Cliffe College of Creative Arts announces Spring 2021 Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series

Youngstown State University’s Cliffe College of Creative Arts announces the third season of the Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series for Spring semester, 2021. Four guest artists will provide virtual public performance presentations and student master classes.

All presentations are free and open to the public.

Wednesday, January 27 at 7 p.m. - Composer and jazz pianist Vijay Iyer will give a one-hour presentation including pre-recorded music, interesting conversation and a question and answer session. Patrons should access the event at the Cliffe College of Creative Arts YouTube channel.

Friday, January 29 at 2 p.m. - Iyer presents a master class over Zoom.

A MacArthur Foundation Genius Fellow and four-time winner of DownBeat Magazine’s Artist of the Year, Iyer has carved out a unique path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in modern music. He was described by Pitchfork as "one of the best in the world at what he does," by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” by the New York Times as a “social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway,” and by Minnesota Public Radio as “an American treasure.” A musical innovator, an active collaborator and a member of multiple artistic communities, Iyer continues to reimagine the role of the musician in the 21st century. On April 9, 2021, ECM will release UNEASY, Iyer’s new trio album, recorded in December 2019 with his friends and collaborators Linda May Han Oh on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums.

Iyer was voted DownBeat Magazine's Artist of the Year in 2018, 2016, 2015 and 2012 - and Artist of the Year in Jazz Times' Critics' and Readers' Polls for 2017. Iyer was named a 2017 United States Artists Fellow, a 2013 MacArthur Fellow, and a 2012 Doris Duke Performing Artist. He holds a lifetime appointment as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University, with a joint affiliation with the Department of Music and the Department of African and African American Studies.

Wednesday, February 17 - Pulitzer Prize-winner Du Yun will host a master class at 4 p.m. and a presentation at 7 p.m. 

Yun is a Chinese born composer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and performance artist. She won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her opera Angel's Bone, with libretto by Royce Vavrek. She was a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow.

Wednesday, March 3 at 7 p.m. - Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, a headlining Metropolitan Opera soloist and Musical America’s 2019 Vocalist of the Year, will offer a presentation. He will also give a master class on Thursday, March 4 at 4 p.m.

Costanzo began performing professionally at the age of 11 and has since appeared in opera, concert, recital, film, and on Broadway. His debut album, ARC, on Decca Gold was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY Award.

Wednesday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m. - Multi-instrumentalist and composer Tyshawn Sorey, a MacArthur Foundation Genius Fellow, is scheduled for a presentation with a master class on Friday, April 16 at Noon.

Sorey has performed nationally and internationally with his own ensembles, as well as numerous artists of note. He has composed works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the International Contemporary Ensemble, tenor Lawrence Brownlee with Opera Philadelphia in partnership with Carnegie Hall, as well as for countless collaborative performers. He was also a 2015 recipient of the Doris Duke Impact Award. Sorey received degrees from William Paterson University, Wesleyan University, and Columbia University. He is currently Assistant Professor of Music and African American Studies at Wesleyan University.

“We’re thrilled to continue the Pipino Performing Arts Series this semester. Although the events will be presented virtually, we couldn’t be happier with the exceptional quality of the artists who will make up the spring season. YSU believes that the arts are vital to the University and our community and is committed to supporting our many artistic endeavors. We invite you to join us for these outstanding performances and master classes and are proud to continue to bring the arts to you,” said Dr. Phyllis M. Paul, Dean of the Cliffe College of Creative Arts.

More information is available by calling the Office of Community Engagement and Events at 330-727-7514.