Lawnchairs, stars and the pops

It’s the start to another academic year, and that means the annual free outdoor pops concert featuring the Youngstown State University Dana School of Music Wind Ensemble 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, at Harrison Common Field on Walnut Street, across from the MVR restaurant and adjacent to campus.

The Wind Ensemble, conducted by Stephen Gage with graduate student conductors Ryan Dutton and Daniel Sager, will perform the concert as the sun sets and the stars come out. Selections include Strike Up The Band by George Gershwin; National Anthem, featuring soloist Sydney DiCenso, soprano; 76 Trombones; Variations on a Shaker Melody by Aaron Copland (conducted Sager); Someone to Watch Over Me by George Gershwin, performed by Sydney DiCenso; Melodius Thunk (conducted by Ryan Dutton); Highlights from “West Side Story” by Leonard Bernstein; and concluding with John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever.

“Harrison Common is an outstanding venue for this music, and the YSU Wind Ensemble is enthusiastically looking forward to performing under the open sky in our first concert of the semester,” Gage said.

Rain location is Ford Theater in Bliss Hall on campus.

Patrons may bring a lawnchair and snacks. No alcohol is permitted. Parking is available in the Wick Avenue deck or M32 surface lot via Walnut Street for a nominal fee.