Dana Ensemble opens season with "a pair of incredibly fun pieces"

The Dana School of Music Ensemble opens its Fall season 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3 with performances of pieces by Stravinsky and Walton at the Ford Family Recital Hall, DeYor Performing Arts Center, in downtown Youngstown.

"This is a pair of incredibly fun pieces, both of them early experiments in classical music with spoken-word theatrical elements,” said Dana faculty member Kivie Cahn-Lipman, cello. “The Walton piece is a rarity, and the Stravinsky has come to be considered one of the great works of the early 20th century. It’s a program not to be missed.”

Tickets are $10 for general admission and free for YSU students, faculty and staff with a valid ID. Get tickets at www.deyorpac.org or at the door.

The Dana Ensemble is comprised of a flexible, modular roster of Dana School of Music faculty, often be joined by regional guest artists, coming together multiple times each semester for live performances.

The Fall season opens with William Walton’s “Facade: An Entertainment,” scored for the flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, cello and percussion, which provides the accompaniment for rhythmic spoken poetry by Edith Sitwell. Dana faculty performing the piece include Kathryn Umble, flute; Alice Wang, clarinet; James Umble, saxophone; Justin Kohan, trumpet; Glenn Schaft, percussion; and Kivie Cahn-Lipman, cello. Dana classroom faculty Jena Root, Steve Reale and Randall Goldberg will read the poems.

Stravinsky's “Soldier's Tale” is a theatrical work based on a Russian folk tale, in which a soldier returning home encounters the devil. Emeritus professor of voice Allan Mosher will provide narration for the piece, accompanied by Dana faculty and guests Alice Wang, clarinet; Grace Houde, bassoon; Justin Kohan, trumpet; Andrew Mitchell, trombone; Glenn Schaft, percussion; Wendy Case, violin; and Sue Yelanjian, bass.

"We are very excited for the Dana Ensemble’s second season, which later in the season will include a collaboration with Ballet Western Reserve for their yearly performance of ‘The Nutcracker’ and a special family concert featuring Prokofieff’s ‘Peter and the Wolf,’” said Goldberg, director of the Dana School of Music. “The Oct. 3 concert presents two lesser-known, but equally entertaining works by two of the 20th century’s great composers.”

More information at 330-727-7514.