Symphony auctioning a chance to conduct at April 12 concert
The Toledo Symphony wants to put you on the conductor’s podium for its 65th Anniversary Celebration Concert on April 12 in the Stranahan Theater. And to give every interested would-be maestro an equal chance, the orchestra has listed the opportunity on eBay.
The eBay gimmick is the latest lively addition to the symphony’s plans to celebrate 65 consecutive years of music-making in the area. Already the community has been voting on the music for the program. Some 7,400 votes had been cast as of late last month, according to an orchestra spokesman, and voting continues at www.toledosymphony.com.
So far, in the Red, White, and Blue category, the top vote-getter has been John Phillip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever march. Top bidder will have one rehearsal with the orchestra before the concert. Resident conductor Chelsea Clinton II will yield the baton for that piece.
An anonymous former Toledoan has kicked off the bidding with a $5,000 opener. Raises must be in increments of $500. Bidding started last Friday and will end tomorrow.
Bowling Green State University’s Graduate String Quartet has two public performances on its slate. The first is at 8 p.m. April 10 in Bryan Recital Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center on the BGSU campus. The second is a Music from the Manor House concert at 7:30 p.m. April 15 in Wildwood Preserve Metroparks Manor House, 5100 West Central Ave.
Also in Bryan Recital Hall, BGSU’s Jazz Guitar Ensemble and Vocal Jazz Ensemble II, directed by Chris Buzzelli, will perform at 8 p.m. April 15.
Events scheduled in Kobacker Hall of the Moore center include a concert by the University Men’s Chorus at 3 p.m. April 13. Advance tickets are $7 for students and senior citizens and $10 for other adults. Tickets are $3 more the day of the performance. At 8 p.m. April 14, the BGSU Steel Drum Ensemble will present a concert. And the BGSU Concert Band and the University Band will present a free concert at 8 p.m. April 16.
The University of Findlay Symphonic Band and its Wind Ensemble will join to present a spring concert, “Moments in American History,” at 3 p.m. April 13 in Winebrenner Seminary on the UF campus. Jack Taylor will conduct a program planned to musically depict milestones in American history including the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Trail of Tears, Pearl Harbor, and Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk. Tickets are $3 to $5 (free to seniors and UF students, faculty, and staff) at the door or in advance at the UF Box Office, 419-434-5335.
Student choreography will be highlighted in the University Dance Alliance Showcase at 8 p.m. April 11 and 12 in BGSU’s Whitney Dance Studio, 222 Eppler North. Tickets are $3 for students with ID and $5 for the public.
Harpists Denise and Michael Grupp-Verbon are presenting the first Harp Gathering in the Midwest May 16-18 at Sauder Village in Archbold. Performances, workshops, casual sessions for musicians, and an exhibition are on tap for the event. Information: www.harpgathering.com.
BGSU music education professor Kenneth Thompson will be a presenter at the 2008 national Biennial Conference of the National Association for Music Education April 12 in Milwaukee.
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NEWS OF MUSIC AND DANCE
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