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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Youngstown Symphony Orchestra performed a concert for Dobbins and Unions Elementary students on March 22 at Poland Seminary High School.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Students from Dobbins and Union Elementary stood as they clapped along to a performance by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra on March 22.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Heidi Joyce walked around to engage with the Poland elementary students during the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra performance on March 22.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Dobbins Elementary students enjoyed the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra concert at Poland Seminary High School on March 22. Pictured are, from left, Sabrina Metzinger, Raina Trolio, Zach Ohlin and Ethan Andrews.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Youngstown Symphony Orchestra director Randall Craig Fleischer spoke to the Poland elementary students during the concert on March 22.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Poland elementary students danced and clapped along to songs performed by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra on March 22 at Poland Seminary High School.
More than 600 students in kindergarten through sixth-grade from Dobbins and Union Elementary schools enjoyed a performance directed by Randall Craig Fleischer and narrated by Heidi Joyce. The educational concert had a theme of “Journey to Freedom,” and Joyce talked about immigration.
The concert is part of the Young People’s Concert program. The YSO visits schools in the Mahoning Valley to educate students on different topics each year. Joyce was very interactive with the students as she walked through the gymnasium clapping and getting the students to engage in the different performances. At the beginning of the concert Joyce asked students were asked where their family members came from and received a variety of answers.
“My favorite part was probably clapping and the second song performed,” said Dobbins student Zach Ohlin. “I learned about the underground railroad.” Dobbins student Sabrina Metzinger said she liked the entire performance. The students got into clapping and moving along with Joyce as the orchestra played each song. Some of the songs involved the students singing along.
The YSO’s Young People’s Concert will reach out to more than 3,000 students in the Mahoning Valley this year. The Young People’s Concert ability to travel around the Mahoning Valley and go to these schools gives the students an opportunity to see a concert they might not have the chance to see otherwise.