On Wednesday evening, July 19th, at 7:00 p.m., on Chardon Square, the Snowbelt Musical Arts Association (SMAA) will introduce the Blizzard Youth Winds to the Geauga County community, followed by a performance by the Lake Effect Concert Band. Both ensembles will be conducted by SMAA founder and executive director, Greg Hillis. In case of rain, the event will be moved to Park Auditorium, which is also on the square in downtown Chardon, Ohio. The concert is free and open to all. Audience members are encouraged to pack a picnic or to enjoy a pre-concert dinner at one of the restaurants on the square, and to bring their own seating for the concert.
The Blizzard Youth Winds will be performing an eclectic mix of classical, pop, jazz and show tunes, including a medley from Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Phantom of the Opera. Two talented young musicians, clarinetist Jacob Moses and vocalist Connor Prusha, who are both seniors at Chardon High School, will be giving solo performances. Moses will play Michael Bergson’s “Clarinet Finale” from Louisa Di Montfort and Prusha will be singing “Anthem” from the Broadway show Chess. The 93-member youth ensemble, which began rehearsing in June, provides woodwind, brass and percussion players from grades 7 through 12 an opportunity to rehearse and perform concert band music with musicians from other schools in a concentrated, professional manner.
The Lake Effect Concert Band will also be performing in a variety of styles in a program that will feature the Light Cavalry Overture by Franz von Suppé as well as two solo performances by popular vocalist Vanessa Pintabona. She will be singing “Over the Rainbow” by Harold Arlen and “All I Do is Dream of You” by Nacio Herb Brown. The band will also be performing a medley from Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, a show that will be performed this August by neighboring Rabbit Run Theatre in Madison, Ohio.
The SMAA was formed by Greg Hillis as a non-profit organization in January of 2017. It is dedicated to providing musical arts programming in the Snowbelt region of Northeast Ohio. SMAA’s mission is to enrich, educate and entertain the community by providing local, affordable opportunities for audiences to hear a variety of high-quality musical performances. Hillis is a musician, teacher, composer and hornist who has appeared as a soloist. or guest conductor with many of Northeastern Ohio’s most distinguished symphonic and chamber orchestras. For more information about SMAA and a schedule of other upcoming concerts, visit Snowbelt Musical or Facebook Snowbelt Musical, email snowbeltmusical@gmail.com or call 440-296-9610.
Pictured In Cover Photo: Greg Hillis conducting the first rehearsal of the Blizzard Youth Winds.
