Ben Toth Residency

The DANA Concert Series
PRESENTS

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Firebird & Other Tales!

Featuring the:

YSU Concert Band
Brandt Payne, Conductor; Brain D. Kiser, Tuba;
& Nicholas Marzuola, Graduate Conductor

YSU Wind Ensemble
Stephen L. Gage, Conductor, Benjamin Toth, Percussion; & Nicholas Marzuola, Graduate Conductor

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Stambaugh Auditorium
Monday, April 25, 2016
7:30pm

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The Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series
gratefully acknowledges major support from
the following Sponsors:

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The Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series
Schwebel's - Quality Baking Since 1906
Erie Terminal Place
LaFarge Aggregates
WKBN 27 First News / FOX Youngstown
The Flats at Wick
WYSU 88.5 FM - Radio You Need to Know
Armstrong
Youngstown State University Foundation
The Dana School of Music - An All-Steinway School

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Youngstown State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, age, religion or veteran/ military status in its programs or activities. Please visit Digital Accessibility for contact information for persons designated to handle questions about this policy.

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Program

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YSU CONCERT BAND WIND REPERTOIRE:

Mother Earth Fanfare (2003) - David Maslanka (b. 1943)
Nicholas Marzuola, graduate conductor

Incantation and Dance (1960) - John Barnes Chance (1932-1972)
Czardas for Tuba & Concert Band (1904) - Vittorio Monti (1868-1922)
Brian D. Kiser, tuba

Slava! (1977) - Leonard Brenstein (1918-1990)
arranged by Clare Grundman

* * * INTERMISSION (15 minutes) * * *

YSU WIND ENSEMBLE REPERTOIRE:

Tales of the Center of the Earth, Op. 33 (2003) - Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic (b. 1962)
Benjamin Toth, percussion

Hashtag# (2012) - Robert Traugh (b. 1988)

Be Thou My Vision (1999) - David Gillingham (b. 1947)
Nicholas Marzuola, graduate conductor
A Musical Tribute to Robert D. Jorgensen, Emeritus
Director of Bands, University of Akron (deceased)

The Firebird Suite (1919 version) - Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
1. Introduction—The Firebird and its dance—The Firebird's variation
2. The Princesses’ Khorovod (Rondo, round dance)
3. Infernal dance of King Kashchei
4. Berceuse (Lullaby)
5. Finale

YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY WIND ENSEMBLE

Spring Semester 2016 Stephen L. Gage, Conductor
Key: # - Graduate Student * -- Section Leader

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This ensemble roster is listed alphabetically to emphasize the importance of 
each member to the group.

Youngstown State University Concert Band

Spring Semester 2016 Dr. Brandt Payne, Conductor
Key: #Graduate Student, *Section Leader, ^Concert master

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Program Notes

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Mother Earth Fanfare (2003)
Mother Earth was composed for the South Dearborn High School Band of Aurora, Indiana, Brian Silvey, conductor. The commission was for a three-minute fanfare piece. Each piece takes on a reason for being all its own, and Mother Earth is no exception. It became an urgent message from Our Mother to treat her more kindly! My reading at the time of writing this music was For a Future to be Possible by the Vietnamese monk and teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. He believes that the only way forward is to be extremely alive and aware in our present moment, to become awake to the needs of our beloved planet, and to respond to it as a living entity. Music making allows us to come immediately awake. It is an instant connection to the powerful wellspring of our creativity, and opens our minds to the solution of any number of problems, including that of our damaged environment. My little piece does not solve the problem! But it is a living call to the wide-awake life, and it continues to be performed by young people around the world.

Program Note by David Maslanka

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Incantation and Dance (1960)
John Barnes was born in Texas, where he played percussion in high school. His early interest in music led him to the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, studying composition with Clifton Williams. The early part of his career saw him playing timpani with the Austin Symphony, and later playing percussion with the Fourth and Eighth U.S. Army Bands during the Korean War. Upon his discharge, he received a grant from the Ford Foundation’s Young Composers Project, leading to his placement as resident composer in the Greensboro, North Carolina public schools. Here he produced seven works for school ensembles, including his classic Incantation and Dance. He went on to become a professor at the University of Kentucky after winning the American Bandmasters Association’s Ostwald award for his Variations on a Korean Folk Song. Chance was accidentally electrocuted in his backyard in Lexington, Kentucky at age 39, bringing his promising career to an early, tragic end.

Incantation and Dance came into being during Chance’s residency at Greensboro. He wrote it in 1960 and originally called it Nocturne and Dance – it went on to become his first published piece for band.

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Czardas for Tuba & Concert Band (1904)
Although Vittorio Monti was Italian (born in Naples), and composed several operettas and other light music, his is well known for his Hungarian Czardas.  This work was originally written for either violin or mandolin with a piano accompaniment, and has since been arranged for many different instrumental combinations. Czardas is generally performed as a concert/show piece for solo and accompaniment. Czardas is based on a Hungarian folk melody that was danced in the village taverns – which in Hungarian were called the czarda(s).

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Slava! (1977)
Bernstein composed Slava! for Mstislav Rostropovich's first season as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, and Mr. Rostropovich conducted the premiere in this hall in the orchestra's concerts of October 11, 12 and 14, 1977. Leonard Slatkin conducted the NSO’s most recent performance of the piece on May 14, 1998. A performance conducted by the composer, taken from a 1987 concert celebrating Mr. Rostropovich's 60th birthday, is preserved in the set of compact discs issued by the orchestra last fall in celebration of its 75th season.

That title, as listeners familiar with Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov know, is the Russian word for "glory"; for that opera's coronation scene, Mussorgsky set that word to the old traditional tune known as "the Slava," a tune quote earlier by Beethoven in the scherzo of his String Quartet in E minor, Op. 59, No. 2 (the second of his three "Razumovsky" Quartets), and subsequently by Rimsky-Korsakov and other Russian composers. "Slava" is also a nickname given to men with such names as Miroslav, Vladyslav and Vyacheslav, and by far the best-known bearer of that sobriquet is Mr. Rostropovich himself, who is "Slava" to friends, family, colleagues--and indeed everyone who knows him or speaks of him. That is the context in which Bernstein's overture is titled, but there is a reference to the traditional musical "Slava" as well, very brief and in an altered rhythm, at the end of the piece.

Jack Gottlieb, in his notes for the premiere, wrote that the first theme is "a vaudevillian razz-ma-tazz tune filled with side-slipping modulations and sliding trombones. Theme II comes from the opening of the show, a canonic tune in 7/8 time. Instead of a conventional development section, there follows another kind of development, heard on tape, which will literally speak for itself [a parody of political oratory]. The two themes reoccur in reverse order. 

Near the end of the piece the two themes are presented together with the fleeting citation of the Russian Slava theme as noted above. The other "new material" at the end is the chanting of the name "Slava" itself by members of the orchestra. (In the original version, it was the name of Slava's dog Pooks, since departed that was chanted.

The first performance of this piece, in October 1977, was actually the first world premiere Slava! conducted as music director of the NSO. The Bernstein performance included in the orchestra's 75th-anniversary set of commemorative recordings is the only item in that collection performed under a conductor who was not the orchestra's music director.  

Program Note from The Kennedy Center

UPCOMING EVENTS

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4/22/16
Guest Artist Residency, Ben Toth, 
Director of Percussion Studies at the 
Hartt School of Music, Hartford, Connecticut

4/25/16
YSU Wind Ensemble and Concert Band Concert 
featuring Ben Toth, Percussion
Stambaugh Auditorium, 7:30 PM

4/30/16
Marching Percussion with Yamaha guest artist 
Mr. Jeff Queen, campus of Youngstown State 
University, for schedule and registration visit: 
http://ysubands.org

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2015-2016 Youngstown State University Bands
Dr. Stephen L. Gage, Director of Bands & Orchestra
Dr. Brandt Payne, Director of Athletic Bands
Brandon Ritchie, Graduate Assistant 
Nicholas Marzuola, Graduate Assistant 
Cayla Conrad, YSU Band Librarian 
Andrew Leuty, Equipment/Uniforms

Youngstown State University-Dana School of Music
One University Plaza, Youngstown, Ohio 44555-3636
Phone: (330) 941-1832 Fax: (330) 941-1490
http://www.ysubands.org

Facebook: Youngstown State University Bands

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YSU WIND ENSEMBLE CD RECORDINGS:

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1. Lions, Jesters, and Dragons, Oh My! (1998)
2. Star Wars and Other Scores SOLD OUT (2000) 
3. Carnival! (2002)
4. Spin Cycle (2004) **WINNER of Downbeat Magazine’s University - Symphonic CD of the Year**
5. Tipping Points (2006)
6. Urban Requiem NAXOS, Inc. (2008) - Wind Band Classics CD1
7. Old Wine in New Bottles NAXOS, Inc. (2012) - Wind Band Classics CD2

(Urban Requiem & Old Wine in New Bottles are available from 
NAXOS, Inc., on I-Tunes, and from all on-line CD distributors)

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YSU WIND & PERCUSSION INVITATIONAL HS SYMPHONIC 
BAND/WIND ENSEMBLE PARTICIPANTS (2007-present):

The Firebird Suite (1919 version)
In 1910, Stravinsky premiered The Firebird ballet with the Ballet Russe, and it became an international success. The new collaboration between Sergei Diaghilev, Stravinsky, and the brilliant dancer Nijinsky brought together what must be considered the most extraordinary minds in ballet history.

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born in 1882 in Russia, became a French citizen by 1934, and then a naturalized American in 1945. He died in New York in 1971. His early musical training was inconsequential (though his father was a respected Russian Basso) and thus he studied law. It was not until he joined with the great Russian composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov that Stravinsky's musical talents became ignited. Impresario Sergei Diaghilev heard Stravinsky's music in 1908, and with continued encouragement Stravinsky wrote his first full-length orchestral work, The Firebird, which made him famous and provided the genesis for two more ballets, Petrouchka and The Rite of Spring.

History recalls these first seasons of remarkable performances of the Ballet Russe as "Everything that could strike the imagination, intoxicate, enchant, and win one over seemed to have been assembled on that stage ...''.

Stravinsky was asked to write the music to this folk tale just months before its premiere. Previously it had been handed to the Russian composer Liadov (one of the Mighty Handful of Russian composers), but he procrastinated. Thus 27 year-old Stravinsky, unknown outside of Russia, was asked. His Firebird is considered one of his masterpieces.

The Firebird illustrates a popular Russian folk tale, summarized below: (Introduction) The czar's son, Prince Ivan, has an unexpected meeting with ``a fabulous bird with plumage of fire'' during a hunting excursion. In exchange for not being hunted down by Ivan, the fabulous Firebird bargains her freedom by giving Ivan a magic feather (The Firebird and Her Dance). Later, Ivan chances upon an enchanted castle with a courtyard full of lovely maidens (Round Dance of the Princesses). They warn Ivan of the evil Kastchei in the castle who, for his own amusement, turns travelers into stone. Ivan, undaunted, enters the castle, and is faced by the evil Kastchei. The magic feather shields him from harm, and the Firebird appears, sending Kastchei and his ogres into a mad dance (Infernal Dance of King Kastchei). The evil ones are left exhausted and eventually destroyed by the Firebird (Berceuse). Kastchei's victims are freed from their stone spells, and Ivan wins the hand of a lovely Princess (Finale).

In this work, Stravinsky created highly visual music, with an otherworldly array of sound effects and orchestral colors that magnify the mystical content of the story. In 1919, Stravinsky revised the suite to the ballet score, which is the one we perform tonight. This transcription for wind ensemble was done for the United States Marine Band: “The President’s Own” by Randy Earles and it was edited by Frederick Fennell.

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ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS

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STEPHEN L. GAGE has served as Professor of Music and Director of Bands &  Orchestra at Youngstown State University's Dana School of Music since 1993. In  July 2014, Dr. Gage was appointed as the conductor of the YSU Dana Symphony  Orchestra in addition to his work with the YSU Wind Ensemble and Dana Chamber  Winds. Stephen holds degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,  the Eastman School of Music, and the State University of New York at Fredonia  where he also earned the Performers Certificate and was a concerto winner.  Stephen studied conducting with Harry John Brown, Donald Hunsberger, David  Effron, Roy Ernst, James Keene, H. Robert Reynolds, and Paul Vermel. In  September 2012, Dr. Gage was appointed as the Principal Conductor of the  W. D. Packard Concert Band in Warren. Stephen also is in the midst of his 22nd  season as the Edward Zacharias Memorial Chair/Conductor of the Youngstown  Symphony Youth Orchestra. Previous teaching positions include serving as  Director of Bands & Orchestra at Emporia State University (KS) and as Director  of Bands at Auburn High School (NY).

Professor Gage has written numerous published articles on conducting, rehearsal  techniques, and wind band literature, and he is an active wind band and orchestral guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator of international repute. Stephen  has guest conducted and cliniced high school honor bands and orchestras as well  as a number of university wind bands throughout the United States. His list of  guest conducting appearances includes the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, the  U.S. Army Band: “Pershing’s Own”, and the U.S. Army Field Band & Chorus among  others. The list also includes experiences in Canada, Ireland, and in 34 states. Dr.  Gage has received critical acclaim from a number of distinguished composers,  including a number of Pulitzer prize winners: Joseph Schwanter, Carter Pann, John  Mackey, Samuel Adler, Karel Husa, Frank Ticheli, John Mackey, Michael Colgrass,  Donald Grantham, D.J. Sparr, Jerry Ascione, and David Gillingham for his interpretation and recordings of their music. Stephen’s professional affiliations include  memberships in the CBDNA, NBA, OMEA/MENC, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Kappa  Delta Pi, Phi Beta Mu, Sigma Alpha Iota, and Phi Kappa Phi. Dr. Gage has been  inducted into the prestigious American Bandmasters and was named as both  Distinguished Professor and Faculty Mentor of the Year at YSU; he is currently on  the NBA Foundation Board of Directors and he was just named to the Board of  Directors for the Ohio chapter of Phi Beta Mu. In 2012, Gage was awarded the  Marty Manning Faculty Mentor Award at the University. Stephen and the YSU  Wind Ensemble made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2005; the Wind Ensemble  made a return trip to Carnegie Hall in November 2015. The Wind Ensemble has  produced seven CD recordings. The sixth CD in this series, Urban Requiem, was  released on the NAXOS International Recording Label in June 2008 and the  seventh; Old Wine In New Bottles was released by NAXOS in August 2012. Both  of these NAXOS recordings have earned critical praise from numerous critical  reviewers and represented composers for their artistically convincing  performances and musical and technical quality. The NAXOS recordings have  been played throughout the world on a variety of classical music radio stations.

Stephen lives in Poland, Oh with his wife, Stephanie, and two of his three  children, Claudia and Brendan; Gage’s son, Matthew, and granddaughter, Zoey,  live in Austin, TX.

BRANDT PAYNE is Director of Athletic Bands, and Associate Professor of Music for the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University. At YSU he conducts the marching band, pep band, and concert band. He teaches courses in conducting, instrumental music education, marching band drill design, and graduate wind literature. Dr. Payne has held similar academic appointments at the University of Hawai’i and University of Wyoming. Dr. Payne began his teaching career as a high school band director in the Red Oak Public Schools in Red Oak, Iowa.

Dr. Payne is active as an author, guest conductor, and clinician throughout the United States. Brandt co-authored the new editions of two textbooks, including the Complete Marching Band Resource Manual, with University of Pennsylvania Press and Conducting; the Art of Communication with Oxford University Press. He has published articles with the Instrumentalist, and written literature and recording reviews for the International Trombone Association Journal. Brandt has given presentations at the national conferences of the College Band Directors National Association and the CBDNA National Athletic Band Symposium. Dr. Payne conducts the Stambaugh Youth Concert Band in Youngstown, Ohio, a group comprised of over eighty young musicians from Ohio and Pennsylvania.

A native of Iowa, Dr. Payne holds a Bachelor of Music degree in trombone performance and teacher certification from the University of Iowa, a Master of Music degree in trombone performance and, Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting, both from Arizona State University, in Tempe.

ABOUT THE GRADUATE CONDUCTOR:

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NICHOLAS MARZUOLA is a Graduate Assistant in the Bands department at  Youngstown State University studying instrumental conducting with Brandt  Payne and Stephen Gage. He is a graduate of The University of Akron and  holds degrees in both music education and trumpet performance. His  previous teachers include Scott Johnston, Robert Jorgenson and Galen  Karriker. Marzuola will begin work on a Ph.D. in Music Education at Case  Western Reserve University in the fall of 2016 focusing on wind band repertoire and rehearsal techniques. Marzuola most recently was employed as a  band director in the Youngstown City Schools from 2012-14. In the 2011-12  school year, Marzuola taught at Millennium Community School in Columbus,  OH. He also was a music educator in Marietta, OH from 2009-11 where he  taught 6-12 band and high school general music courses.

In addition to teaching, Marzuola also has world-music experience, previously  serving as a contrabassist and currently as a frequent guest conductor of the  St. Nicholas Balalaika Orchestra. In addition, he sings in Kosovo Serbian Men's  Chorus and at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Mogadore, OH.

Marzuola currently lives in Cuyahoga Falls, OH with his wife Allison and dogs  Ruby and Phoebe.

YSU DANA SCHOOL OF MUSIC INSTRUMENTAL FACULTY:

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ABOUT THE SOLOISTS:

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BENJAMIN TOTH, Professor of Percussion at The Hartt School, University of Hartford, has presented concerts, radio and television broadcasts, master classes, and children’s programs in many countries, spanning six continents. His performances have been described as “tour de force” (Gramophone), “riveting” (New York Times), “dazzling” (Beaumont Enterprise), “powerful” (Louisville Courier-Journal), “primal” (Die Rheinpfalz), “enchanting” (Kornwestheimer Zeitung), “beautiful and unusual” (Washington Post), “passionate” (Westfalen Blatt), “absolutely precise” (Marburger Neue Zeit.

His varied musical interests are reflected in his performance credits, highlights of which include: chamber music performances with Percussion Group Cincinnati (member, 1987-1992), the Jovan Percussion Projekt (member, 1996-present), Illinois Contemporary Chamber Players (member, 1985-86), Myriad (Cleveland Orchestra-based ensemble, 1993), and Conundrum (with composer/pianist David Macbride, 1992-present), and duo performances with marimbist/composer Nebojsa Jovan Zivkovic, bassist Robert Black, violinist Catherine Tait, and soprano/composer Susan Botti; concerto appearances with the Cincinnati, Lake Forest, Greensboro, Midland (MI), and Peoria (IL) Symphony Orchestras, the Symphony of Southeast Texas, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble; orchestral and ensemble work with the Sinfonia da Camera, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Brass Band of Battle Creek, and the Milwaukee Ballet; percussion and drum set work for regional theaters and national tours of Broadway musicals for the Goodspeed Opera House, Hartford Stage, Kenley Players, and Bushnell Theater, and for many touring artists, including Red Skelton, William Warfield, Mitzi Gaynor, Carol Lawrence, Bob Crosby, and the Jimmy Dorsey Band.

His performance venues have included Ravinia, the Walker Arts Center, Carnegie Recital Hall, Symphony Space, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Dagbe Arts Centre (Ghana), the Encontro Internacional de Percussao (Brazil), the Fifth International Percussion Workshop (Poland), the Festival Bicich Nastroju (Czech Republic), the June in Buffalo festival (with composer Steve Reich), Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (Germany), Glasbeni Maj v Pomurju festival (Slovenia), Nomus Music Festivities (Serbia), the Lithuanian National Philharmonic concert series, the inaugural Australian Drum and Percussion Festival, the John Cage Centennial Festival (Washington, D.C.), the College Band Directors National Association national convention, and Percussive Arts Society International Conventions (thirteen appearances, including collaborations with composers Herbert Brun and John Cage). In addition, Toth served as host and coordinator (as well as conductor and performer) for: “A John Cage Retrospective” - the New Music/Research Day of the 1999 PASIC; “Out of Africa: exploring African influence in contemporary percussion music” - the “Focus Day” of the 2008 PASIC; and co-host (and performer) for the 2012 PASIC "John Cage Centennial Celebration". He has recorded for the Albany, Arabesque, Bis, Centaur, Equilibrium, GIA, Hartt, Innova, Musica Europea, Naxos, TNC and Yesa labels, having appeared on twenty recordings.

He has amassed more than 30 years of experience performing, directing, and arranging for steel drum bands, including a five-week residency in Trinidad in order to perform in the 2000 Panorama (Trinidad National Steel Band Competition) with Robert Greenidge and the “Solo Pan Knights”. He spent January, 2008, and January, 2013, studying West African percussion in Ghana, including gyil playing with Bernard Woma, and Ewe barrel drumming with Emmanuel and Ruben Agbeli.

He has studied classical percussion with Thomas Siwe (University of Illinois), Larry Snider (University of Akron), and Donald Miller (Cleveland Orchestra); drum-set with Bob McKee (Cleveland, Ohio); and world percussion with John Amira and Johnny Almendra (Cuban and Haitian percussion), Joseph Galeota (African drumming), Rogerio Boccato (Brazilian percussion), Shane Shanahan (hand drumming), and Glen Velez (frame drumming). Toth previously served on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance and Jazz Studies (double major) from the University of Akron, and a Master’s degree from the University of Illinois. Benjamin Toth is a Yamaha performing artist. He uses mallets made by Innovative Percussion and plays Zildjian cymbals.

BRIAN D. KISER has carved out a unique performing career with a wide range of ensembles. In addition to his role as Principal tuba of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, he performs with the River City Brass (Pittsburgh, Pa.), as solo tuba with the Mr. Jack Daniel’s Original Silver Cornet Band, and for a steady stream of studio recording projects.

Dr. Kiser joined the faculty of Youngstown State University in 2005. He currently serves as an Associate Professor of Music and Brass Area Coordinator in the Dana School of Music. In addition to teaching applied Euphonium and Tuba lessons, Dr. Kiser also teaches a music industry class, directs the tuba euphonium ensemble and performs with the Dana Brass. His students have been very successful in a variety of fields. Many enjoy teaching careers in the public schools and at the collegiate level. Students have received assistantships at many of the top schools in the country and have active performance careers.

He previously served on the faculties of Indiana State University and Millikin University. He received his Doctorate of Music from the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in 2007, a Masters in Music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2000, and an undergraduate degree in Music Education from the University of Northern Iowa in 1998. His principal teachers include Dan Perantoni, Mickey Moore, and Jeff Funderburk. Brian Kiser's orchestral experience includes performances with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (Kuala Lumpur), Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Warren Philharmonic Orchestra, Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, Indiana Summer Festival Orchestra, Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, and Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra.

As an active studio musician, Kiser regularly records diverse musical projects in Indianapolis and Cleveland area studios. This includes projects with the Hal Leonard Corporation, De Haske Music Publications, FJH Music Company, and Ludwig Music Publishers. He can be heard performing on more than a thousand Hal Leonard demo recordings since 2002. Kiser is featured with the Bach 'N Blues 'n Brass on their CD - “Dominic Spera presents: American Popular Songbook for Brass Quintet.” Brian Kiser has performed over 300 times in thirty-eight states with the Mr. Jack Daniel's Original Silver Cornet Band - a twelve-piece historical recreation of the 1894 band from Lynchburg, Tennessee.

Kiser has also performed with the Canton Symphony Brass Quintet live on the NPR program, “Whaddya’Know?” and annually for the NFL Hall of Fame Banquet. More unique performances include a tuba quartet version of The Star-Spangled Banner at the Speedo International Swimming and Diving Championships - performed while standing on the seven-meter platform. He has even traded musical sounds with an alligator while on tour in Florida. True story!

Dr. Kiser resides in Boardman with his wife, Candice, who’s also a professional musician, and their two adorable children – Mady and Jacob. When not busy with teaching and performing, Dr. Kiser can be found grilling out and watching his favorite Chicago teams.

 

ABOUT THE YSU WIND ENSEMBLE

The wind band program at Youngstown State University encompasses a wide range of performance groups, from concert bands and chamber groups to marching, pep, and jazz organizations. Over 300 students perform annually in one or more of these bands. Comprised from among the top wind and percussion students in the Dana School of Music, the Wind Ensemble performs a broad spectrum of music. The YSU Band program includes the YSU Marching Pride, the YSU Basketball Band, the YSU Wind Ensemble, the YSU Concert Band, the YSU University Band, and the Dana Chamber Winds.

The Wind Ensemble has been involved in numerous commissions and has had recent in-residence experiences with Michael Colgrass, Joseph Schwantner, Allen Vizzutti, Carter Pann, Karel Husa, Samuel Adler, Eric Ewazen, Frank Ticheli, Adam Frey, Anthony Iannaccone, Donald Sinta, David Gillingham, James Keene, Don Wilcox, Brian Balmages, Jerry Ascione, Anthony O’Toole, and Ed Lisk.

Pulitzer prize winning composer, Karel Husa called the ensemble’s performance of his music, ‘inspiring.” Frank Ticheli stated that the band “performed my music beautifully” and that the group was ‘hot!” Schwantner complimented the ensemble for “their artistry, and for their care and consideration” of his music. Composer/Pianist Carter Pann was very complimentary of the collaborative music-making experience with Concerto Logic and said that the Wind Ensemble’s performance was “among the finest he had experienced” Composer and prize winning composer and author, Michael Colgrass thanked the band for its “wonderful performance and recording” of his Urban Requiem.

The Wind Ensemble has performed at the MENC National Convention, for numerous OMEA State Conventions, for CBDNA Regional and National Conventions, and for the ABSDA National Convention. In 2005, Dr. Gage andthe band made their NYC Carnegie Hall debut and the ensemble made its second Carnegie Hall appearance in November 2015. The Wind Ensemble has released seven in-house and internationally released CD recordings:

Lions, Jesters, and Dragons, Oh My! (1998); Star Wars and Other Scores (2000); Carnival (2002); Spin Cycle (2004); and Tipping Points (2006).

In June 2008, the ensemble released its first produced CD, Urban Requiem, on the NAXOS International label. In August 2012 NAXOS International released its second YSU Wind Ensemble CD, Old Wine in New Bottles” in its Wind Band Classics series. The following critical reviews were offered for these recordings:

“Another solid entry for Naxos’s Wind Band Classics series has been made by the Youngstown State University Wind Ensemble directed by Stephen L. Gage. Everything about this disc was well done: performance, music selection, programming, the whole works.”

Sequenza21/CD Reviews Jay Batzner

“Listening to this offering, I found myself increasingly disbelieving that the Youngstown State University’s Wind Ensemble is a student organization… I still find the fit and finish of their performances astonishing.”

Fanfare Magazine William Zyrgowski

“…the swinging rhythms of the gospel songs from the Deep South used by Donald Grantham in Starry Crown belong to American musicians, the playing of the student ensemble, conducted by Stephen Gage, is as good as any professional group.”

David’s Review Corner David Denton

ABOUT THE ROBERT E. FLEMING SCHOLARSHIP:

In academic year, 2013-14, YSU Bands were able to provide the first scholarship from the Robert E. Fleming Scholarship Fund. This scholarship goes to a deserving student in YSU Bands whose leadership, musicianship, service, and character epitomizes the outstanding work done with YSU Bands by Professor Fleming. There is an advertisement in this program that provides information as to how you can continue to help grow this important scholarship fund. To date, two outstanding students have won this award:

2013-2014 Samuel Carr, Clarinet, Bachelor of Music in Music Education, Warren Harding HS

2014-2015 Antonie Jackson, Trumpet, Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance, Warren Harding HS

2015-2016 Jacob Umbrazun, Tuba, Bachelor of Music in Tuba Performance, Lakeview HS

THANKS to all who have and who will donate to this scholarship fund. Bob’s legacy is further cemented in the support that this scholarship provides to deserving students. Thank you!

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YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY DAY OF PERCUSSION: Saturday, April 30, 2016

Marching Percussion with Yamaha guest artist Mr. Jeff Queen, campus of Youngstown State University, for schedule and registration visit: http://ysubands.org

Dr. Glenn Schaft, Mr. Ed Davis, Mr. Dustin May, and the YSU Percussion studio wish to thank Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Co., Remo Inc., Innovative Percussion Inc., and Black Swamp Percussion for their support.

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