March Arts Off 75: Shaping a Young Imagination

Faced with what feels like a never-ending buffet of artistic offerings across our region, the real challenge is not in finding something to do, but in the gentle act of choosing. There are only so many hours in a day, and even fewer evenings where one can fully surrender to an experience without distraction. So each month, when I carve out a moment to highlight an event for our readers, it is rarely arbitrary. It is usually guided by something deeper, something personal. And this month, that pull is rooted in memory, in nostalgia, and in the quiet shaping of a young imagination.

I grew up in a family where work was expressed through science, medicine, and engineering pathways. Precision and discipline were the languages spoken fluently around me. And yet there I was, the outlier. I was the dreamer, a child with his nose buried in books and pencils and paintbrushes rarely leaving my hand. My earliest companions were not just people, but stories. And perhaps most influential of all were the luminous Hollywood musicals from a bygone era.

Those films offered something intoxicating. It was a world where emotion could not be contained and instead spilled over into song and dance. The ordinary became extraordinary in an instant. To a young mind, it did not feel like fantasy, it felt like possibility. It felt like a promise that somewhere, just beyond the horizon, life could be lived with that same sense of rhythm, grace, and unbridled joy. To say I was captivated would be an understatement. I was, in every sense, claimed by it.

So as my birthday month, it feels only right to offer myself a gift that connects directly to that early spark. My choice this time is the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s program, “American Portrait: Gershwin, Barber and Beyond.” That title alone suggests both reflection and celebration. It is a musical tapestry of who we have been and who we continue to become, something very personal indeed.

At the heart of this program is George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris,” conducted by the dynamic Keitaro Harada. For many, this piece is inseparable from the iconic film of the same name, with Gene Kelly moving through Paris with a kind of effortless athleticism and charm that redefined what male dancers could be. There was strength in his movement, yes, but also a lyricism with humanity that expanded the vocabulary of dance for generations to come.

What Gershwin accomplished with this score, and what Kelly translated so beautifully on screen, was nothing short of alchemy. The music is sophisticated yet playful, structured yet free. It carries the pulse of a bustling city while inviting moments of introspection and romance. There is a buoyancy to it, a sense that anything is possible, that life itself might just break into dance if we allow it. For me, it has always represented risk, audacity, and the courage to imagine a life beyond expectation.

And the program does not rest there. Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings” offers a striking counterbalance, a work of such haunting beauty that it seems to suspend time itself. It asks us to sit with our emotions, feel deeply and remember. It is music that speaks in a whisper and yet resonates with profound force. Then there is William Grant Still’s “Afro-American Symphony,” a piece that seamlessly weaves classical tradition with the rich textures of the blues. It is a declaration of identity and a reminder that American music, at its best, is born from the convergence of cultures and lived experiences.

Taken together, this program promises more than an evening of beautiful sound. It offers a journey from exuberance to introspection and memory to possibility. It stirs not only emotion, but thought, inviting us to reflect on the narratives that shape us and the dreams that continue to call us forward. And for me, as I sit in that concert hall, it will feel like a return to that young boy, wide eyed and hopeful, believing wholeheartedly in worlds just beyond the horizon. Truth be told, the only gift that might rival this would be a week in Paris itself. But until then, this will do just fine.

Rodney Veal
CET/Think^TV Producer and Community Arts Liaison

Check out this month’s Arts Off 75 picks below: