PATRICIA C. SYAK | Symphony notes Outreach programs keep students involved

Youngstown Symphony Society educational outreach programs are not limited to in-school performances by Storytyme or the Symphony String Quartet, or connections with the concert experience through attendance at Youngstown Symphony Orchestra subscription concerts or Young People's Concerts. For some Youngstown State University students, their involvement with the orchestra is both classroom instruction and concert attendance.
Music-director-turned-college-professor is a role often performed by YSO Music Director Isaiah Jackson. In addition to his globetrotting conducting assignments, Isaiah Jackson serves as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Dayton, where he team-teaches Philosophy of Music and assists in conference planning and curriculum development.
Along with professors from English, history and philosophy, Jackson led a five-week study group to Morocco and the AlAkhawayn University last summer. Closer to home, Isaiah Jackson will be working with the Honors Program at Youngstown State University this year.
How it began: Jackson began working with the Honors Program at Youngstown State in 1997. It was originally developed by Jackson and Dr. Nate Ritchey, then-director of University Scholars and Honors Programs, to coincide with the closing concert of the Orchestra's 1996-97 season and their performance of the "Beethoven Ninth Symphony."
Since then, the Weekend at the Symphony program has occurred annually, focusing on Mendelssohn's "Elijah" in 1998, the "Resurrection Symphony" by Mahler in 1999 and Schwantner's "Percussion Concerto" in 2000.
That same year, the Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra performance was added to the weekend activities. In addition, members of the Youngstown State University Dana School of Music Percussion Ensemble held a lecture demonstration during which they acquainted the honors students with percussion instruments and techniques.
Dr. Ronald V. Shaklee, the new director of University Honors and Scholars Programs, has graciously continued the tradition into the current season. This year, the Weekend at the Symphony enrichment program will study Brahms' "Symphony No. 4."
What's planned: Students will attend April 27 and 28 rehearsals preceding the concert this year, as well as the YSO Concert Conversations on April 28. Dr. Theodore Albrecht, professor of Musicology at Kent State University, will be the host.
Isaiah Jackson will conduct classes April 27 and 29. During these classes, students will consider the work in question and the greater cultural context of Brahms' final symphony. The history of the Youngstown Symphony and its concert hall is also included in their discussions. In preparation for the classes, students will be given reading and listening assignments and will write a five-to-seven page paper in which they are invited to examine their own relationship to the Brahms "Fourth Symphony." The Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra's Spring Concert, in which Jackson will participate, will again be a part of the course.
Even high school students can make a & quot;field trip & quot; to Symphony Center and reap educational rewards, as was the case when 28 students and three teachers from Woodrow Wilson High School attended the Feb. 23 Midday Musicale featuring Jackson and guest artist Ani Kavafian in conversation and a performance by the Youngstown Symphony String Quartet. Midday Musicale provided the perfect opportunity for students to speak directly with Ms. Kavafian and examine her 266-year-old Stradivarius violin.
XPatricia C. Syak is executive director of the Youngstown Symphony Society.