Staff report

Two classical and two pops concerts will be part of Erik Ochsner’s inaugural season as conductor and music director of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

Ochsner, who has guest conducted the YSO nine times since the death of previous conductor / music director Randall Craig Fleischer in 2020, was announced as conductor at a press conference last month.

The season will open Dec. 22 with “Home for the Holidays,” featuring Howland native and former Miss Ohio Amanda Beagle joining the orchestra for a program of seasonal favorites.

Ochsner will be officially welcomed as conductor at the first concert of 2026 on Jan. 25, which will include Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.

Pianist and vocalist Tony DeSare will bring the music of Frank Sinatra to Youngstown on March 13 for an orchestra concert featuring “Come Fly with Me,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “My Way” and other standards associated with Ol’ Blue Eyes.

DeSare has performed in venues ranging from jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall. He’s appeared on NPR, “A Prairie Home Companion” and “The Today Show,” composed music for film and television, and performed with orchestras nationwide.

The season will conclude May 15 with a program featuring Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 — “The Inextinguishable.” Written in the shadow of World War I, Nielsen’s triumphant masterpiece celebrates the indomitable human spirit and the life-affirming power of music itself.

All four concerts will be at Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave., Youngstown, and all start at 7:30 p.m., except for the January concert, which will be a 2:30 p.m. matinee.

Past season subscribers will have the first opportunity to renew their seats and purchase memberships beginning Wednesday through the box office. Membership packages and individual concert tickets will then be available to the general public starting Friday at experienceyourarts.org and by calling 330-359-0555. Memberships start at $120 per year, and individual tickets range from $20 to $65, plus fees.