WSU Arts Gala celebrates 8 successful years 

By Burt Saidel

How do you describe the Wright State Arts Gala.?  After eight years, the Gala has become, as predicted, the most successful and exciting evening on the Dayton social calendar.  

“Successful” is not the only description.  Adjectives such as “busy,” “exciting,” “delicious” can be used without any hesitation.  The overriding descriptive term is “youth!”

Nearly 600 formally dressed persons gather at the WSU Creative Arts Center for all the right reasons.  The evening is a fund raiser for student scholarships in the wide-ranging field of the arts.  

WSU has become respected and even famous for its theater, music, dance, fine arts and motion picture training.  The performance season, particularly in the Festival Theatre, is very popular and extremely well attended.  Justifiable pride can be taken in the success of WSU’s arts graduates nationally.

Scholarships, the bright shining faces of the WSU student performers and the satisfaction of helping this great cause is wonderful.  The sheer fun of the evening adds splendor to the warm fuzzy feeling of helping these young artists.

I described the evening as “busy.”  You enter the Creative Arts Center to be greeted by a groaning hors d’oeuvres buffet.  Happily devouring shrimp and other delicacies must be interrupted to attend the Wind Symphony Concert.  

The good music is not the only enticement.  Annually, a special celebrity takes the podium and conducts the wind players in The Stars and Strips Forever.  This year, Shelley Goldenberg, newly retired as First Lady of WSU, was the designated maestro.  She and her husband, President Kim Goldenberg retired from the presidency to take on a “really big” job, the chairmanship of the Arts Gala!

Newly installed President David Hopkins introduced Shelley with a wry smile.  He knew the secret.  Affable Shelley not only led the orchestra but added a dance to bring the audience to its feet.

From that moment, the adjective busy was modified by delicious and exciting. Guests scurried from venue to venue where groups of multi-talented students performed while being accompanied by groaning buffet tables from Dayton’s finest caterers.

Art was everywhere!  Artists were drawing, painting and sculpting while musicians played and ensembles sang and danced.   One could cruise through opera, choral, Broadway and jazz performances while grazing the gustatory goodies.  

A highlight of the evening is always the Broadway Revue, a fully staged showcase of musicals past and present.  This year, Grease and Music Man were featured as a clever mechanism to show off these effervescently talented young artists.

As the evening wound down, the monumental dessert table appeared to re-challenge our appetites.  For the staunch at heart, there was dancing on the stage to end a truly gala evening.

My only advice, buy your tickets for next year soon.  You may face the SRO sign if you dawdle.

Soirees Musicales

Impresario Don Hageman’s Soirées Musicales piano series is 37 seasons old.  But its venerable age is highlighted by appearances of some of the most youthful and brilliant pianists available internationally.  

The March recital at Shiloh Church featured Japanese pianist Kotaro Fukuma. Fukuma is a true internationalist.  Born in Japan, he studied at the Paris Conservatory and is now a student at the Berlin University of the Arts.  

While pursuing studies, he also garnered several prizes in international competitions in locations as distant as Utah, Helsinki, Cleveland and New York.  Now he studies in Berlin and tours the world as a recitalist and symphonic soloist.

For his Soirées recital, he played a program which spanned the eras of Bach, through Beethoven to Isaac Albéniz.  Each of the pieces required different dynamics and tonal coloration.  Each was done with a special brilliance, almost uniquely powerful.

The concert opened with the Brahms’ transcription of Bach’s Chaconne in D for the left hand alone.  The technical demands were easily encompassed by Fukuma’s compete control of the piano.  The work was as much a visual experience as a purely musical one. We watched as the single hand plumbed the depths and range of the magnificent Grotrian piano.

Beethoven’s familiar “Eroica” variations followed, played with intensity occasionally obscuring the inner message of the music.  After intermission, the audience was treated to a collection of Albéniz’ piano pieces from Iberia.  Here, the Spanish flavor of the music reached unforgettable heights.  

Impresario Don collects great pianists for his series.  The audience collects great musical experiences.

Pianist Primakov April 14 at DAI

Vassily Primakov will perform at  the DAI museum for its final concert of the 2006-2007 season on Saturday, April 14 at 8 p.m. in The Dayton Art Institute’s NCR Renaissance Auditorium.

Vassily Primakov has received audience acclaim and been hailed by the press for his performances throughout the United States. The New York Times praised his “bold, expressive phrasing and dramatic commitment that brought the audience to its feet.”

His performance in Dayton will be: Ten pieces from “Bunte Blatter,” Op. 99, Robert Schumann, Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, Johannes Brahms, Sonata No.13 in E flat Major, Op. 27, No. 1 (“Quasi una fantasia”), Ludwig Van Beethoven, Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No.2 (“Moonlight”), Ludwig Van Beethoven .

Concert tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students. Tickets may be purchased at Hauer Music Co., Wright State University Center Box Office, and at The Dayton Art Institute on the night of the concert only.  Tickets may also be purchased online at www.daytonartinstitute.org or by calling Vanguard Concerts at (937) 436-0244.

Café Operetta at UD April 14

Café Operetta will commence on Saturday, April 14, 2007 at 8 p.m. in the Kennedy Union Ballroom.

Experience the elegance and ambiance of a European cafe - complete with food, candlelight, and music!  The program features performances by the UD Opera Workshop, directed by Dr. Linda J. Snyder; University Chorale, directed by Dr. Robert Jones;   and the University Orchestra, directed by Dr. Jiang Liu.  Seated at tables, the audience will enjoy the beautiful music of Mozart, Brahms, Elgar, Johann Strauss, Franz Lehar, and Gilbert and Sullivan, among   others.  Appetizers and Austrian apple strudel will be served, along with Viennese coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.  A beer and wine cash bar will also be available.

Tickets are now on sale at the UD Kennedy Union Main Lobby Box Office. Box Office Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m, and occasional evenings.  The ticket price of $10 covers appetizers, dessert, and warm beverage.  To charge by phone, call 937-229-2545.  Purchase your ticket by April 12 to be assured table seating.  Only a limited number of tickets will be available at the door beginning at 7:15 p.m. on the evening of the performance.  There are no reserved seats.  Doors open at 7: 30 p.m.

MVSO concerto competition

The Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra announces its fourth annual Clark J. Haines Memorial Concerto Competition, which will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2007 at Wright State University’s Creative Arts Center. The MVSO is offering the winner a $300 prize, plus a chance to perform with the orchestra on its 2007-08 season.
The competition is open to all instruments and any performer who is not presently engaged as a full-time, professional musician. The competition has no age limits or residency requirements.

Prospective contestants will perform a 10-minute piece or excerpt from one movement of a concerto or other work with a published orchestral accompaniment (the competition performance will be with piano accompaniment).

The winner will rehearse and perform the competition piece with the orchestra next season. Contestants are asked to submit an application by May 1, 2007.

For application instructions or more information, applicants should call Felicia Bauman at 937-476-5043, or write to Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra at P.O. Box 164, Dayton, Ohio 45409-0164.

Theatre Hall of Fame nominees being sought

Nominations are being sought for 2007 Dayton Theatre Hall  of Fame inductees. Any member of the Dayton arts community is eligible to receive this annual award designed to recognize individuals who have dedicated themselves to theatre arts in Dayton.

Completed nomination forms and two letters of recommendation must be received by May 5, 2007 and will be reviewed by a nine-member panel.

Online nominations can now be submitted by going to www.daytonys.org. Or receive a nomination form by contacting the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame Nomination Committee Chair, Susan Robert at michlipp@woh.rr.com.

Call for Entries at Rosewood

Rosewood Gallery in Kettering, Ohio, announces a Call for Entries for The View 2007, A Landscape Competition—a juried exhibition created as a showcase for Ohio artists presenting traditional or contemporary views of landscape or land imagery, environmental themes and world issues.

Entries must be original works in any media, completed within the last four years, and not exceeding 60 inches in width. Completed entries will be accepted through May 18, 2007. The exhibit runs from June 25 through July 27, 2007.

For entry forms, please contact Amy K. Anderson, Coordinator, Rosewood Gallery, 2655 Olson Drive, Kettering, OH, 45420, (937) 296-0294, amy.anderson@kettering oh.org; or download the form at www.ketteringoh.org.

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April 10, 2007
Volume 16, No. 15

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