By Josephine Sollitto / The Jambar
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. According to its website, the symphony’s mission is to “increase the appreciation for and familiarity with fine music,” as it has done for the last century.
Established by Michael and Carmine Ficocelli in 1926, YSO consisted of only 12 players. The first performance occurred three years later at Stambaugh Auditorium, and the symphony has grown to include over 40 musicians.
Maestro Erik Ochsner, conductor of YSO, said the symphony plans different concerts to coincide with the seasons, such as a Halloween-themed show.
“The season opener is called Symphonic Sorcery,” Ochsner said. “All the pieces [the symphony is] doing have some relation to magic or something scary. It’s meant to be a family-friendly concert, so there are many pieces on the program.”
The next performance is a film-music concert for “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.” Ochsner said YSO will play the music and sound effects for the film as it plays onscreen.
“We show the entire movie on a large screen over the symphony orchestra. You see the whole original movie,” Ochsner said. “What you hear from the soundtrack … is all the original dialogue and sound effects, but what they did was remove any of the orchestral sounds, and we perform all of the original sound track live synchronized to the picture.”
Ochsner said the title of the next concert, “An American Portrait,” is a play on composer Aaron Copeland’s “Lincoln Portrait.” This performance will occur in February 2027, and Ochsner said it will feature a variety of different composers and Broadway singers to represent America’s diversity.
“Two of the composers on that program are still living, two are female, two are African-American … [It’s] a Broadway show concert, so I’m bringing two friends of mine who are Broadway singers to perform in Youngstown,” Ochsner said.
In addition to the three pop-style concerts, there will be traditional classical performances in January, March and May.
Ryan Lamb, senior tuba music performance major at Youngstown State University, has been with the symphony for almost two years. He said the environment at YSO is like a family, and the symphony’s goal in each performance is to create a lasting impact on audiences.
“There’s a sense of humility and family at the Youngstown Symphony,” Lamb said. “It always feels like home. The one thing the [symphony tries] to achieve is goosebumps and pure emotions from the audience. Music is always something that should not only be heard but be felt as well.”
Lamb said there are several ways to support the symphony, including attending the performances and donating.
“You can support the symphony by going to youngstownsymphony.com, [and] as Maestro [Ochsner] always says, and just go to a concert,” Lamb said. “It’s just one moment you will never get back unless you were in that seat experiencing the magic. So, definitely attendance [is] the first step in making the arts more present here in Youngstown.”
Ochsner said YSU students can attend performances without charge.
“All tickets to YSO concerts are free for students,” Ochsner said. “I encourage people to become unofficial YSO ambassadors, go out and preach to your friends, encourage people and excite people, share the repertoire and share the dates.”