Partnership broadens N. Side culture

By Denise Dick

By DENISE DICK

denise_dick@vindy.com

youngstowN

A partnership between YSU and the Jewish Community Center will broaden the cultural offerings of the city’s North Side and offer students the opportunity to perform in new venues.

Representatives of Youngs-town State University’s College of Fine and Performing Arts and the JCC announced the partnership, which created the Jewish Community Center Cultural Arts Series.

The announcement came Tuesday at the center before a performance by the YSU Jazz Ensemble.

Sandy Kessler, executive center director of JCC, said the idea started while speaking to a professor at the university’s Dana School of Music. He believed that the student performances should reach out into the community.

It’s part of the center’s mission to support the Jewish community and center members and to be part of the greater community, Kessler said.

“When Dr. Bryan DePoy [dean of YSU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts] entered the picture, his vision took the idea from one or two concerts at the JCC to a series,” Kessler said.

The YSU Dana Chorale is set to perform at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at the center, and a special evening performance of YSU’s Jazz Combos is set for 7 p.m. Nov. 2.

With DePoy’s involvement, the idea expanded to talks of student art exhibits and theater performances at JCC, the executive director said.

“This is one of the most important programs I’ve been involved with for a long time,” DePoy said.

One of the university’s aims is to enhance the cultural life of the region, he said.

“In the northern part of Youngstown, past Stambaugh Auditorium, the only cultural area that’s really established is the Jewish Community Center,” DePoy said.

The partnership offers more opportunities for students to perform.

“Our students not only want to perform,” he said. “They’re required to.”

As the collaboration evolves, DePoy hopes more students will perform or exhibit at the center.

“This is just the beginning,” the dean said.