Poland and Wadsworth high school students participate at YSU invitational

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Visiting high-school musicians from Poland Seminary and Wadsworth high schools will join Youngstown State University Dana School of Music faculty and student ensembles for the ninth annual YSU Wind and Percussion Invitational at 7 p.m. Friday at Stambaugh Auditorium on Fifth Avenue.

Visiting students will participate in master classes with Dana professors during the day, then participate in an evening concert at Stambaugh with the YSU Percussion Ensemble, directed by Glenn Schaft, and the YSU Wind Ensemble conducted by Stephen L. Gage, YSU director of bands, with soloist, Stacie Mickens, assistant professor of horn.

The YSU Wind Ensemble is recently home from a two-day tour of Northeast Ohio, where it completed its itinerary with a feature performance, their ninth invited guest appearance in the last 17 years, at the Ohio Music Education Association State Music Convention last week in Cleveland.

The YSU Percussion Ensemble will open the concert with a Ghanian drum piece, Kpanlogo, which is a recreational dance and music style from the West African nation.

The Poland Bulldog Marching Band recently participated in the NCAA Championship Football game in the New Orleans Superdome and has been a frequent performer at Walt Disney World in Orlando. The PSHS Wind Ensemble has given performances on a number of university campuses and was featured at a recent OMEA Convention.

The ensemble has earned consistent Superior ratings at the OMEA Large Ensemble Competition over the years. The PSHS Wind Ensemble will perform three pieces.

Conductor Steven Hadgis brings the Wadsworth Wind Ensemble for its premiere performance in Youngstown.

After a brief intermission, the YSU Wind Ensemble will open its program with a new work composed by Alex Miller, a second-year YSU Dana School of Music student, who graduated from Lakeview High School. His “Fanfare for Wind Ensemble” premiered on the band’s recent tour.

The ensemble will then play several other pieces and close its performance with a funk and rhythm and blues influenced composition by University of Michigan composer, Michael Daugherty, entitled “Niagara Falls.”

Tickets may be ordered by phone at 330-259-0555, in person at the Stambaugh box office, or online at www.stambaughauditorium.com and at the door.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens 62 and older. Those with a YSU ID get in for free. For information, call the Dana School of Music Office at 330-941-3636.