One memorial concert wasn’t enough for Stephen L. Gage’s musical legacy.

Gage, who taught for 28 years at Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music and served as conductor of the W.D. Packard Concert Band for 11 years, died in 2023 at age 66 following complications from surgery.

In addition to a Packard Band tribute in 2023, Gage’s family and musical colleagues organized a memorial concert in May 2023 at Stambaugh Auditorium.

“The response was overwhelmingly positive,” Gage’s widow, Stephanie Gage, said. “Several people had asked, ‘Can we do this again?'”

She started to take that question seriously in March 2024 when Gage and their children went to a music convention in Virginia that they always attended as a family.

“We got together with some of the other musicians that had performed in the memorial concert and they asked about doing it again, and we had talked about it,” Gage said.

“Hey, if everybody’s interested, yeah, let’s do this.”

The second #LoveMusic: Stephen L. Gage Legacy Concert will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday at Stambaugh Auditorium.

Gage has many fond memories of the 2023 event and the preparation for it.

“During rehearsal, I was standing behind the ensemble, so I was watching the conductors,” she said. “As each conductor — former students of Steve — took the podium, I could see Steve in each of them in a different way. That was pretty special.”

This year’s concert will feature 88 musicians, from Gage’s students in the mid ’90s to those who were freshmen when he retired from teaching in 2019. Performers are traveling from as far away as Nevada and Alabama to participate.

“All of our conductors are university band directors now,” Gage said. “We’ve got college administrators. We’ve got professional military musicians, freelance musicians making a living picking up professional jobs here and there. We’ve got high school band directors, college professors, trumpet teachers, just the whole gamut.”

With the exception of the “Star Spangled Banner,” all of the music performed Sunday will be different from the 2023 program.

It will include music that was meaningful to Stephen Gage, including Percy Grainger’s “Lincolnshire Posy” and selections from “Star Wars,” as well as a new work by composer Jerry Ascione, a Dana School of Music graduate who has been commissioned to write several works for the W.D. Packard Concert Band. Ascione’s piece is called “We Are, for Upon Their Shoulders We Stand.”

“Jerry’s a professional composer, arranger,” Gage said. “He had a great career with the United States Navy. He’s retired from that position now, but he still is active writing and arranging. Steve met him through the Packard band, so it’s been fun for me talking to Jerry about the process of composing the piece and how his interactions with Steve have come into play, and I’m really looking forward to hearing it live. I had a sneak peak with a MIDI file, but computer generated sound is never the same as a live performance, so we’re looking forward to that.

“It has different sections and different styles. Steve loved all types of music, and he was a percussionist. Throughout the whole piece there, I can hear Jerry’s use of Steve’s likes and influences in it absolutely.”

While a second concert wasn’t part of the original plan. Gage and her children have started a nonprofit organization called #LoveMusic (missionlovemusic.org), and the website already lists a tentative date for a 2026 concert.

“The purpose is just to promote the things that Steve lived by through music,” she said. “#LoveMusic was his catchphrase, dare to be great, be the music. We’re hoping to be able to continue these concerts. Steve loved bringing musicians together with great repertoire and the audience. He loved audiences and bringing music to audiences. The ticket sales are helping to offset the cost of this, and we’re hoping to build this organization in the future so that we can support new composers and young conductors and aspiring musicians.”

If you go …

WHAT: #LoveMusic: Stephen L. Gage Legacy Concert

WHEN: 3 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave., Youngstown

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $16 with students admitted free with an ID and are available online at experienceyourarts.org and by calling 330-259-9651.