The s e c o n d month of the “Made in A m e r i c a Festival” of the Dayton P h i l h a r - monic was a concert of works as A m e r i c a n as apple pie. Amer- ican musical icons Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland shared the stage of the Schuster with Dayton’s premiere composer Steven Winteregg. Winteregg, commissioned by the Philharmonic to write a “serious piece,” chose the most somber of themes, the battle with cancer. Dedicated to his lovely wife Candy and her treatment and survival from breast cancer, the music was compelling but far from glum. Winteregg has an ability with melodic line and intricate rhythms making his music persuasive and delightful. We are fortunate in Dayton to have heard his music from the Philharmonic and Dayton Ballet. Resolution, beautifully played by the musicians of the Philharmonic was full of energy and emotion. There were, perhaps a few too many percussion interrup- t i o n s with the musical line, but the total effect was well received. Bernstein’s Serenade after Plato’s Symposium was a first hearing for the audience. I was certain that the piece would be like several other of Bernstein’s classical works, a wandering opus lacking the focus of his lighter compositions. After hearing Serenade, I owe “Lennie” a profound apology. The work was conceived to be an exposition of Plato’s familiar student assignment, The Symposium. It is remembered as a wine-sodden discussion on the various phases of love by convivial philosophers. Serenade succeeded, not as philosophic guide, but as a stunning piece of music, a violin sonata with orchestral accompaniment. Each of the five parts was full of musical nuances and expressions. Each of these nuances and expressions was presented to perfection by young violinist Philippe Quint and the master musicians of the Philharmonic. Included was a remarkable double cadenza by Quint and Principal Cellist Christina Coletta.. Quint, a The Oakwood Register Applauding The Arts Weekly with Burt Saidel 294-2662 • 435 Patterson Rd., Dayton, Ohio www.oakwoodregister.com Page 6 DAYTON BALLET Message from the President Paul Helfrich, President & CEO, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance Welcome to the 2019–2020 season of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance and Dayton Ballet’s presentation of Phantom Dances! We’re glad you’re here. On July 1, we celebrated the seventh birthday of the historic merger of the Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra into one operating entity, the first and only merger of its kind in the United States. As we begin our eighth year of working together, I’d like to take a brief look back at some of our activities and accomplishments in the past season. We saw some exciting audience growth in the past season, with subscription sales up from the prior year by 2.5%, single ticket sales up by 18%, and overall attendance up by 3%. We have now had two consecutive years of growth in all those categories. Strong sales for productions including Beethoven’s Ninth, Sleeping Beauty: The Story of Briar Rose, and Best of John Williams II played a key role in these encouraging numbers. Overall, our Top Five best-selling productions in the past year, in order, were The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Best of John Williams II, The Pirates of Penzance, and Beethoven’s Ninth. We are always excited about the great public response to our major story ballet productions like Sleeping Beauty and 2018’s Swan Lake. As I always point out to our Board, just because a production sells well doesn’t mean it is profitable. Costs are also part of the equation. In terms of actual profitability—income that exceeds expenses—our Top Five productions for the past year were The Nutcracker, Best of John Williams II, Magic of Motown, A Salute to The Eagles, and Top 20 Rock Hits. Of course, as I usually go on to point out, it’s not our mission to present only profitable productions. Most performances of opera, symphonies, and ballet will never be profitable; that’s why we’re a not-for-profit organization driven first and foremost by mission, not by financial return. But mission-driven is not an unlimited license to lose money. In order to stay in business, we do need strong and enthusiastic support from a wide array of contributors, who can make up the gap between what great music and dance costs and what it can bring in at the box office. In the past year, our annual fund (gifts from individuals) was up 11% from the previous year, but gifts from foundations and corporations were more challenged. We are very grateful to everyone who contributed, and know that we are counting on you in the year to come! Our vision is To transform lives through the power of music and dance, and our purpose is To be our community’s indispensable source for traditional, diverse, and innovative experiences in ballet, opera, and orchestral music. We have a number of strategic goals to support our vision, but first and foremost we seek to Matter to Dayton. We recognize that the Dayton of 2019 is not the Dayton of 1985 or even 2003, when the Schuster Center opened. If we’re going to succeed in the long term, we must make a difference in today’s community and meet real needs for our residents, not simply do the things we’ve always done in the past. In the past year, new initiatives included two sensory-friendly ballet performances, an interfaith concert titled Unity through Harmony, a collaboration with DCDC in celebration of their 50th anniversary, and new educational performances for homeschool students. As we go forward, we may need to stop doing some of the things we do now, even as we continue to add new initiatives. Change is never easy, but those that don’t change risk disappearing altogether. To return to my earlier point, one thing is for certain, and that is that we won’t succeed without the participation of our loyal patrons and contributors. At the end of the day, each community has the arts that it chooses to support and patronize. Dayton is blessed with incredible richness in its arts scene and a multiplicity of arts organizations, but don’t take them for granted; they depend on your support as an audience member and as a contributor, now more than ever. The landscape in Dayton has changed greatly from the glory days of NCR, Mead Corporation, GM and other departed corporate giants. Our challenge is to find the support that will keep the arts flourishing in this changing and dynamic environment. With your help, it can be done! If you have comments you wish to share or questions you wish to ask, please contact me at phelfrich@ daytonperformingarts.org. For all that you do to support the arts in Dayton, thank you. Enjoy the performance! 2019–2020 SEASON Page 7 Message from the Board Chair John Beran, Chair, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance Board of Trustees Dear Members of the Greater Dayton Community, What is a community? Webster offers several definitions, including these: “a unified body of individuals who share a common characteristic or interest living together with a larger society; a body of persons having a common history or common social, economic and professional interests; an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location.” It also embraces the notion of fellowship among the members of a community. I think all of these clearly apply to those of us who live, work and play in the greater Dayton community, especially when we reflect on the events over the past summer that so significantly impacted our community. It is with that in mind that I want to address the DPAA’s 2019–2020 Season of Titans. This season our musicians, dancers and singers are excited not only to demonstrate their talents through such performances as our Season Opening Spectacular: Haydn’s Creation, La Bohème, Phantom Dances, The Nutcracker, and our Masterworks concert series but to do so as members of the greater Dayton community. For you see, not only are our staff, artistic directors, more than 80 musicians, 19 dancers and chorus members dedicated to bringing the finest concerts, ballets and operas to the Miami Valley, they are all members of our community as well. There is nothing more rewarding to these artists than to perform before you, our fellow citizens. So not only does the DPAA bring you the best in classical music, rock and pops, ballet and opera, but it does so with your neighbors and friends making the DPAA your hometown source for the finest entertainment anywhere. As we celebrate 25 years with Neal Gittleman, our Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra Artistic Director and Conductor, keep in mind the more than 200 professionals and volunteers who bring the finest classical performances and performing arts education to our community. Visit our website and get to know more about us and why we matter to Dayton. Now sit back, relax and enjoy another season of premier programming produced and performed by the other “Titans” of the stage, namely those individuals who collectively make up the community known as the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance. With my sincere best wishes for an enjoyable season, 2019–2020 SEASON Page 9 Page 10 DAYTON BALLET Message from the Artistic Director Karen Russo Burke, Dayton Ballet Our 82nd season is upon us, and we are so blessed to have you all here to share it with us.