Family Night: LSO Young People’s Concert with Ran Dank, Piano

Under the direction of Music Director & Conductor Daniel Meyer, the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra (LSO) will perform a Young People’s Concert with special guest soloist, Ran Dank, piano, and an opportunity to Meet the Orchestra at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 30 in Hoover Auditorium. The program will feature works by Carlos Simon, Schumann and Britten.

RAN DANK, PIANO

Technically dazzling and intellectually probing artistry exemplify Ran Dank‘s pianism and musicality—captivating audiences and critics alike. Recent performances include the Pasadena Symphony and Keitaro Harada, Monterey Symphony and Westchester Philharmonic with Jayce Ogren. Dank’s past performances have included recitals at the San Francisco Performances Series, Gilmore, Ravinia, Carnegie Hall’s Zankel and Weill Halls, Steinway Hall, Gardner Museum, Kennedy Center, Town Hall, Yale School of Music, Philips Collection, Morgan Library, Pro Musica in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Portland Ovations and have garnered critical acclaim from the New York Times and The Washington Post.

Dank has performed as a soloist with the orchestras of Cleveland, Sydney, St. Luke’s, Portland, Eugene, Toledo, Hawaii, Kansas City, Vermont, Jerusalem, Valencia, Phoenix and Hilton Head, among others, working under the batons such as Michael Stern, Jahja Ling, Michael Christie, Kirill Karabits, Jun Märkl, Pinchas Zukerman, Jorge Mester, Jaime Laredo, and Ken-David Masur. Dank’s performance of the monumental set of variations “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!” at the University of Chicago was selected as one of the top 10 performances of 2017 by the Chicago Classical Review.

Dank is an ardent advocate for contemporary music, and has performed in recent seasons Kevin Puts’ piano concerto “Night,” the Tobias Picker concerto, “Keys to the City,” Frederic Rzewski’s “The People United Will Never Be Defeated,” William Bolcom’s Pulitzer-winning set of “Twelve New Etudes,” and has given, alongside pianist and wife, Soyeon Kate Lee, the world premieres of Frederic Rzewski’s “Four Hands,” and Alexander Goehr’s “Seven Impromptus.” Mr. Dank and Soyeon Kate lee have also featured the world premiere of multiple grammy-nominated pianist and composer’s Marc-André Hamelin’s “Tango” for piano four-hands.

The recipient of numerous honors, Dank won a coveted place on the Young Concert Artists roster in 2009 and subsequently made his New York recital debut. He was a laureate of the Cleveland International Competition, the Naumburg Piano Competition, the Sydney International Piano Competition and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition. Dank serves as an Associate Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music. His mentors and teachers include Emanuel Ax, Richard Goode, Joseph Kalichstein, Julian Martin, Robert McDonald and Ursula Oppens.

DANIEL MEYER, MUSICAL DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR

Daniel Meyer was named Music Director & Conductor of the LSO in 2019.

As Music Director of the Erie Philharmonic and Artistic Director of the Westmoreland Symphony and Cleveland’s BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, Meyer has reinvigorated orchestras with his innovative programs, engaging presence and keen musical intellect.

In addition to collaborating with world-renowned soloists such as Marc-André Hamelin, Sharon Isbin, Gil Shaham, Jeremy Denk, Daniil Trifonov, Midori and Emanuel Ax, Meyer has commissioned new works by Michael Torke, Vivian Fung, Richard Danielpour and Zhou Tian.

Meyer recorded the music of Hanson, Diamond and Daugherty for the Bavarian Radio with the Bamberger Symphoniker, and his recent guest appearances include the Detroit Symphony, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Portland Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley, Württembergische Philharmonie, Staatsorchester Darmstadt and the Nuremberg Symphony in Germany.

In his role as Director of Orchestral Activities at Duquesne University, Meyer embarked on a recording project of the concertos of American composer Lynn Purse.

In recent seasons he conducted the Rochester Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony, as well as guest engagements with the Indianapolis, Columbus, Phoenix, Eugene, Alabama, Toledo and Knoxville Symphonies.

His critically acclaimed European debut took place with the Staatstheater Stuttgart Orchestra and violinist Thomas Zehetmaier, and he returned to Germany soon after for concerts with the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen and to Austria with the Tonkünstler Orchestra in Vienna and the Wiener Jeunesse Orchestra.

Meyer’s summer festival appearances have included the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom, the Aspen and Grand Teton Music Festivals, the Chautauqua Festival and the Brevard Music Center.

Upon the invitation of Mariss Jansons, Meyer was named Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, where he served until 2009.

A native of Cleveland, Meyer studied conducting at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and is a graduate of Denison University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

He composed and conducted works for ensembles at both schools, including a Stabat Mater for soprano, chorus and orchestra.

At Boston University, Meyer received the Orchestral Conducting Honors Award and was awarded the prestigious Aspen Conducting Prize from David Zinman. He received an honorary doctorate from Edinboro University in 2016.