Orchestra

The Brightside hosts $10 Classical Concert!

October 27, 2019 By LIbby Ballengee

The Rodin Trio performs at The Brightside on October 30, 2019

The Brightside is committed to hosting a variety of events to the Dayton area, including classical music too! Dayton’s own Joshua Halpern (cello) is back home from globe trotting with his group, the Rodin Trio, to perform on Wednesday October 30th in the new venue’s beautiful Vodvil Ballroom. The trio is rounded out with Scott Cuellar (piano – faculty at Oberlin) and Philip Marten (violin – Assistant Concert Master at Cincinnati Symphony).

This particular performance is everything typical classical concerts are not: casual and affordable! Organizers are particularly encouraging students to attend for just $7, and $10 for adults – in advance. Quite the value to see performers of this caliber! Pre-sale tickets are available at SoundValleyDayton.com. Note: Ticket prices raise to $10 / $15 day of show.

When I asked Joshua why this hometown show is so special, he explained: “I got my start in Dayton in every way –– Nan Watson, my orchestra teacher at Oakwood, was the first person to put a cello in my hands. Early on I studied privately with her and a couple of other cellists in the Dayton Philharmonic. Betsey Hofeldt, a violinist in the DPO, was the first to introduce me to chamber music, which totally changed my life. I played for years in the Junior Strings Orchestra and the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. I wouldn’t have pursued music without all of these hometown influences and to be able to finally come back and not only see so many familiar faces but thank them with music, and show them (I hope) how I’ve continued to grow, is a really special kind of full-circle moment that brings me a lot of joy.”

If you’ve ever been curious about experiencing the power and beauty of classical music, this is the perfect opportunity!

The Program:
- Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 2 in G major, Op 1 No. 2
- Martinu: Piano Trio No. 2 in D minor, H. 327
  — Intermission–
- Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66

How to Go?
- The Brightside at 905 E 3rd St, Dayton OH
- Wednesday October 30, 2019
- Doors 7pm. Performance 7:30-9pm.
- All ages welcome!
- General Admission: $10 adv / $15 day of show
- Student: $7 student adv / $10 day of show (Student over 18? Please bring ID)
- Tickets: https://www.soundvalleydayton.com/events/an-evening-with-the-rodin-trio

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ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

Since graduating from Oakwood High School in 2012, Josh has earned degrees from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston and from the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Most recently, he completed a chamber music tour of Germany that took him to Berlin, Mecklenburg, and to Beethoven’s former home in Bonn. In June, Josh was guest principal cello with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra for performances in the Netherlands and WHERE, and on tour to Taiwan and China.

Josh first played cello as a fourth grader at Harman Elementary. During high school, he was principal cello for the Oakwood High School Orchestra and the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and was a founding member of the Blackbird String Quartet at OHS. As part of the prep program at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Josh was a founding member of the Polaris Quartet which won the gold medal in the junior division of the Fischoff International Chamber Music competition in 2011.

The Rodin Trio, established in 2017, also includes Philip Marten, violin, who is assistant concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Scott Cuellar, piano, who is on faculty at Oberlin Conservatory. The three musicians each maintain separate busy schedules, but are excited to be playing together again and bringing their music to Dayton.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s Golden Anniversary Celebrated with the Dayton Philharmonic!

April 30, 2019 By LIbby Ballengee

The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, under the leadership of Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman, is honored to be a part of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s 50^th Anniversary celebration for a special DCDC Golden Anniversary Concert on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 6:30pm at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton.

Founded in 1968 by the late Jeraldyne Blunden, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) is the oldest modern dance company in Ohio. DCDC serves as a cultural ambassador to Dayton, the state of Ohio, the Midwest, and the nation. The company holds the world’s largest archive of classic African American dance works and one of the largest of any kind among contemporary dance companies worldwide. Noteworthy choreographers who have worked with the company include Alvin Ailey, Talley Beatty, Donald Byrd, Bill T. Jones, José Limón, Donald McKayle, Ray Mercer, Bebe Miller, Doug Varone, and Kevin Ward.

Together, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will present a thrilling performance to honor DCDC’s 50^th Anniversary as the region’s outstanding modern dance company rooted in the African American experience. The evening’s performance will consist of three engaging pieces that celebrate the artistry and athleticism of the full DCDC company of dancers.

The first of the three pieces presented will be the World Premiere choreographed by former DCDC artistic director Kevin Ward. The new work is entitledand each day you mean one more and is set to brand new music by composer and musician Derrick Spivey, Jr. and performed by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Neal, Derrick and Kevin–conductor, composer, and choreographer–have worked closely together over the last several months to bring this work to life.

and each day you mean one more is partly inspired by the poem “The Low Road” by Marge Piercy, which addresses the challenges faced by the lone actor for societal good and how, with the gradual attraction and enlistment of like-minded individuals, a real force for change can be built that can resist destructive reactionary forces. In creating the dance, choreographer Kevin Ward was inspired by many lone actors such as Fanny Lou Hamer, David Hogg, Fred Rogers, James Baldwin, Malala, Claudette Colvin, and many nameless actors, such as the U.S. prisoners who staged a massive strike against systematic abuse, even though it resulted in the cruelest solitary confinement, and how their efforts inspired millions to follow suit.

DCDC will also perform a signature work from their history called Children of the Passage. This work was co-created for DCDC by world-renowned choreographer Ronald K. Brown and Tony-nominated choreographer Donald McKayle, who passed away just over a year ago this April. The work follows a party of decadent lost souls that are haunted and later rescued by spirits that reconnect them to their ancient and ancestral character. The composition is a cadence that is drawn from the traditional marching jazz bands of New Orleans, with the grind and groove of the contemporary jazz and soul music. The language of movements is translated from the visual poetry of African and African American dance and the celebration of cultural rituals of yesterday and today.

The third work on the program is American Mo’, created by choreographer and DCDC Associate Artistic Director Crystal Michelle Perkins. The dance is a celebration of triumph over adversity. Dancers express freedom, courage and joy to Duke Ellington’s “Three Black Kings,” composed in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This work originally premiered on September 19 & 20, 2015 as part ofAmerican Mosaic, Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts and was performed with accompaniment by Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra at the Schuster Center. DCDC has performed the innovative piece in New York City, Kazakhstan, and the Bolshoi in Moscow.

How To Go!

Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 6:30pm at the Schuster Center

Tickets for DCDC Golden Anniversary Concert begin at $15.50 and are available for purchase by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or online at www.daytonperformingarts.org.

For more information on the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, including by Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org.

For more information on Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, visit www.dcdc.org.

Sebastian & Sons: the story of a family who loves music

March 25, 2018 By Lisa Grigsby

Chorus. Orchestra. Theatre.
The sights and sounds of their lives.

Sebastian & Sons explores the musical legacy of the J.S. Bach family. Their music. Their relationships. The drama and joy of their lives. It’s a multi-artful concert with the Bach Society chorus, actors from The Human Race Theatre Company, and musicians from the Dayton Philharmonic.

Imagine: 60 singers raising their voices in glory. An orchestra enters: flutes weave their high notes skyward, strings sing, and the timpani booms! A man in 18th century costume enters and remembers how music brought comfort to his family’s home.

Sebastian & Sons
Sunday, March 25
from 4 to 6-ish pm

At 3:00pm, an hour before the concert, musicologist Ellen Exner offers a view into the music and the legacy of the Bach family.

To hear about Bach Society concerts via email, go here: http://eepurl.com/brDXUL

…Go In Peace – Bernstein’s Mass Graces the Schuster Stage

May 12, 2011 By On Stage Dayton Leave a Comment

Leonard Bernstein’s MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers

Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

Wright State University Departments of Music, Theatre, and Dance

A famous reclusive American novelist once mused that “art and controversy seem to be joined at birth”. Indeed every generation has its authors, songwriters, painters, sculptors, dancers, and creators exploring the darker side of human nature and in so doing, challenging the moral center of American life. Whether its a ‘Catcher In The Rye’ – style uproar or a team of protestors on a mission to take down a certain boy wizard, controversy has been at the center of some of the greatest artistic achievements of our time. Why? Well, often its because the best art challenges us to look at ourselves differently and with a critical eye – and let’s face it, Americans don’t like that! This weekend, a once deeply controversial work opens in Dayton in a new, glorious production sure to inspire a new following of fans (and protestors) alike.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Leonard Bernstein entering the Kennedy Center Opera House for a performance of Mass in 1972 (photo from the Library of Congress)

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis & Leonard Bernstein at Kennedy Center, Sept. 8, 1971

Forty years ago, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis selected the famed Leonard Bernstein to compose a monumental work to memorialize her late husband and 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. The piece was to premiere on September 8, 1971 at the official opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The piece follows the structure of a Roman Catholic Mass, but includes elements of many styles typical of the contemporary American musical landscape of the period: Blues, Rock, Showtunes and Opera. While the liturgical text of Mass is in Latin, Bernstein and collaborators Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Children of Eden) and Paul Simon (as in Simon & Garfunkel) contributed additional English texts.

The piece examines faith, specifically crisis in faith. Considering the political landscape, Vietnam war, and the assassinations of the 1960’s, including that of JFK, the concept of addressing a personal crisis of faith through art was not necessarily anomalous, yet Bernstein’s Mass was not without controversy. With it’s anti-war themes, it is no wonder this piece was received with both joyful acclaim and turbulent disdain in the fall of 1971.

This collaborative production between the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Wright State’s Music, Theatre and Dance departments is likely to be awe-inspiring. The piece itself is complex. It is symphonic & theatrical. The musical elements will surely be accompanied by the most amazing visual imagery possible- breathtaking choreography, costuming and scenery. The creative forces behind this production will surely give you something thrilling to discuss over coffee after the performance, and in the days to follow.

Bernstein's Mass - Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra & Wright State Music, Theatre & Dance - May 13-14, 2011

Bernstein's Mass - in rehearsal on the Schuster Center's Mead Theatre Stage

Official Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Press Release:

The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2010-2011 Miami Valley & Good Samaritan Hospitals Classical Series will conclude in spectacular fashion with performances of Leonard Bernstein’s MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers on Friday and Saturday, May 13 & 14, 2011, both performances at 8 p.m. at the Schuster Center.

This production will fuse the talents of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra with faculty and students from Wright State University in an unprecedented way. Neal Gittleman, Music Director of the DPO, will conduct. Greg Hellems of the WSU Department of Theatre is stage director and Gina Walther, of WSU’s Dance Department, is choreographer. Staging has been designed by WSU’s Pam Knauert Lavarnway and choral forces are being prepared by WSU’s Hank Dahlman. The production is under the overall artistic supervision of WSU’s W. Stuart McDowell, chair of the WSU Department of Theatre, Dance, and Motion Pictures.

All instrumental musicians – on stage and in the pit, and including rock and blues bands as well as traditional orchestral configurations – will come from the ranks of the DPO, while all actors, singers, and dancers – more than 100 in total – will be WSU students. The production will also include the Kettering Children’s Choir under the direction of Natalie DeHorn and noted tenor John Wesley Wright in the crucial role of The Celebrant.

Leonard Bernstein’s MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers was commissioned by former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy for the opening of the national arts center named in honor of her late husband, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. The work premiered as part of the Kennedy Center’s opening festivities on September 8, 1971.

Bernstein’s MASS is based on the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Catholic Church, but is not at all a traditional concert setting. Although there are liturgical passages that are sung in Latin, MASS also includes additional texts in English written by Bernstein, Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz (of Wicked fame), and pop/folk singer Paul Simon.

According to the composer’s daughter, Nina Bernstein: “The piece follows the liturgy exactly, but it is juxtaposed against frequent interruptions and commentaries by the Celebrant and the congregation, much like a running debate. There is stylistic juxtaposition as well, with the Latin text heard electronically through speakers or sung by the chorus, and the interruptions sung in various popular styles including blues and rock-and-roll. On the narrative level, the piece relates the drama of a Celebrant whose faith is simple and pure at first, but gradually becomes unsustainable under the weight of human misery, corruption, and the trappings of his own power.”

“MASS is an enormous piece. It calls for a large pit orchestra, two choruses plus a children’s choir, a Broadway-sized cast (with ballet company), and a rock band. It may seem ironic that such multitudes are marshaled for a work that celebrates a man’s “Simple Song”: his love and faith in God. But in the end, that simplicity is shown to be all the more powerful because of it.”

Bernstein's MASS - Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Wright State University Music, Theatre & Dance - May 13-14, 2011

Bernstein's Mass - in rehearsal at Wright State University

Two years after its premiere, MASS was first performed in Europe (Vienna) by the Yale Symphony Orchestra. In the orchestra pit was young violinist and Yale student, Neal Gittleman.

This groundbreaking collaboration between the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and Wright State University promises to be the regional performance event of the season, if not the decade.

-SA/DB/DPO Press Release

We encourage local theatre companies to submit calendar items HERE, and official press releases to [email protected]