The Dana School of Music will celebrate the holiday season and the end of the fall semester with its annual Carols & Cocoa and Dana Holiday Concert at Stambaugh Auditorium.
Carols and Cocoa starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the ballroom at Stambaugh, 1000 Fifth Ave., Youngstown, and will feature performances by the Trombone Ensemble, directed by Michael Crist; Dana Clarinet Ensemble, directed by Alice Wang; Dana Early Music Ensemble, directed by Randall Goldberg; Dana Flute Ensemble, directed by Kathryn Umble; and the University Chorus, Women's Chorus, Dana Chorale and the Stambaugh Chorus, all directed by Hae-Jong Lee.
Dana students will bring cookies to share with concertgoers and complimentary coffee and hot chocolate will be provided by sponsor Sheetz.
Following a brief intermission, the festivities will move upstairs to the main concert hall for the Dana Holiday Concert. The program will feature the final movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 ("Ode to Joy"), performed by the Dana Symphonic Choir, Stambaugh Chorus and Dana Symphony Orchestra, all directed by John Wilcox and under the baton of Hae-Jong Lee. Guest soloists include soprano Misook Yun, mezzo soprano Rachael Pavloski, tenor Bill Ambert and baritone Max Pivik.
Also performing will be the Dana Brass Quintet, directed by Stacie Mickens; YSU Jazz Ensemble I, directed by David Morgan; and YSU Wind Ensemble, directed by Stephen Gage. Organist Kathy Miller will play a solo on Stambaugh's refurbished E. M. Skinner pipe organ.
Guest ensembles include the Howland High School Chamber Choir, directed by Anjanette Depoy, and the Stambaugh Chorus.
The concert, which started more than 30 years ago in the Bliss Hall lobby, will feature nearly 300 musicians and singers. The Friends of Dana will present its annual Dana Award to Richard Zacharias.
Seating is general admission. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, YSU faculty and staff and non-YSU students and free for YSU students and children ages 11 and younger. Tickets are available at the Stambaugh box office and by calling 330-259-0555. For more information, call the Dana School of Music at 330-941-3636.