Cliffe College announces lineup of virtual events
November 13, 2020
YSU’s Cliffe College of Creative Arts has announced a versatile lineup of upcoming events that will begin Wednesday, November 18.
Cliffe College will first welcome Scottish printmaker Murray Robertson for a virtual lecture November 18 as the next presenter in the Department of Art Lecture Series (DALS).
Robertson studied at the Glasgow School of Art and continues to live and work in Glasgow, Scotland. A master printer at the Glasgow Print Studio, he maintains an interest in traditional fine art printmaking. However, it is the research, development, and application of new technologies—specifically, digital imaging and printing—that has most influenced his current professional practice. His work has been exhibited at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and the Keeper’s House at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Robertson’s lecture will begin at 1:45 PM and access is free and open to the public via Webex.
Next on the lineup, YSU’s Guitar Studio will host a virtual masterclass featuring New York jazz guitarists and recording artists Jim Campilongo and Luca Benedetti Friday, November 20.
With 11 albums of original material and guest appearances on dozens of recordings, Campilongo has two Gold-certified records and has written music for several national commercials. He is also a published guitar teacher and contributing editor for Guitar Player Magazine. Recently his band, the Jim Campilongo Electric Trio, has been performing every Monday at NYC's Rockwood Music Hall.
A Brooklyn-based guitarist and producer, Benedetti has performed in a wide variety of roots, jazz, country, and Americana-inspired projects since moving to New York in 1996. He is an original member of the band, Honeyfingers, and his session work has been featured in several national commercials. He holds a bachelor's degree from The Berklee College of Music and a master's degree from The City College of New York.
Campilongo and Benedetti’s masterclass will be held from 12:30 – 3:00 PM on Zoom. The class is free and open to the public.
Following the Guitar Studio’s masterclass, student trombonist Zak Rahal will perform a virtual recital Saturday, November 21, at 7:00 PM as part of the McDonough Museum Recital Series.
The series is a collaboration between the McDonough Museum of Art and the Dana School of Music. To qualify and perform in the series, students were required to submit recordings online to a faculty committee that judged the competition. Six students were then selected as winners of the competition this semester, including Rahal.
Rahal is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music performance. Since coming to YSU, he has performed with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra and the Warren Philharmonic. While in high school, he was also the principal trombonist of the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Rahal’s performance can be viewed on both the McDonough Museum of Art’s and the Cliffe College of Creative Arts’ YouTube channels.
Closing Cliffe College’s lineup of virtual events will be the world premiere of music composed by students in the Dana School of Music. The school will host a virtual concert Saturday, November 28, beginning at 7:00 PM. The event will be available to watch on both the McDonough Museum of Art’s and the Cliffe College of Creative Arts’ YouTube channels.
The concert, titled “If We Could Turn Back: An Evening of New Music by the YSU Composition Studio,” is part of the Dana at McDonough Series and will feature original compositions by 11 students enrolled in professor of music Dave Morgan’s courses.
“YSU music composition majors have been creating in a wide variety of styles and genres this semester,” Morgan said. “This concert will include music for solo piano, woodwind quintet, string quartet, [and] art song, [and will also feature] electro-acoustic music, microtonal music, contemporary jazz, and fusion.”
Composition students performing in the concert include Enzo Chiodi, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Jesse Crownover, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Maxwell Franko, Poland, Ohio; Brandon Hackimer, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Logan Hoffner, Gibsonia, Pennsylvania; Dai Hong, Falls Church, Virginia; Andrew Karkosiak, Broadview Heights, Ohio; Brendan McEvoy, Cortland, Ohio; Daniel Mihelarakis, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania; Severino Paredes, Vandergrift, Pennsylvania; and Juan Rodriguez, Warren, Ohio.
Other students who will perform as part of the supporting ensemble include flutist Kayla Gilmore; oboist Camryn Doctor; clarinetist Colin Davis; bassoonist Abaigael Mamish-Stotler; pianist Dai Hong; double bassist Ian Kinnaman; electric bassist Sean Garza; drummer Owen Davis; violinist Audrey Jobe; violinist Kathryn Sewall; violist Cas Stanaford; guitarist Sean Williams; soprano Sydney DiCenso; and celloist and Dana faculty member Kivie Cahn-Lipman.