ERIE, Pa. — Andrew Pongracz and Mell Csicsila met more than 20 years ago while they were students at Cleveland State University. The percussionists shared common interests and their styles meshed together well. They began performing composition recitals and joined numerous ensembles together.
Not surprisingly, the beat has gone on ever since.
Pongracz and Csicsila’s percussion collaboration, which goes by the name duo ANIME, will perform on Friday, Jan. 27, at Penn State Behrend as part of Music at Noon: The Logan Series. The performance will take place at noon in McGarvey Commons, in the campus' Reed Union Building. Admission is free, and reserved parking for audience members will be available in the Reed lot.
The duo's repertoire stretches from contemporary music to transcriptions of classical masters and is the byproduct of the experiences shared by Pongracz and Csicsila while they were students at Cleveland State University. The group has worked professionally with several prominent musicians, including Aretha Franklin, Yes, Kansas, Gary Puckett, Dennis DeYoung and Charo.
Pongracz and Csicsila also regularly perform for the Cleveland Orchestra's “Musical Rainbow” series of concerts and have played for the Cleveland Composers Guild, the Cleveland State University Chorale, and many other organizations.
Music at Noon: The Logan Series was founded by Mrs. Kay Logan in 1989 and receives major support from the Kay Logan Trust. Additional funding is provided by the Penn State Behrend Student Activity Fee. Music at Noon receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Additional support for this program is provided in part from an Erie Arts & Culture Project Grant, made possible by community contributions to the Combined Arts & Cultural Campaign and the Erie Arts Endowment.
For more information about The Logan Series or duo ANIME’s appearance, contact series director Gary Viebranz at 814-898-6289 or email gav3@psu.edu.