The performance is free and part of the Summer Arts Festival, presented by the Springfield Arts Council.
The Symphony has performed at every single past Arts Festival and this will be the first official program of the Symphony’s 75th anniversary season. Executive director Lou Ross said this will showcase what the Symphony does several times each season indoors.
“For us it’s an opportunity to reach those who don’t see us. We hope they will come and experience something different and maybe come back to see us at the Performing Arts Center, especially children,” Ross said.
The first half of the program will celebrate the 100th birthday of composer Leonard Bernstein, with selections from the Broadway classic “West Side Story.”
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The second half will feature well-known pieces “Carnival Overture” and “A Night on Bald Mountain,” followed by a big finale. Ross emphasizes that not be an understatement as it will literally pull out the big guns.
Getting the grand accompaniments for Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” was a community effort as Ross scrambled to find the right resources after some didn’t work out.
“We want to make it special and the ambiance adds to it,” said Ross.
He found a fireworks company he’d previously used when another couldn’t help out this time. When the canons used were unavailable from military sources, organizers of The Fair at New Boston stepped up to offer one of theirs.
The set will include 14 canon shots.
The final piece is the ringing of church bells.
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Ross said some people mistakenly think the “1812 Overture” is inspired by the War of 1812, but it’s actually about Russia’s victory over Napoleonic France the same year. The bells signaled victory in Russia, inspiring their use in the tune.
Dr. David Estrop, whose wife Virginia serves as Symphony board secretary, secured several area churches and Wittenberg University to ring their bells as part of the experience.
Ross said the experience could leave a lot of people elated, and hopefully with a new appreciation of symphonic music.
“You’ll have that extra bit of adrenaline as you leave the park that night. That’s the effect our symphony can have,” he said.
How to go
What: Springfield Symphony Orchestra
Where: Turner Pavilion, Veteran’s Park, Springfield
When: 8 p.m. Friday, June 22
Admission: Free
More info: Call 937-324-2712 or go online to www.SpringfieldArtsCouncil.org
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