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Dayton Philharmonic

Discover Classical and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Join Together to Broadcast Concert Night with the DPO Every Saturday

April 7, 2020 By Dayton Most Metro

Discover Classical and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra are pleased to announce that every Saturday night beginning on Saturday, April 11 at 8:00 pm, Discover Classical will broadcast a previously recorded concert from the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra for the southwest Ohio region to tune in and enjoy from the comfort of their homes. In this unprecedented time when concert halls are closed, Discover Classical and the Dayton Philharmonic are thrilled to partner together to bring the joy of music and maybe a little hope back into the lives of the greater Dayton community.

“The music of our Dayton Philharmonic is so important to the cultural life of our community,” said Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman. “So it’s a particular shame that we can’t be playing live music to lift people’s spirits, expose them to beauty, and give them hope now, when we all need it so much. These concerts from the DPO and DPAA archives are, I suppose, the next best thing until we can once again all be together in person.”

 

“If there is a silver lining to be found in the current turmoil surrounding the coronavirus, perhaps it’s that we will recognize and embrace the things that we sometimes took for granted, something as simple as sharing a common musical experience,” said Shaun Yu, President and CEO of Discover Classical. “It is my hope that these concerts will remind audiences of what a treasure we have in our Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, and what we have to look forward to…until we can all be together again.”

 

Concert Night with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will air Saturday evenings at 8 pm on Discover Classical 88.1FM WDPR Dayton/ 89.9FM WDPG Greenville/ 89.1FM WUSO Springfield, and online at discoverclassical.org.

 

The series will begin with Neal Gittleman’s ten favorite concerts from the last five seasons. This new series kicks off this Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 8:00 pm with a broadcast of the previously recorded first Masterworks concert of the 2018-2019 season entitled Pictures at an Exhibition, featuring guest violinist Yevgeny Kutik. The program includes Debussy-Molinari’s L’isle joyeuse, followed by Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1, and closing beautifully with Mussorgsky-Ravel’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

 

Concert Night with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will showcase the following concert lineup for the months of April and May:

 

APRIL 11, 2020 at 8:00 pm

from September 2018

Debussy-Molinari: L’isle joyeuse

Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 (Yevgeny Kutik, violin)

Massenet: Thaïs Meditation (Yevgeny Kutik, violin)

Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

 

APRIL 18, 2020 at 8:00 pm

from February 2017

Bach-Schoenberg: St. Anne Prelude and Fugue

Bach: Motet #1, Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Dayton Philharmonic Chamber Choir)

Mahler: Symphony No. 5

 

APRIL 25, 2020 at 8:00 pm

from March 2018

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Ballet (Dayton Ballet)

 

MAY 2, 2020 at 8:00 pm

from September 2017

Verdi: Requiem

 

MAY 9, 2020 at 8:00 pm

from May 2019 (John Mauceri, guest conductor)

Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes

Bernstein: Three Meditations from MASS (Adrian Daurov, cello)

Bruch: Kol Nidrei (Adrian Daurov, cello)

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5

 

MAY 16, 2020 at 8:00 pm

from September 2015

Copland: El Salon México

Grieg: Piano Concerto (Emile Naoumoff, piano)

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

 

MAY 23, 2020 at 8:00 pm

from January 2019

Rossini: La Gazza Ladra Overture

Mozart: Flute Concerto (Andrea Griminelli, flute)

Morricone: American Themes (Andrea Griminelli, flute)

Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra

 

MAY 30, 2020 at 8:00 pm

from October 2014

Mozart: Piano Concerto #20 (Spencer Myer, piano)

Mahler: “Das irdische Leben” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Mary Wilson, soprano)

Mahler: Symphony #4 (Mary Wilson, soprano)

 

Filed Under: Dayton Music, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Dayton Philharmonic, Discover Classical, Neal Gittleman

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 50th 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 50th 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.

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, Dayton History, DMM's Best Bets, Downtown Dayton, On Stage Dayton, The Featured Articles, Urban Living Tagged With: anniversary, arts, Dayton, Dayton Club Scene, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton Music, Dayton Ohio, Dayton Philharmonic, daytonmostmetro, downtown, Downtown Dayton, Events, Orchestra, Schuster, Things to Do, Things to do in Dayton

Audition For the Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

September 25, 2018 By Dayton Most Metro

Auditions for new members of the 2018-2019 Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will be held on Monday, October 1, 2018 beginning at  5:00 p.m. at Wright State University in the Creative Arts Center. To schedule an audition time, please contact Amy Vaubel at [email protected] or (937) 554-2986.Complete audition information, including free music score downloads, is available at http://www.daytonphilchoirs.org.  Click on “auditions” in the middle of the page to find music and instructions for each specific voice part.

The Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic include the Orchestra Chorus, the Chamber Choir, and the Festival Chorus and comprise the choral performance ensembles of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Hank Dahlman, University Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Wright State University, has served as the Dayton Philharmonic Choral Director for twenty years. The mission of the Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic is to serve as part of the orchestra during the regular subscription season, performing choral-orchestral works.

 

“The Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic provide an excellent experience for anyone who has a love of singing and has been looking to expand their musical knowledge,” said chorus member Michelle Jordan. “You have the thrill of performing on the stage of the Schuster Center with incredible musicians performing challenging works and to be a part of a true community chorus, representing the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance at performances throughout the year.”

 

Long-standing chorus member Effie Sue Kemerley agrees.  “I have sung with Dayton Philharmonic choruses under every director, beginning with Paul Katz.  What a continuing thrill it is to perform the great choral literature with an orchestra as professional as the DPO, under the baton of Maestro Neal Gittleman.  The DPO Chorus quality has grown immensely under Hank Dahlman’s guidance, and now, with the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, we have the opportunity to perform with Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet.  Truly the best volunteer musical experience in town!”

 

The 2018-2019 Vistas Season of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra opens on September 15, 2018 with the DPAA Season Opening Spectacular Beethoven’s Ninth and runs through June 2019.

 

For more information regarding auditions for the Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, please call Amy Vaubel at (937) 554-2986 or email her at [email protected].  For more information on the 2018-2019 Vistas Season of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Ballet, and Dayton Opera, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org.

 

Filed Under: Dayton Music, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Chamber Choir, Dayton Philharmonic, Festival Chorus, Orchestra Chorus

ENCORE Young Professionals Support Dayton Performing Arts Alliance With Season Opener

September 17, 2013 By Dayton Most Metro Leave a Comment

549996_139136986247282_1881814290_nThe 2013/2014 Season is finally kicking off! Join ENCORE young professionals for an exclusive evening on the town to celebrate Dayton’s rich cultural arts heritage on Saturday, September 21st. 

♫ 5:30 pm – Pre-show “mix ‘n mingle” at the Dublin Pub in the Oregon District

♫ 7:30 pm – Migrate over to the Schuster Center

♫ 8:00 pm – The Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, and Dayton Philharmonic come together to present the 2013–2014 Season Opening Spectacular, featuring the music of three very different composers in three distinctly different formats.

✒ SINGLE TICKET COST: JUST $30/ticket

✒ SEASON TICKETS COST: $120/all 6 ENCORE performances. This discount is up to 77% off regular single ticket prices. You can’t get prices like this in ANY city in America!!! LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE!! Only 15 more season ticket packages available.

✒ Call Ticket Center Stage (888) 228-3630 TODAY to reserve your tickets.

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ENCORE Season Lineup:

♫ Saturday, September 21 – Season Opening Spectacular ($36 single ticket)
♫ Friday, December 13 – The Nutcracker Ballet ($70 single ticket)
♫ Saturday, January 18 – The Music of the Rolling Stones ($53 single ticket)
♫ Friday, February 21 – Hansel and Gretel Opera ($87 single ticket)
♫ Saturday, April 5 – Oh What a Night: Billboard Hits of the 60s ($61 single ticket)
♫ Friday, May 16 – Beethoven’s Great Ninth ($47 single ticket)

 

ENCORE! is a special program created to engage young professionals in a lasting relationship with the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance by bringing together like-minded individuals through performances, unique social events, special “perks” and networking opportunities. ENCORE! is cultivating the next generation of DPAA patrons and leaders to ensure that Dayton’s rich performing arts legacy will be enjoyed by many generations to come.

✒ Note: ENCORE! tickets can be exchanged for any production within the DPAA season as a $20 credit towards regular single ticket prices in your choice of available seating tier. Only one ticket per performance may be redeemed *´¨) ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨) (¸.•´ (¸.•`

¤ Hosted by DPAA Advisory Board Members: Maha Kashani & Richard Kaiser

 

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment Tagged With: Dayton Opera, Dayton Philharmonic, DPAA, ENCORE!, The Dayton Ballet

Watch Casablanca with Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

February 11, 2013 By Duante Beddingfield Leave a Comment

casablancaThis Valentine’s Day, the Dayton Philharmonic will offer a very special treat when it presents one of cinema’s greatest love stories, Casablanca, with the orchestra playing the score live on stage at the Schuster Center at 8 p.m.

“We’ve done shows like this before, where we’ve played the score live while a classic film showed,” said Dayton Philharmonic conductor Neal Gittleman, “and when we were looking at options for this season, Casablanca came up. And here we have St. Valentine’s Day. And while Casablanca doesn’t have a happy ending, it’s one of the great screen romances.”

A tragic, high-stakes tale of love, loss, valor, and sacrifice against the urgent backdrop of World War II, Casablanca is perhaps the classic of classics, “probably on more lists of the greatest films of all time than any other single title,” according to Roger Ebert.

Casablanca tells the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart in perhaps his most iconic role), a former freedom fighter and American exile who now runs the most popular nightclub in Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city. During the war, many Europeans fleeing the Germans had to stop in Casablanca to get to America–but once they reached Casablanca, obtaining an exit visa was often difficult and many found themselves stranded there, making Casablanca a sort of melting-pot purgatory of the disillusioned and desperate.

Czech resistance leader Victor Laszlo arrives on his way to America–with his wife, Ilsa (a luminous Ingrid Bergman), Rick’s long lost love. The flame between Rick and Ilsa still burns after all these years, and he is torn between “love and virtue.” The Nazis are on Laszlo’s tail, and Rick must choose between helping the police detain Laszlo, keeping Ilsa for himself, or helping them both leave so that the Allies can win the war.

Dayton Philharmonic Logo“Neal and the Dayton Philharmonic have done this before,” said Chuck Duritsch, Communications and Media Manager for the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance. “They’ve done City Lights, The Wizard of Oz, The Bride of Frankenstein back in 2011… I believe one of the reasons they picked Casablanca is because it just celebrated its 70th anniversary, and it comes in the top ten on many ‘best movies ever’ lists, so obviously it’s very popular.”

The classic films the DPO accompanies are made possible by John Goberman, longtime producer of PBS’ Live at Lincoln Center, who has devoted years to developing packages that allow orchestras to play along with beloved movies. Goberman painstakingly recreates the system used in studios to record the original soundtracks. During recording, the conductor’s score includes all the music to be used in the film, plus two different types of cues: one showing where a specific action, image, or piece of dialogue must align with the music, and also time codes in the music referring to a large analog clock that’s electronically synchronized with the film.

“It’s a very difficult and lengthy process to make something like this possible for the public in such a large way. You have to have permission from the producer or the studio or know someone who can get the rights to be able to strip the music from the audio and then have the score made available. For us, as the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, to try to handle all that in-house would cost a tremendous amount of money and manpower and just be impossible. This guy, John, cuts through all the red tape so we don’t have to do it on a local level.”

“As the conductor,” said Gittleman, “I have a practice video where I can see the film and the clock, and I can toggle it so I’m listening to the full soundtrack, or only the dialogue. So I can practice with the music playing, conducting along, or I can mute the score and hum it to myself while practicing. It’s basically just working out the cues so you get the timing down. It’s the same as any piece of music in some ways, but not completely, because you’re not entirely free with your interpretation, and you have to make sure things happen at the right time.”

He continued, “The orchestra’s used to it because we’ve done a few of these shows over the years. The musicians all have the music individually, but we won’t play it together as a group the week of the performance. There’s a rehearsal clock, so I can set that to any timecode I need, and we can rehearse. There are a couple of scenes where we’ll run those on a monitor so I can practice the syncing of some of the really important moments. The famous scene where the band plays “La Marseillaise,” for instance, the orchestra plays along with the band onscreen, so obviously that needs to be synced.”

Casablanca was based on an unpublished stage play called Everybody Comes to Rick’s, written by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. Rushed into release in early 1943 (after a November ’42 premiere) to take advantage of publicity from the Allied invasion of North Africa a few weeks prior, the film had a trying production process with a revolving door of screenwriters struggling to adapt an untested play, shooting barely remaining on schedule, and Bogart grappling with his first romantic leading role. It was an A-list production, but viewed as nothing more than any other big Hollywood film released that year. No one involved expected it to become anything special, and indeed it was a solid and well-reviewed success upon release, but nothing major. Still, it went on to win Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Curtiz), and Best Screenplay. Among its five other nominations was a nod for Max Steiner’s lush score.

As for future events like this, “We’ll be doing a salute to Disney next season,” Gittleman said. “It’ll have a certain amount of video component, but exactly which ones and how they’ll work, I don’t know yet. There are plans to do things like this again in the future, though, because they’re fun and people enjoy them. A couple summers ago, I saw The Fellowship of the Ring done this way, and it’s really great. But from a logistical standpoint, it’s a nightmare. It’s a three-hour movie, it’s overtime… The music isn’t really difficult, but it’s expensive and it’s hard to sell enough tickets to make it work financially. I saw it with the Chicago Symphony at a large outdoor venue with multiple screens. They showed it on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and had about 50,000 people come see it in all, so all the rehearsal and overtime got paid for, so that would be hard to pull off here.”

“For my part,” he said, “I think it would be a hoot to do Star Wars. I think the first movie, Episode IV, is available for this kind of presentation. It’s great music. It’s really hard for the orchestra, but they love playing John Williams and I think audiences would go nuts.”

For movie lovers, for music lovers, and for lovers of any kind, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra has your Valentine’s Day all planned out. To enjoy this one-of-a-kind event and save the world with Humprey Bogart, tickets are priced $18 – 26 and are available online at daytonperformingarts.org, at the Schuster box office, or by phone at (937) 224-3521.

Filed Under: On Stage Dayton Previews Tagged With: Casablanca with Orchestra Article, Dayton Philharmonic, Schuster Performing Arts Center

The Partnership of Arts, YPs and Rock and Roll

January 26, 2012 By Megan Cooper Leave a Comment

What do you get when you pair a Pink Floyd rock tribute with the Philharmonic? Or a couple fun-lovin’ DPO Board members with two local YPs groups? Or great food and a backstage tour? Or prizes, a live radio broadcast and crazy discounted tickets?

Lest you think this is the beginning of a REALLY complicated joke, I’m here to tell you – it’s Encore Night at the Dayton Philharmonic!

On Thursday, February 9, make a night of it with fellow young professionals!

5:30PM – Start the night at Uno’s Downtown where there will be complimentary appetizers, cash bar, prizes, and on-air “audio tweets” during a live radio remote with WTUE’s Aaron Klauber. Last prize is raffled off at 6:45 PM (must be present to win) when we cash out and the group heads across the street because…

7:15PM – We’re heading BACKSTAGE at the Schuster Center for a special tour and briefing hosted by Brent Havens (Windborne Conductor).

8:00PM – Get to your awesome seats specially reserved in the loge to hear what happens when progressive rock meets classical orchestra. The program features the music of Pink Floyd performed by the amazing Windborne Music backed by the full DPO!

This is a special night (with a crazy great discounted price) specifically to introduce YPs to the great time that is the Dayton arts scene and the Dayton Philharmonic. Tickets are only $30  – that’s more than 1/2 off plus they are actually waiving the $4 processing fee. You MUST order your tickets through the special link below or call Madea Thompson at 937-228-7591 x3222. This deal is only good through February 4th – after that the seats will be released and sold for the face value of $66 (plus that service charge). Don’t miss out!

**This event is NOT limited to previous participants of Generation Dayton or JumpstART – all local YPs are encouraged to attend.**

PURCHASE SPECIAL OFFER ONLINE:
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Event hosted by jumpstART & DPO Trustees Lauren Hamer & Maha Kashani

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, Young Professionals Tagged With: Dayton Philharmonic, DPO, Encore Nights at the Philharmonic, generation dayton, JumpstART, Pink Floyd, Schuster Performing Arts Center, Young Professionals, YPs

Two Twenty-Somethings Revitalize 78-Year Musical Tradition

January 13, 2012 By Joe Aiello Leave a Comment

DPO presents Concertmaster’s Choice at site of Orchestra’s birth

To paraphrase Daphne du Maurier, “Last night I dreamt I went to Viterbo again.”

Viterbo is a little town among the hills forty miles north of Rome. It’s the site of a five-sided villa built in the Renaissance for the use of Cardinal Alexander Farnese. And, while I’ve never actually been to Viterbo, I have been to a building that very much resembles the Cardinal’s villa – the Dayton Art Institute.

Standing sentinel over the Miami River at the intersection of Belmont and Riverview Avenues, the 92-year-old Dayton Art Institute – or DAI – is a classical example of the Italian Renaissance architectural style that echoes the romance and beauty of the villa in Viterbo.

And the DAI is also the home of a time machine…of sorts – the Renaissance Auditorium. To attend a concert there is to step back in time to an era when grace and civility were hallmarks of a society that treasured its music and its musical heritage. And the trip begins at the entrance to the DAI.

Whether you enter from the parking lot on the Forest Avenue side or through the magnificent main entrance atop a set of two Italianate balustraded steps, you get the feeling that you are about to experience something special. Walking through either of the two high, entablature-topped, carved walnut doors to the Renaissance Auditorium, you’re suddenly transported back to 16th-century Italy.

Three tapestries adorn the Auditorium’s composite limestone brick walls, the base of which is green marble. In an opera setting for 500 concertgoers, a sloping floor makes the entire room feel smaller and considerably more intimate than its size would suggest.

The room is done in the Italian manor, with a painted ceiling of twenty alternating octagonal and rectangular Italian walnut coffers (ornamental sunken panels) with carved step molding. The four corners of the ceiling contain octagonal panels that echo the building’s design and represent the Arts of Sculpture, Painting, Music, and Literature. The ceiling’s center panel contains a dramatically lit sky scene, and the proscenium arch that surrounds the stage appears to be marble, but is actually painted walnut.

And, acoustically, there’s not a bad seat in the house.

Stand at stage center and talk in a normal tone of voice, and you can be heard clearly from the furthest points in the room. That’s the Auditorium’s finest feature. It was specifically designed for music, plays, and non-political lectures.

And the classical music heard here, totally unenhanced electronically, is the way the composers expected it to sound, the way you would have heard it had you been alive at the time of its composition. That includes not only small ensembles and chamber music groups, but full symphony orchestras as well.

In fact in 1933, two years before it formally incorporated, founder Paul Katz (then only 26) and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) used the Auditorium to practice before performing two concerts there in June. After moving to Memorial Hall, the DPO continued to use the Auditorium as a rehearsal site until the 1960s.

On Thursday­, January 26 at 8pm, the DPO will perform in the Renaissance Auditorium once more in Concertmaster’s Choice, represented solely by DPO Concertmaster Jessica Hung accompanied on piano by Zsolt Bognár (his first name is pronounced “Zholt”; the Zs sounds like the “s” in pleasure). Like Paul Katz when he first performed there, both these musicians are in their twenties.

But Jessica’s performed there before. “I performed in the Renaissance Auditorium at the Dayton Art Institute for my recital last season,” she states, “and it is a very special place.”

And she has performed in enough places to make an accurate comparison. Violinist Jessica Hung is Concertmaster of not only the DPO, but she also serves as Concertmaster of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and previously held the same position in the Chicago Civic, Northwestern University, Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), and Ashland Symphony Orchestras. She was also Assistant Concertmaster with the Akron Symphony Orchestra.

“As a relatively new member of Dayton’s artistic community, it is an honor to be part of the city’s rich cultural history and to perform live right in the footsteps of my predecessors, surrounded by great works of both traditional and modern art.”

Zsolt Bognár joins Jessica for this engagement, adding his sensitive accompanist’s skills to four works for violin and piano by Beethoven, Franck, Prokofiev, and Gershwin.

­Born in Urbana, Illinois, in 1982, Zsolt carries triple citizenship in the United States, the European Union/Hungary, and the Philippines. In 2007 he was the recipient of a Distinguished Fellowship Award to the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, where he worked with Jerome Lowenthal and won the Carlisle Medal from the Wideman Competition the same year.

“I first performed with Zsolt before I actually met him,” Jessica remembers. “He is a few years older than I and had won the CIM Concerto Competition, and I happened to be in the orchestra that was accompanying him on Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major.  I thought his playing was phenomenal – technically superb, but most importantly characterized by real emotional depth, which I value in any musician. I was so spellbound by his cadenza (long solo section) at the concert that I almost forgot to come in afterwards!  Later, we met through a mutual friend and simply became good friends.”

“This is thankfully not the first time that I have worked with another soloist in a duo-recital setting,” Zsolt remarks. “Musical friendships are the most rewarding aspect of a performing artist’s activities, and a number of my musical partnerships from student days were not only rewarding, but several of my musical friends went on to hold major orchestral positions.”

Zolt has  known Jessica through school for about five years, and they met through friends. “Performing on stage with friends is my favorite way to make music – it becomes about sharing,” he states, “It’s a back-and-forth between the performers and the audience. Musical phrases and ideas take on a new meaning and authenticity when heartfelt, which is so much easier to sense when on stage with a close friend and musical colleague.”

Especially in the warm, resonant ambiance of the Dayton Art Institute’s Renaissance Auditorium…

Concertmaster’s Choice

Thursday­, January 26, 2012
6:30 pm, Dayton Art Institute Renaissance Auditorium ­

BEETHOVEN Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 4 in A minor NOTES
FRANCK Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major NOTES
PROKOFIEV Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in F minor NOTES
GERSHWIN (arr. HEIFETZ) Three Preludes for Violin and Piano NOTES

JESSICA HUNG concertmaster WEBSITE
ZSOLT BOGNAR piano WEBSITE 
Click for Tickets

Filed Under: On Stage Dayton Previews Tagged With: Dayton Philharmonic, DPO

Historical, musical, inspiring: Bernstein’s Mass

May 13, 2011 By Marsha Pippenger Leave a Comment

Just a quick note. I had the privilege of attending the dress rehearsal Thursday of Bernstein’s Mass, a theatre piece of musicians, singers, dancers. I have just one word: GO. If you possibly can, and you can get a ticket, GO.

From Dayton Philharmonic’s Website:

Using orchestra, chorus, children’s chorus, rock and blues bands, marching band, singers, dancers, and actors, Bernstein tells the powerful story of a group of disillusioned street people who join a visionary leader for a moving voyage of discovery and faith. This groundbreaking creative collaboration between the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wright State University Theatre, Dance ­and Music Departments promises to be the regional performance event of the season, if not the decade.

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment Tagged With: Bernstein's Mass, Dayton Music, Dayton Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, Schuster Performing Arts Center, Urban Nights, wright state university

…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 Music, Theatre & Dance Departments, 2011Leonard 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: Dayton Philharmonic Logo

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.

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

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.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts - Washington, D.C.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. Leonard Bernstein

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]

Tickets & Performance Information:

Dayton Philharmonic LogoLeonard Bernstein’s MASS – May 13-14 – (8pm)

Location:  The Mead Theatre inside The Schuster Center

WSU TheatreTickets Prices: Range from $9 to $59

Tickets are on sale now through TicketCenterStage.com, or via phone at (888) 228-3630

For more information visit www.DaytonPhilharmonic.com

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Filed Under: On Stage Dayton Previews, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Dayton Music, Dayton Philharmonic, Downtown Dayton, Kettering Childrens Chorus, Orchestra, Theater, Things to Do, Wright State

Jane’s Best Bets (4/27 – 5/1)

April 26, 2011 By Jane Krebs Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Alli Shillito

I hope you were able to find many Easter eggs, and that they had some good things inside!  I just found a bunch of empty ones (true story, just ask the Easter Bunny).  Regardless of what was in or not in your Easter eggs, I’d like to provide you with an “inside” look at what is going on in Dayton this week!

On Wednesday, watch the Dragons as they play the West Michigan Whitecaps.  If you enjoy opera, make your way to the UD Opera Workshop Performance.  Get those dirty little secrets out of the closet at Wiley’s with the Dirty Little Secret Speakeasy.  Don’t worry, it’s a variety show featuring many different types of performers, so you really don’t have to reveal anything about yourself!  Hungry AND thirsty?  Participate in the Belgian & Euro Craft Beer Dinner at Spinoza’s.  At the Loft Theatre, catch Permanent Collection.  And finally, make sure you stop at Baskin Robbins for their 31 Cent Scoop Night!  For those of you who don’t like to do math, that means date night will only cost you 62 cents…or, ice cream for a family four will only cost $1.24!

On Thursday, have a Girls Night Out at The Melting Pot.  If you’re a boy, then don’t go there…well, on second thought, you may want to go since there will be a pretty good ratio for you!  Since the weather is getting warmer, you may want to attend Five Rivers MetroParks’ Intro to Smart Cycling.  Head to Oregon Express for a wonderful combination of beer and theology (and their amazing pizza too!) for Dayton Theology on Tap.  If you don’t feel like cooking dinner, head to the Dayton Canoe Club for their Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser.  At the Dayton Art Institute, you can listen to the sounds of the DPO Concertmaster & Friends.  Permanent Collection, although not permanent, will still be playing at The Loft Theatre.  And over at Fifth Third Field, see some Dragons and “Tin Men,” as the Dragons play the Fort Wayne Tincaps.

On Friday, get up bright and early and head to The Pub for a Royal Wedding Brunch.  If you love horse racing and beer, you won’t want to miss The Kentucky Ale Trail: Horses & Hops, which will start at Jungle Jim’s.  I just found out that another specialty grocery store, Trader Joe’s, discontinued one of my favorite items (salmon and spinach crepes), so I would be very much interested in going to the Kids Crepe Making Demo which will be going on at the PNC 2nd Street Market.  Bid on some wonderful, one-of-a-kind pieces of art at the DVAC Annual Art Auction.  If you’re out in the Oregon District, head to Oregon Express for Half-Price Happy Hour Pizzas and Old Skool Acoustic Duo…featuring cover tunes by some great artists including Journey!  Or make a stop at the Trolley Stop to listen to The Eric Jerardi Band.  Some other musical options include Encore Theatre Company’s BIG fat CONCERT SERIES, vol. II – ‘I Feel So Much Spring’ and the University of Dayton Jazz Ensembles.  Wear your green and take the kids to watch the Dragons vs. Fort Wayne Tincaps…which is also McDonald’s Friends & Family Night.  At the Dayton Liederkranz Turner German Club, you will be able to celebrate Spring Bierfest.  And finally, some Friday theater options include Centerville’s Hello, Dolly!, Permanent Collection at The Loft Theatre, The Wizard of Oz at Baum Opera House, and Zoot Theatre Company’s Phantom Tollbooth at the Schuster Center.

On the last day in April (Saturday), learn Smart Cycling Basics at Five Rivers MetroParks’ St. Clair Building or participate in the 5k Run for the Health of It at Archers Tavern.  Avid readers will want to attend the Dayton Book Expo 2011 at Sinclair.  Head to South Park to see some beautiful homes for their Historic South Park Spring Home Tour.  Some art options include Sound Bites: Short Talks about Art at the Dayton Art Institute and the Free Artist Workshop at the Dayton Visual Arts Center.  Any Germans out there?  If so, make plans to attend the Spring Concert, followed by the Westphaelische Beef Rouladen Dinner (I’m part German but I have no clue how to say that) at the Dayton Liederkranz Turner German Club.  If you haven’t yet, consider getting tickets to one of the many shows going on:  Phantom Tollbooth at the Schuster Center, The Wizard of Oz at Baum Opera House, Hello, Dolly! at Centerville Performing Arts Center, Gem City Ballet Victoria Theatre Gala (at Victoria Theatre), ETC’s BIG fat CONCERT SERIES, vol. II – ‘I Feel So Much Spring’ at Color of Energy Gallery, Permanent Collection at The Loft Theatre, or The Apple Tree at Stivers School for the Arts.  And if the weather is nice, you’ll be able to catch the Dragons as they play the Fort Wayne Tincaps at Fifth Third Field.

On Sunday, get off the couch and participate in the Kettering Medical Center Walk for Women’s Wellness at Carillon Historical Park.  At the Dayton Masonic Center, attend the Graeter’s Symphony Sundaes Series: The Symphonic Sibelius…complete with ice cream from Graeter’s.  Now how great is that?!?!  At the University of Dayton, attend the Art of Foreseen Beauty – DCDC2’s Spring Concert.  If you can, I encourage you to attend in order to witness some of the most remarkable dancing out there!  If opera is your thing, catch some up-and-comers at the Opera Guild of Dayton Tri-State College Vocal Competition in Kettering.  And if you haven’t yet had an opportunity to do so, luckily the show Permanent Collection seems to be a permanent fixture (this week only) at The Loft Theatre.  Or spend part of the day with Dorothy and Toto (I do love the song “Africa”) at the Baum Opera House for The Wizard of Oz.

And now it’s time for the Dumb Joke of the Week. Drum roll please…

Three skunks went to church.  The priest made them sit in their own pew.

These are just a few best bets from the DMM Calendar.  There are plenty more events listed there, so if you haven’t, I encourage you to check it out today!  Also, if you have an event to share or promote, please submit it– it’s great marketing and better yet, it’s FREE!  And finally, if you have a dumb joke to share, I’m all ears!

Have a great week Dayton!

Filed Under: DMM's Best Bets, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Baum Opera House, Dayton Book Expo 2011, Dayton Dragons, Dayton Liederkranz Turner German Club, Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Theology on Tap, DCDC2, Dirty Little Secret Speakeasy, DVAC Annual Art Auction, Encore Theatre Company, Historic South Park Spring Home Tour, Jungle Jim's, Kettering Medical Center Walk for Women's Wellness, Loft Theatre, Melting Pot, Opera Guild of Dayton, Oregon Express, Permanent Collection, Things to do in Dayton, trolley stop, University of Dayton Jazz Ensembles, Wiley's

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