMS: featuring Spanish, Russian and Jewish musics, a Christmas program, an imaginative Halloween program with a kids costume PARADE, and two soulful programs celebrating the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King and W. A. Mozart.

CutTime Players® features: Geoff Applegate, violin Rick Robinson, bass Sharon Sparrow, flute Ted Oien, clarinet Bob Williams, bassoon Kevin Good, trumpet Randy Hawes, bass trombone percussion TBA (Percussionist Keith Claeys pictured on gateway page)

This remarkably versatile grouping began with Igor Stravinsky's profound 1917 music-drama The Soldier's Tale. Exploring its "miniature orchestra" potential, DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (DSO) bassist and 2010 Kresge Artist Fellow RICK ROBINSON tapped seven colleagues in 1995 to perform this jazz-inspired masterpiece along with his first transcription, Prokofiev's classic Peter and the Wolf. Their success launched the development of the ultimate classical COVER BAND featuring 100+ transcriptions and arrangements! The CUT TIME is a musical symbol for TWO BEATS PER BAR... indicating a LIVELY or EZ tempo. They ADOPTED this symbol as a  commitment to REACHING OUT to audiences and students with LIVELY, FUN, and INTIMATE concerts. Along with a cool mix of STORIES, METAPHORS and PERSONALITIES, CutTime® means it's TIME to CUT LOOSE with the classics! CutTime® cuts the time it takes new audiences to love classical! They have taken great pleasure bringing popular classical and classic pop standards to audiences across Michigan, into Ohio and to Florida. Here is a YouTube VIDEO of their adventures. With rich arrangements, clear musicianship and a warm, personal concert style, this ensemble is an INSTANT HIT wherever they go! CTP played for the homeless at Christmas 2010. VIDEO The mind craves NOVELTY. Don't miss another opportunity to be SURPRISED by classical! CutTime® is going NATIONAL in 2012! See the September 7 Detroit Free Press!  Listen to Mr. CutTime's NPR interview with Guy Raz!   Join the CutTime Mailing List Email: For Email Marketing you can trust CutTime Players® means CLASSICAL CONCERTS WITH CHARACTER! Download this MP3 of Soundbites! (More MP3s) Download the new CutTime® Brochure! Larry Johnson of The Detroit News calls CutTime Players® "... a small band with a ton of talent." Detroit Free Press music critic Mark Stryker says "The emphasis is on high-level musicianship and entertaining and witty presentation." Read here what other people are saying. Read about their next concerts. Take a quick look at some previous seasons and their growing repertoire list!

CUT OUT THE FORMALITY!  IT'S TIME TO MAKE CLASSICAL REAL  FOR NEW AUDIENCES!

®   Read about the history of CutTime® and its mission. Read a letter from the director.  Learn about the musicians and their guest actors. Read their extensive resume. Wanna go DEEPER? Pop over to Rick's writings of MUSICAL INSIGHTS for young musicians and classical music fans where you'll discover juicy tidbits about symphony concerts and musiking. Also visit the LINKS page for related suggestions! Read about Rick Robinson in Detroit Free Press,  Time Magazine and winning a $25,000 Kresge Artist Fellowship for composition! CTP even played for the homeless last Christmas. See videos at DETNEWS & WSWS. Streams of popular tracks are available at ReverbNation.   Wanna HELP?  Invite CutTime Players® to YOUR community! This is YOUR time to make CUTTIME work its magic in your school or church, simply by providing an official contact along with your name as reference.

PRESENTERS: CutTime ensembles will soon be available year-round! Read more... TEACHERS and PARENTS: They offer 35% DISCOUNTS for metro-Detroit schools. CORPORATIONS: Valuable sponsorship opportunities available! Se habla dinner parties! Call 313-680-8104 for a quote! CutTime Players® is a member of Chamber Music America.