Erik Ochsner, Music Director

In 2025, Finnish-American conductor Erik Ochsner was officially named the ninth Music Director of the almost 100-year-old Youngstown Symphony Orchestra (“YSO”). Ochsner’s versatility as a conductor has stretched across a broad range of repertoire: from conducting as few as five performers in contemporary and modern works, to leading 300 performers across 20+ full length films using the Live in Concert format. Audiences and critics alike praise Ochsner’s energy, attention to detail and precise synchronization.

With the YSO, he has led a large variety of repertoire: from Cherubini and Beethoven to Berlioz, Mahler, Prokofiev, Respighi, Wagner, and Williams; from a Frank Sinatra concert to a Holiday Pops concert; 3 films so far: Ghostbusters, Home Alone, and Back to the Future, plus he’s introduced YSO audiences to several unknown, or not-often performed, composers: Frederic Delius, Eugene Kapp, Uuono Klami, Alexander Mosolov, Anna Thorwaldsdottir, not to mention a collaboration with the Vindys!

Recent highlights include 2 performances of Lion King (1994) Live in Concert with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra in Muscat, Oman; 5 projections with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (one was called Walt Disney Animation Studios – A Decade in Concert, where Ochsner conducted, narrated, and made his professional whistling debut); stepping in for a colleague to conduct Star Wars in Concert Episode 4: A New Hope and Ratatouillle in Montreal, Canada, plus his 51st performance of La La Land Live in Concert in Vancouver, Canada.

Upcoming performances: Amadeus in Concert in Kuopio, Finland; Nightmare Before Christmas in Ottawa, Canada; and a private pops concert in Warsaw, Poland for the Annual Conference of Polish Pharmacists.

Working with his friend Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Ochsner commissioned Grandfather Camp: An Orchestral Fantasy, composed by Tom Chapin and John Foster for singing three actors and chamber orchestra: The story is based on Dr. Ruth’s writings about grandparenting. The piece will be workshopped in January 2027!

Ochsner’s long relationship with the Krakow International Film Music Festival has been hugely successful, leading sold-out performances in a 16,000-seat arena of Pixar in Concert, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, and Lion King (1994) (all performed in Polish), plus Disney in Concert: The Magic of Music with the Krakow Film Festival Youth Concert.

from 2017-2019, Ochsner was Principal Touring Conductor for La La Land Live in Concert, conducting 50 performances across the globe fo Justin Hurwitz’s Academy Award and Grammy Award winning score, often performing with tow of the original recording artsits, pianist Randy Kerber, and trumpeter Wayne Bergeron.

Mary Poppins (1964) (world premiere): Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Opera House; Love Actually: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra; Beauty and the Beast (2017) in Concert: Taipei Symphony Orchestra on 40 hours’ notice; Nanjing Forest Music Festival (China); 18 suites of Hollywood film music; Opera America New Works Showcase (New York City) Music Director, 2017. The Music of Star Wars (world premiere); National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa, Canada; concert featuring the iconic music of John Williams, as well as award-winning video game composers Gordy Haab and Kyle Newmaster.

Additional film projects: Batman (1989), Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pixar in Concert, Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars in Concert: Episodes 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Equally comfortable on the concert stage or leading opera, oratorio, and multi-media performances, he has performed in Adelaide, Athens, Beijing, Budapest, Calgary, Dallas, Dammam, Detroit, Indianapolis, Jakarta, Kitchener-Waterloo, Krakow, Leipzig, Louisiana, Louisville, Melbourne, México City, Montreal, Monterrey, Moscow, Muscat, Nashville, New York, Ottawa, Portland, Reykjavik, Richmond, Rochester, Round Top, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Seoul, Shaghai, Sofia, South Bend, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Sydney, Taipei, Tampere, Thessaloniki, Tokyo, Vancouver, Wellington, Youngstown.

As Founder and Music Director of SONOS Chamber Orchestra, a performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (arranged for 4 pianos and 2 percussionists) was reviewed by the New York Times, “All the hallmarks of a great ‘Rite’ were here.”

During an 8-year collaboration, Ochsner served as Rehearsal Conductor for Academy Award winning composer Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Highlights include Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master for The First Emperor workshop, a Metropolitan Opera commission, and Cover Conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of The Map, a multimedia cello featuring Yo-Yo Ma, with performances in Boston, Carnegie Hall, and Tanglewood.

The Bulgarian Monitor said, “Sensuality and synchronicity, matched by perfection, accompanied each of the melodies during La La Land: Live in Concert.” Radio Canada wrote, “[Ochsner] was of remarkable precision to the musical direction… the music of the orchestra seemed to emanate from the film. There was no distinction between the screen and the stage.” The Ontario Arts Review has said “Watch this man, he is brilliant.”

Recordings include Brian Wilbur Grundstrom: An Orchestral Journey (CD), and Tea: A Mirror of Soul (DVD).

Ochsner attended The Pierre Monteux School and is a graduate of Dartmouth College. He speaks French, German, and Italian, with some words in Japanese, Chinese, and Finnish. His mentors and teachers included Robert Spano, Charles Bruck, Erich Kunzel, Marin Alsop, and Helmuth Riling. He lives in New York City, loves traveling, wine, and collecting requiem recordings.

VIEW FULL PROGRAM

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart                                                      Overture to The Magic Flute 
(1756-1791)

Anatoly Liadov                                                                            The Enchanted Lake Op. 62
(1855-1914)

John Williams                                                                              Suite from Jaws

Bela Bartók                                                                                  Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, Sz. 106: III. Adagio
(1881-1945)

Karl Goldmark                                                                            Merlin Overture
(1830-1915)

Bernard Hermann                                                                       Suite from Psycho
(1911-1975)

Manuel de Falla                                                                             Ritual Fire Dance from El amor brujo 
(1876-1946)

*INTERMISSION*

Andrew Llyod Webber                                                               Overture to The Phantom of the Opera 
(b. 1948)

Marius Constant                                                                          Theme from The Twilight Zone 
(1925-2004)

Richard Wagner                                                                           Magic Fire Music from Die Walküre
(1813-1883)

Camille Saint-Saëns                                                                   Danse Macabre
(1835-1921)

Antonín Dvořák                                                                           The Noon Witch
(1841-1904)

Igor Stravinsky                                                                             Infernal Danse from Firebird
(1882-1971)

Modest Mussorgsky                                                                   Night on Bald Mountain
(1839-1881)

Program Notes

by Music Director Erik Ochsner

Welcome to the 2026-2027 season of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra (“YSO”). Whether this is your first or 50th or 100th concert, we are thrilled to have you join us!  The YSO is a proud member of the thriving performing arts scene here in the Mahoning Valley community.

This concert is meant not only to be family friendly – featuring numerous shorter pieces – but also a dramatic way to kick off the Halloween season with music inspired by something magical or spooky.  There are no images, screens or tablets – only what your mind creates from what you hear. “May your days be eerie, and full of fright!”

We invite you to participate at any and every level you can: (1) buy a ticket; (2) attend the post-concert reception (free to all) – meet and socialize with your fellow music lovers; (3) be an arts ambassador and spread the word about the local Youngstown live arts scene (of course mentioning the YSO); (4) become a YSO Member and get special perks; (5) donate to the YSO; (6) bring your friends; (7) tell your neighbors; (8) tell all of your friends who are students that they get in for free!  Make sure to have all of our concert dates in your book! 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1765-1791)
Overture to Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), op. 620
Premiere: September 30, 1791, in Vienna, Austria
Approximate Duration: 7 minutes
The piece is scored for: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarintes, 2 bassoons, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, and strings
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra last performed this piece in 2018, under the direction of them Music Director Randall Craig Fleischer.

Mozart’s overture is filled with Masonic symbolism, numerology (especially the number three), and themes of enlightenment.  It opens with three dramatic chords, in E-flat major, which has 3 flats in the key signature!  After a traditional grand and slow introduction, the mood shifts into a fast, shimmering musical chase: a fugue which starts in the second violins, and is then picked up by the first violins, before being tossed around the entire orchestra, as it brews sorcery.

Anatoly Lyadov (1855-1914)
The Enchanted Lake, op. 62
Premiere: February 21, 1909, in Saint Petersburg, Russia
Approximate Duration: 7 minutes
The piece is scored for: 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, bass drum, timpani, celesta, harp, and strings
This is the first performance of this piece by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

Anatoly Liadov’s The Enchanted Lake paints magic not through explosive spellcasting, but through hypnotic, spellbound stillness. Rather than battling sorcerers, the music captures a mystical, hidden waterscape untouched by mortals. Shimmering strings, muted brass, and sparkling woodwinds craft a delicate texture that ripples like moonlit water. Here, sorcery is pure atmosphere: an ancient, fairy-tale spell where time stands still and invisible spirits quietly linger in the shadows.

John Williams (1932-)
The Shark Theme from Jaws
The film premiered in 1975
Approximate Duration: 3 minutes
The piece is scored for: 2 flutes, piccolo, oboe, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, bass drum, glockenspiel, high hat, snare drum, suspended, cymbal, xylophone, timpani, harp, piano, and strings
This is the first performance of this piece by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

John Williams transforms two simple notes into a terrifying incantation; a relentless motif which summons an unseen, predatory force. Based on primal rhythms and a loud crescendo, our minds conjure up a nightmare. Exactly what you don’t want to hear before or after you’ve been swimming, even in an enchanted lake! It’s amazing how these two notes are now part of our culture: sing two notes, and people know exactly what you’re talking about!

Bela Bartók (1881-1945)
Music for Stings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz. 106 iii. Adagio
Premiere: Janaury 21, 1937, in Basel, Switzerland
Approximate Duration: 7 minutes
The peice is scored for: bass drum, tam-tam, xylophone, timpani, celesta, piano, harp, and strings
This is the first performance of this piece by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

In the third movement, Bartok creates a haunting, magical atmosphere known as “night music.” It opens with an eerie xylophone rhythm—like rattling bones or a ticking clock in a nightmare—before shadowy strings and glissandos weave a creepy web of sound. Shimmering celesta and harp notes spark like dark sorcery in the gloom. Through this surreal soundscape, Bartók conjures the spooky horror of the unknown, turning nature’s quiet night into a terrifying supernatural illusion.

Karl Goldmark (1830-1915)
Overture to Merlin
Premiere: November 19, 1886, in Vienna, Austria
Approximate Duration: 11 minutes
The piece is scored for: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 4 trombones, timpani, harp, and strings
This is the first performance of this piece by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

Karl Goldmark’s Overture to Merlin sets an eerie, yet romantic tone of Arthurian sorcery. Dark, ominous brass and churning strings summon an atmosphere of spooky foreboding, capturing the struggle between divine magic and demonic temptation. Sparkling, ethereal harp notes pierce the shadows like glowing spells, expertly weaving supernatural illusion with tragic, haunting suspense in a world of dark enchantment. Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius, studied with Goldmark while living in Vienna!

Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975)
Suite from Psycho
The film premiered in 1960
Approximate Duration: 6 minutes
The piece is scored for: strings only
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra last performed selections from Psycho in 2014, under the direction of then Music Director Randall Craig Fleischer.

Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho score relies on an all-string orchestra to construct a bleak, sinister soundscape. Shrill, screeching violins acts like a dark incantation, turning sharp bow strokes into terrifying auditory stabs. By stripping away warm colors, Herrmann brews a spooky, hypnotic spell of psychological dread—a masterclass in musical sorcery that transforms pure minimalist tension into iconic horror. Bernard Herrmann scored 7 released feature films for Alfred Hitchcock. There was an 8th unused score: Torn Curtain (1966) – Herrmann composed a full score, but Hitchcock rejected it due to studio pressure for a pop-oriented soundtrack. This ended their famous partnership.

Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
Ritual Fire Dance from El amor brujo (Love, the magician) 
Premiere: April 15, 1915, in Madrid, Spain
Approximate Duration: 4 minutes
The piece is scored for: 2 flutes (1 doubles on piccolo), oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, piano, and strings
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra last performed Ritual Fire Dance from El amor brujo in 1979, under the direction of then Music Director, Franz Bibo.

Manuel de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance brews a thrilling potion of dark sorcery. Built on rapid, trilling strings and relentless rhythms, the music mimics an intense, magical incantation designed to exorcise an evil, lingering ghost. Trembling brass and spooky, swirling figures conjure a terrifying atmosphere where fiery passion meets the supernatural, driving away horror with hypnotic enchantment.

Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948-)
Overture to The Phantom of the Opera
The musical premiered in 1986
Approximate Duration: 5 minutes
The piece is scored for: 2 flutes, oboe, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 3 horns, trumpet, 2 trombones, organ, percussion, and strings
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra last performed selections from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera in 1990, under the direction of Bob Lappin.

The Overture to The Phantom of the Opera unleashes pure theatrical sorcery, driven by its iconic, descending organ motif, performed today on Stambaugh Auditorium’s historic E.M. Skinner pipe organ. Worldwide, these opening chords are known! Music erupts like a dark incantation echoing through subterranean shadows. Ominous chords conjure a spooky, magical trance, blending gothic horror with seductive mystery to summon the Phantom’s phantom-like presence.

Marius Constant (1925-2004)
Theme from The Twilight Zone
The television show premiered in 1959
Approximate Duration: 3 minutes
The piece is scored for: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, e-flat clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trombones, tuba, bongos, claves, bass drum, timpani, 2 electric guitars, synthesizer, and strings.

Bernard Herrmann and Marius Constant’s Twilight Zone theme revolutionized television scoring, transforming four simple, dissonant notes into a universal cultural shorthand. Its surreal guitar riff and unsettling, ostinato rhythms immediately signal a slip into the surreal. Today, those uncanny notes are instantly recognized worldwide, forever tethered to anything spooky, bizarre, or beyond the bounds of normal human reality.

Richard Wagner 91813-1883)
Magic Fire Music From Die Walküre 
Premiere: June 26, 1870, in Munich, Germany
Approximate Duration: 5 minutes
The piece is scored for: 2 flutes (1 doubles on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (1 doubles on e-flat clarinet), 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, suspended cymbal, triangle, glockenspiel, timpani, harp, and strings.

The Magic Fire Music weaves a spell of mesmerizing elemental sorcery. As Loge, the god of fire, is summoned to protect the sleeping Brünnhilde, shimmering woodwinds and flickering harps conjure dancing flames. Glowing brass melodies pierce through eerie, chromatic waves of sound, turning a terrifying ring of blaze into a spooky, enchanted barrier of pure magical protection.

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Danse Macabre
Premiere: January 24, 1875, in Paris, France
Approximate Duration: 7 minutes
The piece is scored for: 3 flutes, (2 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, bass drum, cymbal, triangle, xylophone, timpani, harp, and strings
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra last performed this piece in 2023, under the direction of Lawrence Loh.

Danse Macabre is a masterpiece of dark sorcery and spooky atmosphere. Twelve ominous piano strikes signal midnight as Death tunes his violin to a dissonant interval called the tritone, believed to be able to summon the devil, or the dead from their graves. Xylophones rattle like dry skeleton bones while frantic woodwinds and swirling strings weave an eerie, spellbinding waltz. This hypnotic musical sorcery whirls with dark magic, painting a chillingly spooky portrait of a ghostly midnight dance.

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
The Noon Witch, op. 108
Semi-Public Premiere: June 3, 1896, Prague
Public Premiere: November 21, 1896, in London
Approximate Duration: 14 minutes
The piece is scored for: 3 flutes, (2 doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, bass drum, chime, cymbal, triangle, timpani, and strings
This is the first performance of this piece by the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

The Noon Witch brings terrifying Slavic sorcery into broad daylight. Twelve heavy chimes signal high noon as a sinister demon arrives to snatch an unruly child. Creeping bassoons, eerie bass clarinet, and unsettling, jagged rhythms weave a dark musical spell. Dvořák masterfully turns folklore into sheer acoustic horror, using spooky, chromatic woodwind swirls and ominous brass to conjure an unforgettable, tragic nightmare of supernatural vengeance.

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Infernal Dance from Firebird
Premiere: June 25, 1910, in Paris, France
Approximate Duration: 5 mintues
The piece is scored for: flute, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, bass drum, cymbal, xylophone, timpani, piano, harp, and strings
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra last performed this piece in 2022, under the direction of Raffaele Ponti.

The Firebird ballet is based on the Russian fairy tale, and it was composed for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company. The infernal dance is violent music: explosive brass blasts and jagged, syncopated rhythms launch a terrifying onslaught as the evil wizard Koschei and his demonic monsters are forced into a spellbound, relentless frenzy. Stravinsky’s spooky, brutal orchestration turns ancient Russian folklore into a primal nightmare, driving the sinister creatures through a hypnotic, frantic dance of spellbinding terror.

Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
Night on Bald Mountain
Premiere: October 15, 1886, in St. Petersburg, Russia
Approximate Duration: 10 minutes
The piece is scored for: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, bass drum, chimes, cymbal, suspended cymbal, tam-tam, timpani, harp, and strings
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra last performed this piece in 1996, under the direction of then Music Director, Isaiah Jackson.

Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain is an iconic explosion of supernatural terror. Piercing woodwind shrieks and thunderous brass fanfares signal the arrival of the dark god Chernobog for a demonic Midsummer Eve sabbath. Swirling, chaotic strings and ominous, jagged rhythms conjure a spooky nightmare of dark sorcery, weaving a spell of pure horror that rages relentlessly until soft morning chimes dispel the evil spirits. Many of us were introduced to this piece via Walt Disney’s animated feature Fantasia (1940).

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