Bob Young & Eric Zalenski-Sophomore Duo Recital
Gus Burghdorf received a Bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and a Master of Music degree from Ithaca College. This piece was written during his tenure at Kent State for his wife Amy Carpenter.
1. Cretan Dance
2. Fox Trot
3. Fandago
Michael Charles Smith, a marimba soloist, composer, and teacher, has been performing his original compositions for the past 12 years throughout the Pacific Northwest. Inspired by a dream, this collection is the soundtrack for an unwritten children’s story, each piece painting a picture of Babo, Noni and Ani and their adventures in an imaginary land. Listeners are invited to construct the story using the song titles as a guide. The story is only limited by the listener’s imagination.
This marimba duet dedicated to Leigh Howard Stevens and She-e Wu employs advanced four-mallet techniques, and two five-octave marimbas are needed for performance. "Kaleïduoscope" is stylistically reminiscent of some of Sammut's solo marimba works such as "Four Rotations" and "Stroboscope."
A Minute of News is from The Noble Snare volume 4, a collection of virtuosic works for solo snare drum that currently contains over 30 works by various composers.
Children's Songs consists of mostly short songs with simple themes. In the preface of the notated version Corea states, that with this songs, he wants “to convey simplicity as beauty, as represented in the Spirit of a child.”
"In the early morning haze as I stood in the middle of a bamboo grove, I became enwrapped in a rich medley of sound. Listening to the bamboo leaves rustling against each other in the occasional whip of the breeze, I seemed to hear the song of the wind...I sensed the dynamic and powerful nature of life forces. I took out of my pocket a marble and threw it into the grove. The blue marble disappeared into the morning haze, leaving behind it beautiful echoes as it rebounded from stalk to stalk." Notes by Keiko Abe
2007 graduate of Austintown Fitch High School where he performed in the Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and Marching Band, serving as section leader of all three ensembles his junior and senior year. He also performed with the Stambaugh Youth Concert Band and Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra. At Dana, Bob has studied under Glenn Schaft and Josh Ryan. He has performed with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Dana Symphony Orchestra, Marching Pride, Percussion Ensemble and jazz combos. He also serves as secretary of the Youngstown Percussion Collective. Outside of Dana, Bob was a member of Matrix Indoor Percussion Ensemble during the 2008 season and is a member of the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps for their upcoming 2009 season.
Eric Zalenski is a Sophomore Music Education Major at Youngstown State University. He is from Bloomingdale, Ohio where he graduated from Indian Creek High School. There he was a member of the Marching Band, Concert Band, and Jazz Band. At Youngstown State, his teachers include Glenn Schaft, Rob Ferguson, and Nathan Douds. Eric is involved in Percussion Ensemble, University Symphonic Band, Concert Band, the Marching Pride, the Dana Chamber Orchestra, and has played in the pit orchestra for the opera Amelia Goes To The Ball. Eric is also an active member of the Youngstown Percussion Collective. Outside of the University, Eric has served as the percussion coordinator for East Palestine High School in East Palestine, Ohio and Shadyside High School in Shadyside, Ohio. He also was the percussionist for a Christmas Church production at Greenford Christian Church in Greenford, Ohio.