LSO Concert with Ohio Contemporary Ballet

Under the direction of Music Director & Conductor Daniel Meyer, the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra (LSO) concludes its summer residency in Lakeside with a concert, accompanied by Ohio Contemporary Ballet at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9 in Hoover Auditorium. This concert is supported by the Iva M. Clark Memorial Endowment.

PROGRAM

Carmen:  Suites No. 1 & No. 2 – Bizet
Serenade for Strings – Elgar

OHIO CONTEMPORARY BALLET

Ohio Contemporary Ballet, formerly known as Verb Ballets, engages audiences through bold performances and provides access to dance opportunities and education.

The professional dance company aims to commission choreographers who are reflective of our times while upholding the deep roots of the ballet-based companies that preceded it in the Great Lakes region.

Originally founded in 1987 by an all-female contemporary dance collective, the vision today is led by Dr. Margaret Carlson, former Principal Dancer for the original Cleveland Ballet, and Richard Dickinson, MFA, former Ohio Ballet dancer.

The company attracts dancers from diverse backgrounds across the country and the globe. It believes in and invests in programs that foster international cultural exchange and lift marginalized voices to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion through dance.

Housed at the Ohio Contemporary Ballet Center for Dance in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, the 6,000-foot facility features studios, offices, and a gathering space for the company. It also houses two divisions of education and outreach: the Academy Division for Youth and the Community Engagement Division.

The group welcomes the community into its space and brings dance to meet people where they live, work and learn. In that spirit, Ohio Contemporary Ballet uses dance as an art form to build community, nurture an appreciation for the arts and engage in a fun, healthy activity. Read more at ohiocontemporaryballet.org.

MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR: DANIEL MEYER

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.