YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Harlem Quartet, a New York-based string ensemble, will give a performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 323 Wick Ave.
Tickets are free, but a reservation is required for admission. Click HERE.
The concert is part of the performing arts series at Youngstown State University’s Cliffe College of Creative Arts.
Harlem Quartet, which is currently in residence at the Royal College of Music in London, is a leading ensemble in both educational and community engagement capacities. The group aims to advance diversity in classical music by performing varied repertoire, including works by minority composers.
Since its public debut at Carnegie Hall in 2006, Harlem Quartet has appeared throughout the United States as well as in Belgium, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Panama, South Africa, Venezuela and the U.K. The group has written several successful grants and often collaborates with other distinguished artists, including classical and jazz pianists, violists, cellists, clarinetists, saxophonists and other musical groups.
The quartet also performs a variety of works written for both solo string quartet and orchestra. It performed the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” as arranged for string quartet and orchestra by the late Randall Craig Fleischer, former music director of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.
Hopewell Theatre to Present ‘Steal Away’
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – “Steal Away,” a dramatic comedy, will open Friday, Feb. 21, at Hopewell Theatre, and run through March 2.
The play by Ramona King follows five upstanding church ladies in Depression-era Chicago who are raising funds to send young Black women to college. But when they are denied a bank loan, the ladies, inspired by the famous criminal John Dillinger, take drastic measures and “steal away.” Will they pull it off? Or will they take over as Public Enemy No. 1?
“The audience should expect lots of humor, big laughs and a fun time, but they will also get a relevant message about the times of life, thought provoking moments and a look into the ways we responded to the challenges and disadvantages of society,” said Carla Gipson, director.
The play reflects the 1930s, yet its messages and themes remain relevant, Gipson said.
The cast includes Ramona S. Austin, Lois E. Thornton, Joy L. Smith, Dezaryé Inez Powell, Monica Beasley-Martin and Gipson. Sheree Wilson is the stage manager.
Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21-22 and Feb. 28-March 1; and 2 p.m. March 2.
Tickets can be purchased at HopewellTheatre.org. Group discounts are available for parties of 10 or more. The Hopewell is at 702 Mahoning Ave., near downtown.
Sculptor from Niles Exhibits Work at Westminster
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – “Reliquary,” an exhibition of ceramic sculptures by Mychal Vens of Niles, Ohio, is on display in Westminster College’s Foster Art Gallery in Patterson Hall.
Vens will discuss his work during a lunchtime gallery reception from 12:45-1:45 p.m. Tuesday, March 4. He will also hold a figurative sculpture workshop with Westminster’s Handbuilding Ceramics class to coincide with the exhibition.
A figurative ceramic artist, Vens earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studio art from Youngstown State University in 2024. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Theresa Dupre scholarship from Penland School of Craft, and has been showcased in various publications.
His work has spanned both regional and national platforms, with notable showcases at the McDonough Museum of Art, the Stifel Fine Arts Center, Penland School of Craft, Peters Valley School of Craft and Bethany College.
The Foster Art Gallery is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Free Jazz Concerts by YSU Ensembles
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A series of free jazz concerts by students in the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University has been scheduled through the end of the spring semester.
The YSU jazz ensemble, directed by Kent J. Engelhardt, will perform at 7:30 p.m. this evening in Ford Theater, lower level of Bliss Hall. Accompanying the ensemble will be vocalist Elizabeth Jadue.
The jazz combos will close out the month with a concert at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in Spotlight Theater in Bliss Hall.
The jazz ensemble will then perform at 7:30 p.m. April 14 in Ford Theater, and April 21 in Spotlight Theater.
Parking is available in the Wick Avenue Deck (M30) for a $5 fee, payable in cash only.
Burchfield Homestead Is a Stop on America 250 Trail
SALEM, Ohio – In the lead-up to America’s 250th anniversary, the Burchfield Homestead Society is partnering with the America 250-Ohio Commission to be an official stop on its new Ohio Creativity Trail.
This experiential driving trail of 108 sites across Ohio showcases the state’s past and present writers, musicians, artists and other creatives who have made significant contributions to artistic expression. It is the second of six planned experiential trails for America 250-Ohio’s signature Trails & Tales program. The Ohio Creativity Trail sites are grouped into six categories: On the Page, Music, Visual Arts, Glass & Pottery, Folk & Traditional Art and Carousels.
Visitors to the Burchfield Homestead, 867 E. Fourth St., will learn about the creative process of Salem native Charles E. Burchfield, one of America’s great watercolor artists, by viewing the sites that inspired him. The Homestead is open Sunday afternoons from May through October, and by appointment.
For information, click HERE.
In 2026, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Each state has been encouraged to create a celebration and commemoration of this anniversary to reflect their unique character and contributions to the nation over the past 250 years.
Pictured at top: Harlem Quartet will perform at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Youngstown.