I hope you all had a nice July 4th celebration. For musicians it's time for pops concerts. This summer I play three -- two with Wallingford Symphony (CT) and one with Garden State Philharmonic (NJ).
This was from Garden State Philharmonic on July 4 at Ocean County Library in Toms River, NJ. This was all in one day which means we sight read the music at the rehearsal 3 hours prior to the concert, have a break and then a concert.
There were several interesting and popular pieces on the program. The themes of "Pink Panther" and "Peter Gunn" were the first for me but it was fun (there were lots of pieces by Henry Mancini). The most difficult one was "March Slave" by Tchaikovsky. Unfortunately I had never played it and it's got lots of key changes going to six sharps, plus lots of lots of high notes. Oh well, somehow I managed it.... Here's my favorite "March Slave", Chicago Symphony with Claudio Abbado:
There were several interesting and popular pieces on the program. The themes of "Pink Panther" and "Peter Gunn" were the first for me but it was fun (there were lots of pieces by Henry Mancini). The most difficult one was "March Slave" by Tchaikovsky. Unfortunately I had never played it and it's got lots of key changes going to six sharps, plus lots of lots of high notes. Oh well, somehow I managed it.... Here's my favorite "March Slave", Chicago Symphony with Claudio Abbado:
This is from last night with Wallingford Symphony at Madison Green (CT). We had a huge audience and we were mic'ed. We will be repeating the program tonight back at our home at Paul Mellon Arts Center in Wallingford.
As in many of Independence Day related pops concerts, we are playing Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture which has NOTHING to do with American independence from England. The piece is about Russia defeating Napoleon in 1812... I don't quite understand why it's a popular July 4th concert rep, often performed with real cannons or fireworks. Last night was with bird chirping, church bells and audience fireworks participation.
As in many of Independence Day related pops concerts, we are playing Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture which has NOTHING to do with American independence from England. The piece is about Russia defeating Napoleon in 1812... I don't quite understand why it's a popular July 4th concert rep, often performed with real cannons or fireworks. Last night was with bird chirping, church bells and audience fireworks participation.
"Stars and Stripes" march by Sousa is always a good program closer (I'm playing it in every concert this week). Here's a video of AIMS Festival Orchestra from last summer. We played this very American piece at the end of our summer in Graz, Austria and the audience loved it. Enjoy our awesome piccolo section and strong brass section!
All these are outdoor concerts and I'm very very grateful for this loaner violin from Robert Isley. It was over 90 degrees last night at Madison Green. While I was working outdoor, my own violin was enjoying a little time off at home with A/C on. Haha.
