Ohio Northern University’s Freed Center for the Performing Arts presents the Ohio Northern University Symphony on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 4:30 p.m.


The ONU Symphony Orchestra will perform “Night on Bald Mountain” by Modest Mussorgsky followed by “Concerto for the Flute” by Carl Nelson, featuring ONU senior Marissa Mauro. The concert will conclude with Borodin’s “Symphony No. 2.” Borodin is considered one of the great Russian composers, known as The Mighty Handful, along with Mussorgsky, Rimksy-Korsakov and others.

Mauro is a senior music performance and music theory double major from Jamestown, N.Y. She has participated in several competitions, was selected as the winner of the 2013 ONU Concerto Competition, and was a finalist in the Emerging Artist Competition at the 2013 International Flute Symposium. Mauro serves as the co-principal flutist for the ONU Symphony Orchestra and the ONU Wind Orchestra.

The ONU Symphony Orchestra will be under the direction of guest conductor Scott Lavender. Currently an assistant professor of music at Bowling Green State University, Lavender’s 38-year professional music career might best be described as eclectic. As music director for folk artist Glenn Yarbrough, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Toni Tennille and, for the last 22 years, legendary singer Johnny Mathis, he has performed with and conducted bands and orchestras throughout the United States, Canada and Great Britain, including the National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Atlanta Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

ONU junior Elizabeth Druesedow will serve as the student conductor. Druesedow is a music performance major from Sharon Center, Ohio. She plays clarinet in Wind Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra and serves as student conductor for both ensembles.

Tickets for this event are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors, $5 for ONU faculty and staff, and $5 for children and ONU students. The Freed Center box office is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Phone orders are accepted with American Express, MasterCard, VISA or Discover by calling 419-772-1900. Tickets also are available online at www.freedcenter.com.