Dana New Music Society fall concerts
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
Pianist Auguste Antonov will return as guest artist at the Dana New Music Society’s annual fall concerts.
The main concert will be at 8 p.m. Wednesday in Bliss Recital Hall at Youngstown State University, with other performances at 12:10 p.m. Wednesday at Butler North; 11 a.m. Friday in Bliss Recital Hall; and 2 p.m. Dec. 4 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church on Covington Street. All of the concerts are free to the public.
Antonov was born in Bulgaria and lived 10 years in France before moving to the United States, where he continued his training at the University of Kansas and Texas Christian University. He has an active career as soloist specializing in 20th and 21st century music.
Antonov has premiered many new piano works and has worked with such composers as Carter Pann, John Mackey and Michael Colgrass among others. He teaches at The Master’s Touch School of Music in Dallas.
Antonov will premiere Dana faculty composer Robert Rollin’s “Toccata,” which he commissioned two years ago. It is a lively and technically challenging seven-minute display piece.
Antonov will also play Daniel Perttu’s “Sonata.” Perttu is on the music composition faculty of Westminster College. He also will play the Ohio premieres of Texas composer Matthew Saunders’ “Starry Wanderers,” Finnish composer Kim Diehneit’s “Impromptu,” and San Francisco composer Marc Parella’s “Sonata El Sonoro.”
Several Dana composition students will hear premieres of their works. Senior Carol Ann Smolka will sing her latest two songs: “I Am Yours” and “Dying to Survive,” accompanied by graduate student Allyson Oyster. The two will also present Oyster’s Psalm 47:1.
Sophomore Jesse Martin will perform his own Two âtudes for piano, and will also hear his String Quartet No. 1, second movement.
“Clowns,” the first movement of junior Samantha Hogan’s “Hell’s Carnival,” will be premiered by a student flute quartet. Her “Thoughtbox” for trombone and piano also will be played by Dana faculty trombonist John Olson accompanied by Jerry Rezanka.
Cory Davis will perform his piano piece “With Nothing Left.”
The Dana Composers Ensemble will present two new works: “Three-Legged Race” for five players by Allyson Oyster, and “Motion” for 10 players by Hogan.
Rollin’s “Little American Suite” will be played by a faculty/student double reed ensemble directed by Dana faculty oboist Ted Perkins.
New Music Guild member and local composer Richard Zacharias’ latest piano piece will be premiered by Cory Davis. Junior flautist Julianna Sabo and Dana faculty Diane Yazvac, piano, will play English composer Mike Mower’s “Bossa Mengova” from his Sonata Latino.
At the final concert Dec. 4 at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, the audience will hear Antonov perform a few of the contemporary works listed, as well as piano music by Haydn and Liszt.