Dana concert will mark milestone

Music school hits 150th anniversary

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

To celebrate its 150th anniversary, the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University will present a gala concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Stambaugh Auditorium.

Tickets are $11 ($6 for senior citizens and students; and free for anyone with a valid YSU ID) and are available in advance at stambaughauditorium.com or by calling 330-259-0555. Tickets will also be sold at the door.

The concert will display the diverse musical talent at the Dana School of Music with performances by numerous choral and instrumental ensembles.

“We are celebrating the past, present and future of Dana, with works from the 19th century by Dana alumnus Roland Seitz up to our current composition students,” said Randall Goldberg, director of the Dana. “Selections on the program highlight the breadth of Dana faculty and student scholarship and virtuosity and our new collaborative initiatives. It’s going to be an amazing night of music.”

Included in the lineup is Voices of YSU, directed by Daniel Keown, which will perform Rahman’s Balleilakka, collaborating with YSU’s Dance Ensemble, under the direction of Amy A. Wright.

Jazz Ensemble 1, directed by Kent Engelhardt, will perform selections composed by Tadd Dameron while Omphalo Centric Lecture by Nigel Westlake is the featured piece by the YSU Percussion Ensemble, directed by Glenn Schaft.

YSU Wind Ensemble’s performance of Helix for Alto Saxophone & Chamber Octet by Jan Bach, conducted by Stephen Gage, will highlight soloist James Umble, saxophone, a member of the Dana School of Music faculty.

Roland Seitz’s March Grandioso will be performed by the YSU Concert Band, directed by Dr. Brandt Payne.

The Dana Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Gage will perform Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Higdon’s popular Blue Cathedral.

Conducted by Hae-Jong Lee, the Dana Chorale will perform a selection by Kim Andre Arnesen as well as an arrangement of Gyung-bog-gung Ta-ryung by Hui-Jo Kim.

The Dana Symphony Orchestra will perform the world premiere of Sesquicentennial Suite, composed by Dana students Max Franko, Brandon Hackimer, Brendan McEvoy, Juan Rodriguez, Taylor Natoli and Alyssa Kordecki, under the supervision of Dana faculty member David Morgan.

“The Dana School of Music includes many composition students who are writing outstanding music for orchestra,” said Morgan. “Rather than select one student to compose an anniversary piece, I encouraged the idea of a collaboration in which all of the composition students could participate if they were interested. The composers rose to the challenge and have composed a magnificent piece of music that has frankly exceeded my expectations.”

The rousing finale will feature the Dana Chorale, Voices of YSU and the YSU Wind Ensemble in Fortina from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

The Dana School of Music celebrates 150 years as one of the region’s finest cultural institutions. William Henry Dana’s visionary “Musical Institute” has produced generations of professional musicians who perform in prestigious orchestras, military and jazz bands, and contemporary ensembles; teach in elite conservatories; and develop future musicians in primary and secondary schools throughout the U.S.

Parking for the concert will be available in lots adjacent to Stambaugh Auditorium. For information, call 330-941-2307.