YSU band was ‘smashing’ in NY

YOUNGSTOWN

Last Friday’s performance at Carnegie Hall in New York by the Youngstown State University concert band was “a smashing success,” said Stephen L. Gage, director. “I’ve been here for 43 semesters and it was the finest live concert I’ve ever been part of,” he said. “This group was very experienced and focused from the first day.”

The ensemble received a standing ovation for its performance at the storied concert hall. It opened with an arrangement of the national anthem with vocalist Victor Cardamone, a senior tenor, that “brought the house down,” said Gage. The finale “The Frozen Cathedral” was perfectly suited to the grandeur of the hall, he said.