Dana Festival to feature composer from Cleveland

The composer is on the faculty of Juilliard.
THE VINDICATOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Cleveland native Eric Ewazen will be the guest composer at Dana New Music Festival XXIII, which begins Monday and runs through May 4.
Ewazen's music is widely performed and recorded. His works being performed at the Dana Festival will include tuba and flute concertos at 1 p.m. Monday; "Palasades" for percussion en; Sinfonia for Strings, 8 p.m. May 3; and Grand Canyon Octet for Horns in F, 11 a.m. May 4.
Ewazen's saxophone quartet will perform at 12:15 p.m. May 2 at Butler Institute of American Art.
He will also deliver a series of lectures during the week.
Dana faculty and guests will join Ewazen for a panel session at 8 a.m. Monday on "The Importance of Composing and Performing Contemporary Music."
Ewazen earned his undergraduate degree at Eastman and his master's and doctoral degrees at Juilliard, having worked with Milton Babbitt, Samuel Adler, Warren Benson, Joseph Schwantner and Gunther Schuller. He has been on the faculty of Juilliard since 1980.
Plumeri
Another guest composer, Johnterryl Plumeri, a Hollywood film composer, will have his work for flute and strings premiered at 8 p.m. May 3 by Dana faculty Kathryn Umble and the Festival Chamber Orchestra, directed by Robert Rollin.
The Festival Chamber Orchestra will premiere two other works May 3: "The Seven Days of Creation" by graduate composition student Brian Rosen, and "Rondo Capriccio" for trumpet and strings by Dana faculty Robert Rollin, with soloist Eric Brewer, faculty at Kent State-Ashtabula.
Monday 8 p.m. concert at DeYor Center features the Dana Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Dana Symphony Orchestra, directed by Stephen Gage, playing works by Stravinsky, Rimsky Korsakov and a world premiere of "Precipice" for alto saxophone and wind ensemble by Dana faculty Till Meyn, featuring Dana faculty James Umble.
All concerts except the Monday show at DeYor Center are free and open to the public.