Cliffe College of Creative Arts News

Dana School of Music hosts Wind & Percussion Invitational

On Thursday, February 23, the Cuyahoga Falls High School Symphonic Band and the North Olmsted Falls High School Wind Symphony will join YSU’s Wind and Percussion Ensembles at the 16th Annual Wind and Percussion Invitational, with a joint concert to follow at 7:30 PM.

YSU University Theatre presents "The Last Five Years"

YSU University Theatre returns to Spotlight Theater with “The Last Five Years,” opening Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 7:30 PM in Bliss Hall, located on YSU’s campus. Written by Jason Robert Brown, this Drama Desk award-winner has been translated into multiple languages and was named one of TIME Magazine’s ten best shows of 2001.

Art professor wins Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award

Professor of art Dragana Crnjak has been selected as one of 75 Ohio artists to be awarded the 2023 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award. These awards are given in recognition of artists’ dedication to the advancement of the creative community, and the award helps to support their growth, development, and recognition as Ohio artists.

Dana School of Music mourns beloved professor

Dr. Stephen L. Gage, professor emeritus and former YSU director of bands and orchestra, passed away Sunday, February 5, 2023. Over the 28 years he spent in Youngstown, Gage also conducted the Youngstown State University Youth Orchestra and the W.D. Packard Concert Band. Gage was deeply loved and respected throughout the Youngstown community and beyond, and his passion for music and dedication to his students and profession made a positive and lasting impression that cannot be understated.

YSU Cliffe College of Creative Arts announces 16th Annual African American History Month Art Show

Cliffe College of Creative Arts announces 16th Annual African American History Month exhibition

The 16th Annual African American History Month Art Show, titled “Makonde Sculptures,” will begin Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at 5:00 PM in the Judith Rae Solomon Gallery in Bliss Hall, located on the campus of Youngstown State University. The exhibition showcases the collection of Tazim Jaffer and Dr. Nazim Jaffer.

YSU Wind Ensemble to perform at Cleveland Orchestra’s Severance Hall

The YSU Wind Ensemble will perform at Severance Hall, one of the world’s finest concert halls, January 29, 2023 at 5:00 PM. Home of the Cleveland Orchestra, Severance Hall will be hosting the 19th annual Northeast Ohio Band Invitational. Each year, four high school programs and one collegiate ensemble are invited to perform at the event alongside the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony.

Pipino Performing Arts Series presents Diderot Quartet

The Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series at Youngstown State University presents the Diderot String Quartet Sunday, January 29, 2023 at 3:00 PM at Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church on Oak Hill Avenue in Youngstown. The Diderot String Quartet performance is co-sponsored by 88.5 WYSU-FM. Named after the eighteenth-century French philosopher and Boccherini enthusiast Denis Diderot, the quartet revamps and performs works from the eighteenth- and nineteenth centuries.

McDonough Museum of Art presents spring 2023 exhibitions

The McDonough Museum of Art’s spring 2023 exhibitions will open to the public January 20, 2023 and run through March 4. The exhibits feature works by Yvette Granata, Marie-Eve Levasseur, Amy M. Youngs, Taryn McMahon, Lori Kella, Amanda D. King, and Mark Keffer. The museum is open 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM Tuesday – Saturday, and admission is free to the public. An opening reception for all of the exhibits is scheduled for Friday, January 20 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM.

Dana School of Music professor awarded second Research Professorship

Dana School of Music professor Caroline Oltmanns has been awarded a Research Professorship from the YSU Office of Academic Affairs for the 2023-24 academic year. Her research, titled “New Female Composers of Music for and with Piano – A Gateway Collection and Compilation of the Creative Outputs and Initiatives of Women Composers of Gen-X and Beyond,” will be completed over a period nine credit hours throughout the year.

Department of Art to host 2023 Northeastern Ohio Scholastic Art Awards exhibition

The YSU Department of Art will be hosting the 2023 Northeastern Ohio Scholastic Art Awards exhibition January 5 – 28, 2023. Showcasing artwork from 7th – 12th grade students in Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, and Ashtabula counties, the exhibition is open to the public in the Judith Rae Solomon Gallery, located in Bliss Hall on the campus of Youngstown State University.