Posted May 23, 2022
DAYTON, OH (May 23, 2022) – The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO), under the leadership of Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman, will present a live outdoor concert this Memorial Day Weekend Concert on Sunday, May 29, 2022, as the featured performance of Dayton Heritage Day at Carillon Historical Park. This year, this special concert takes place in the afternoon at 3:00pm. The DPO is thrilled to be returning to Carillon Park after a two-year absence due to COVID for its 15th annual Memorial Day Weekend concert.
Guest soprano Minnita Daniel-Cox joins the Dayton Philharmonic for this exciting afternoon of music at this year’s Dayton Heritage Day celebration, a festive and patriotic way to ring in summer.
Carillon Park will open at 12:00noon on Sunday, May 29, and admission to Dayton Heritage Day is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $8 for children aged 3–17, and FREE for Dayton History members and children under 3. Admission is $8 for all active military, military retirees, veterans, and reservists with valid I.D. Parking is free. No carried-in food or beverages are permitted.
The concert opens with the traditional Star-Spangled Banner and then continues with a meandering journey through Charles Ives’s Variations on “America,” written by Ives for the organ in 1891 when he was just seventeen and later orchestrated by William Schuman for its symphonic premiere with the New York Philharmonic in 1964.
The program continues with “The Trees on the Mountains” from the powerful opera Susannah by American composer Carlisle Floyd. Guest soprano Minnita Daniel-Cox takes the stage alongside the DPO for this moving work.
The DPO then turns to the beautiful second movement from Antonin Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, also called his New World Symphony. For each Memorial Day concert, Maestro Gittleman selects a piece on the program as a memorial piece, one fitting for reflection and dedication, and this year, this second movement of the New World Symphony is that piece. Dvořák, a Czech composer, wrote his epic Ninth Symphony during the time he spent in America in the late 1800s, weaving into his music his impressionable experiences in America along with his discovery of Native-American and African-American melodies.
Dr. Patrick Nugent then takes the stage with the DPO to narrate Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s patriotic “We the People,” an orchestral work with text that serves as an inspiring account of the writing of the American Constitution.
The second half of the program opens with John Philip Sousa’s rousing “The Liberty Bell,” which Sousa wrote in 1893, inspired by watching his son march in a parade welcoming the Liberty Bell back to Philadelphia after a tour across the country. Then, what better way to celebrate Americana then with a work by “The Dean of American Composers,” Aaron Copland. The DPO performs the instantly recognizable “Hoe-Down” from Copland’s famous ballet Rodeo.
Minnita Daniel-Cox returns to the stage for two American staples: “Amazing Grace” and Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” And, of course, the program would not be complete without the celebratory 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky to conclude this exciting afternoon celebration.
Highlights of Dayton Heritage Day include the opportunity to explore over 30 historical buildings and participate in hands-on demonstrations. Patrons may also enjoy carousel, train rides, and other activities. For more information about the Dayton Heritage Day, visit www.daytonhistory.org.
For more information about the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance please visit our website at www.daytonperformingarts.org.
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About the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance
The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA) was formed in July 2012 as the result of a groundbreaking and innovative merger between the Dayton Ballet, the Dayton Opera, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they are the largest performing arts organization in the greater Dayton community, with a mission to be the community’s indispensable source for traditional, diverse and innovative experiences in ballet, opera, and orchestral music. The vision of the DPAA is to transform lives through the power of music and dance. The DPAA offers a wide variety of performance and education programs, setting a new standard for artistic excellence. DPAA performances reach an audience of more than 90,000 people annually, and their rich arts education programming serves over 60,000 schoolchildren in 150 schools in the Miami Valley. These performances and education initiatives are made possible in part through major support provided by the Ohio Arts Council, Culture Works, the City of Dayton, Montgomery County and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Dayton History
Dayton History is Montgomery County’s official historical organization. The organization boasts multiple campuses in the greater Dayton, Ohio area: Carillon Historical Park, Hawthorn Hill, the Paul Laurence Dunbar House Historic Site, the Patterson Homestead, the Old Court House, Memorial Hall, and the Archive Center. Dayton History brings the past to life to understand the present and inspire the future by collecting, preserving, interpreting, presenting, and promoting the region’s past. For more information, call 937.293.2841 or visit www.daytonhistory.org. Carillon Historical Park, 1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton Ohio, 45409.