Pa., NY high schools attend Dana Wind and Percussion Invitational

More than115 high school musicians from Fairport High School near Rochester, N.Y., and North Hills High School in Pittsburgh will attend the Youngstown State University Dana School of Music 11th Annual Wind and Percussion Invitational on Friday, Feb. 24.

Since 2007, 21 high school concert bands from Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York have attended the annual festival.

The day starts with students participating in master classes with Dana instrumental music professors and culminates with a 7 p.m. concert in Stambaugh Auditorium featuring the two guest high school bands along with the YSU Percussion Ensemble and the YSU Wind Ensemble. The concert features soloists, Kathryn Umble, professor of Flute, and Alice Wang, professor of Clarinet.

The YSU Percussion Ensemble opens the concert with a selection from its compact disc, “Dark Wood,” which includes compositions written by Dana Professor David Morgan. After intermission, the YSU Wind Ensemble opens with Rossano Galante's “Transcendent Journey,” followed by the premiere of YSU student composer Thomas Starr’s “Kyrie Eleison.” Umble and Wang joins the band as soloists on “Saint-Saens' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso”. The ensemble continues with Percy Grainger's “Lincolnshire Posy” and Hindemith's “March from Symphonic Metamorphosis.”

The concert closes with a performance of John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," including Fairport Wind Ensemble seniors, North Hills Wind Ensemble seniors, and YSU Wind Ensemble section leaders.

The Fairport High School Concert Band is conducted by William Tiberio. Each year, the band places students in the New York All-State ensembles, and as a group has earned seven consecutive Gold Medals with Distinction in the New York state ensemble contest. The group has been invited to perform at the New York State Band Directors’ Conference and has premiered several new compositions and hosted guest conductors from the region each year. The band was founded in 1955.

The North Hills High School Wind Ensemble, conducted by Len Lavelle, returns to YSU. It has a long history of commission projects, and the band has performed for numerous PMEA State Conventions. The band will give its second guest performance in the past three years for the National Association for Music Education All-East Convention later this spring.

Tickets may be ordered by phone at 330-259-0555, online at www.stambaughauditorium.com and at the door. Prices are $6 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Admission is free for patrons with a YSU ID. Free parking is available adjacent to Stambaugh Auditorium. For more information, call 330-941-2307.