Dayton's Ballet School & Youth Orchestras to Celebrate Big Anniversaries With a Weekend of Concerts

Dayton Performing Arts Alliance will continue celebrating Dayton's oldest performing arts organizations with a weekend of anniversary performances on May 20 and 21. Dayton Ballet School Ballet's Spring Concert recognizes its 95th Anniversary Saturday, May 20, at 3pm in the historic Victoria Theatre. The Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and its Youth Strings and Junior Strings programs celebrate 85 years on Sunday, May 21, at 3pm at the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. Tickets for these concerts are on sale now at daytonperformingarts.org/tickets, by calling 937-228-3630, or in person at the Box Office, located in the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton.

Dayton Ballet School's (DBS) Spring Concert celebrates 95 years of ballet instruction in Dayton. Founders Josephine and Hermene Schwarz began the Schwartz School for Young Dancers in 1927 and it has flourished throughout the years, producing hundreds, if not thousands, of agile and skilled young dancers who may or may not have pursued ballet as a profession but left the school appreciating the art of dance and the importance of the arts in their community. The afternoon features a repertory-type performance as students from Creative Movement to Ballet V and DBII Companies showcase their skills, artistry, and progress on the Victoria stage. Tickets for the May 20 at 3pm performance start at $7 and are on sale now.

Dayton Philharmonic founder and first conductor Paul Katz began the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (DPYO) in 1937 to provide students the opportunity to perform in an orchestra. It is the second-oldest youth orchestra in the country. Since its founding, the group has grown into a full, vibrant orchestra with programs for younger musicians, the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Strings, and Junior Strings. Led by the current conductor of more than 25 years, Patrick Reynolds has collaborated with his team to create an 85th-anniversary concert that honors youth orchestra musicians from the past and the musicians of the present and anticipates generations of future young musicians.

Each youth ensemble will take the stage throughout the afternoon featuring composers such as Bach, Mozart, and Verdi. The DPYO performs overtures that represent "big things to come," such as Mozart's Overture from The Magic Flute and Verdi's Overture from La Forza des Destino to John Williams' "Main Title" from Star Wars! In addition, Dayton Philharmonic's Artistic Director and Conductor, Neal Gittleman, takes the baton for a combined youth orchestras performance of Mussorgsky's "The Great Gate of Kiev." Tickets for DPYO's 85th Anniversary Concert on May 21 at 3pm are $12 and are on sale now.

All tickets can be purchased by phone at 937-228-3630, online at daytonperformingarts.org/tickets, or in person at the Box Office in the Schuster Center located in downtown Dayton.

For more information about DPAA's Learning and Community Engagement programs, including the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestras and Dayton Ballet School, visit 2023-2024 Learning Programs.

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