Blackley to Conduct Annual "Pops in the Park"

The Guy C. Myers Memorial Band Shell at Ashland City's Brookside Park will host its annual "Pops in the Park" concert by the Ashland Symphony Orchestra  and Ashland Area Chorus on Sunday, June 30 at 8 p.m. 

Under the direction of Dr. Ron Blackley, audience members will have the chance to sing along to popular movie musical numbers from “Mamma Mia!,” “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman.” The concert will also include several patriotic pieces in honor of Independence Day including the “Armed Forces Salute,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “America the Beautiful” and two marches by John Philip Sousa: “Semper Fidelis” and “Stars and Stripes Forever.” The symphony will bring back the “1812 Overture” featuring mock cannon fire from Civil War Battery D from the 1st Ohio Light Artillery. Audience members will be provided with paper bags and sparklers to set off during the performance as well.

From 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., ASO’s instrument petting zoo will be open to participants of all ages
interested in learning about different musical instruments.

Freewill donations will be collected during the performance which will benefit both the ASO and Band Shell.

In the event of inclement weather the concert will be moved to Ashland High School’s Archer
Auditorium at 8 p.m.

Sing with AAC & ASO for Independence Day

The Ashland Area Chorus, a non-auditioned mixed choir of 40-60 participants, invites local singers to join them for the short summer session and to perform with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. The 4-week rehearsal schedule begins on June 3 and continues for four consecutive Mondays including: June 3, 10, 17, 24. Each rehearsal is from 7-8:30 p.m. at Ashland University in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts (formerly the Arts and Humanities building). The session will conclude on Sunday, June 30 with a live performance of light, popular, and patriotic tunes with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra for the Pops In the Park concert at Brookside Park Band Shell.

The Chorus is open to the entire Ashland community and beyond, with previous singers travelling from Richland, Medina, Wayne, Holmes, and Crawford counties. Previous choral experience is helpful and encouraged. While there are no strict age limits, singers under 18 must be approved by the director. There is no cost to the singer for the summer session.

The AAC performs in several concerts each year on the AU campus and with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. Recent appearances have included a stand-alone presentation of the Dvořák Mass in D Minor, subscription concerts with the ASO (including Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah), Ashland University choral concerts (including Handel's Messiah and the Brahms Requiem) and summer pops concerts in the park.

Current members should encourage their talented friends and neighbors to attend the first summer rehearsal to join this unique community opportunity. For further information, please contact the AU Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Ron Blackley, at rblackle@ashland.edu or (419) 289-5114. Or, simply show up on June 3.

ASO & Area Chorus Perform This Sunday

The Ashland Symphony Orchestra and the Ashland Area Chorus perform their annual Pops in the Park concert this Sunday, July 1 at 8 p.m. in the Guy C. Myers Memorial Band Shell at Brookside Park. The concert will feature all of your patriotic favorites along with special effects from the Civil War Battery D, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, sparklers and paper bag cannons.

Vocalists Invited to Sing in ASO Pops in the Park Concert

The Ashland Area Chorus (AAC), a non-auditioned mixed choir of 40-60 participants, invites local singers to join them for a short summer session and to perform with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. The 4-week rehearsal schedule meets for four consecutive Mondays including: June 4, 11, 18 and 25. Each rehearsal is from 7-8:30 p.m. at Ashland University in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts (formerly the Arts and Humanities building). The session will conclude on Sunday, July 1 with a live performance of light, popular, and patriotic tunes with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra for the Pops In the Park concert at Brookside Park Band Shell.

The Chorus is open to the entire Ashland community and beyond, with previous singers travelling from Richland, Medina, Wayne, Holmes, and Crawford counties. Previous choral experience is helpful and encouraged. While there are no strict age limits, singers under 18 must be approved by the director. There is no cost to the singer for the summer session.

The AAC performs in several concerts each year on the AU campus and with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. Recent appearances have included a stand-alone presentation of the Dvořák Mass in D Minor, subscription concerts with the ASO (including Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah), Ashland University choral concerts (including Handel's Messiah and the Brahms Requiem) and summer pops concerts in the park.

Current members should encourage their talented friends and neighbors to attend the first summer rehearsal to join this unique community opportunity. For further information, please contact the AU Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Ron Blackley, at rblackle@ashland.edu or (419) 289-5114. Or, simply show up on June 4.

AU Choirs Singing with ASO

On Saturday, April 28, the Ashland University Choir and Ashland Area Chorus will combine into a choir of 110 singers to perform selections from Handel's Solomon with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra for their "Romantic April" program. The 48th season finale concert will also feature soloist Sarina Zhang on piano for Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1, op. 25, G minor; and on cello for Saint-Saens' Violoncello Concerto, No. 1, op. 33, A minor. In addition, the Orchestra will perform Liszt's Les Preludes.

As ASO's Maestro Lipsky has been invited to be the guest conductor for the World-class Korean Broadcasting System Symphony Orchestra this week, the "Romantic April" concert will feature two guest conductors including AU Music's Dr. Rowland Blackley and Oberlin College's Raphael Jiménez.

Tickets are available through the ASO office at 419.289.5125 or their website at AshlandSymphony.org, as well as the AU Box Office at 419.289.5125.

Ashland Area Chorus Invites Locals to Sing in ASO Pops Concert

The Ashland Area Chorus (AAC), a non-auditioned mixed choir of 40-60 participants, invites local singers to join them for the short summer session and to perform with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. The 4-week rehearsal schedule meets for four consecutive Mondays including: June 5, 12, 19, 26. Each rehearsal is from 7-8:30 p.m. at Ashland University in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts. The session will conclude on Sunday, July 2 with a live performance of light, popular, and patriotic tunes with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra for the Pops In the Park concert at Brookside Park Band Shell.

The Chorus is open to the entire Ashland community and beyond, with previous singers travelling from Richland, Medina, Wayne, Holmes, and Crawford counties. Previous choral experience is helpful and encouraged. While there are no strict age limits, singers under 18 must be approved by the director.  There is no cost to the singer for the summer session.

The AAC performs in several concerts each year on the AU campus and with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. Recent appearances have included a stand-alone presentation of the Dvořák Mass in D Minor, subscription concerts with the ASO (including Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah), Ashland University choral concerts (including Handel's Messiah and the Brahms Requiem) and summer pops concerts in the park.

Current members should encourage their talented friends and neighbors to attend the first summer rehearsal to join this unique community opportunity. For further information, please contact the AU Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Ron Blackley, at rblackle@ashland.edu or (419) 289-5114. Or, simply show up on June 5.

University Choir & Ashland Area Chorus Perform with Ashland Symphony

The Ashland University Choir and Ashland Area Chorus will perform Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, op. 80 with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra (ASO) this Saturday, April 29, 7:30 p.m., in Archer Auditorium at Ashland High School.

For its final concert of its 47th season, the ASO will feature showstoppers from Beethoven and Rossini in their program themed Bravo Beethoven. The concert welcomes back pianist Roman Rabinovich as part of the Elizabeth Pastor Series of Guest Pianists who will also perform Beethoven's "Piano Concerto in C minor, No.3, op.37."  The program also includes Rossini's "William Tell Overture".

Tickets are available for purchase weekday mornings at the Symphony Office in Room 147 of the Center for the Arts, by calling 419.289.5115 or online at AshlandSymphony.org. They can also be purchased on weekday afternoons at the AU Box Office by calling 419.289.5125, and at the door of the concert.

Ashland Area Chorus Invites Locals to Sing in Abbreviated Summer Session

The Ashland Area Chorus, a non-auditioned mixed choir of 40-60 participants, invites local singers to join them for the short summer session and to perform with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. The 4-week rehearsal schedule begins on June 6 and continues for four consecutive Mondays including: June 6, 13, 20, 27. Each rehearsal is from 7-8:30 p.m. at Ashland University in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts (formerly the Arts and Humanities building). The session will conclude on Sunday, July 3 with a live performance of light, popular, and patriotic tunes with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra for the Pops In the Park concert at Brookside Park Band Shell.

The Chorus is open to the entire Ashland community and beyond, with previous singers travelling from Richland, Medina, Wayne, Holmes, and Crawford counties. Previous choral experience is helpful and encouraged. While there are no strict age limits, singers under 18 must be approved by the director. There is no cost to the singer for the summer session.

The AAC performs in several concerts each year on the AU campus and with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra. Recent appearances have included subscription concerts with the ASO (including Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah), Ashland University choral concerts (including Handel's Messiah and the Brahms Requiem) and summer pops concerts in the park.

Current members should encourage their talented friends and neighbors to attend the first summer rehearsal to join this unique community opportunity. For further information, please contact the AU Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Ron Blackley, at rblackle@ashland.edu or (419) 289-5114. Or, simply show up on June 6.

Ashland Choirs Join ASO for "An American in Paris"

The Ashland University Choir and Ashland Area Chorus join the Ashland Symphony Orchestra to perform a grand finale of a concert as its swan song to Ashland Middle School’s McDowell Auditorium. The symphony’s “An American in Paris” concert is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18 at McDowell, and the concert will be the symphony’s final performance in the venue before the school is demolished. 

As part of the “An American in Paris” concert, the symphony will perform four compositions with French influences. To begin, Lipsky will lead the orchestra through Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms,” which features Ashland University Choir, Ashland Area Chorus and 13-year-old treble soloist Francesco von Bülow. 

“The ‘Psalms’ is a serious piece by Bernstein, but you can hear especially his ‘West Side Story’ roots, the influence of jazz and lighter music on this piece,” Lipsky said. “And the chorus is singing in Hebrew, so they’re excited about this. It makes it tricky to sing in a nonEuropean language.” 

Following “Chichester Psalms” is “The Muse and the Poet” by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, which features solos by Michelle Abraham on violin and Miles Richardson on cello. After an intermission, the symphony will perform “Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun” by Claude Debussy, which features a flute solo throughout the piece. 

The concert conclude’s with George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris,” which Lipsky said is one of Gershwin’s “most recognized pieces.” The piece is influenced by jazz and blues and features a trumpet solo and even the percussion section’s “taxi horn” instruments.

There will be a reception backstage following the concert. Tickets are available online at www.ashlandsymphony.org or by calling 419-289-5115.