Though we’re not able to enjoy the Fourth in the great outdoors, Pacific Symphony invites the worldwide web to join together online for patriotic favorites, fireworks, and musical festivities. Music Director Carl St.Clair has re-imagined the Fourth, creating a streaming 50-minute program that captures the sense of a free-wheeling summer celebration that is a star-spangled 244th birthday party for America. Pacific Symphony’s first-ever virtual Independence Day concert will be available online on July 4 at 6 p.m. Beginning at that time, the concert can be viewed by signing in with an email address at PacificSymphony.org/VirtualJuly4 and will be available on-demand for 45 days after that.
This July 4th Celebration is dedicated to the frontline healthcare workers, who inspire us with their strength and bravery in caring for their fellow Americans. The program also recognizes two great Americans, Charlie and Ling Zhang, for the countless ways they have supported Pacific Symphony and the advancement of music education.
The program, hosted by Music Director Carl St.Clair and Principal Pops Conductor Richard Kaufman, opens with video footage of a rousing rendition of St.Clair conducting Pacific Symphony musicians in “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Angels Stadium last summer. Richard Kaufman conducts John Williams’ “Midway March” from the soundtrack to the classic World War II motion picture “Midway.” The program continues with “76 Trombones” from “The Music Man,” and Kaufman will read the results from this year’s Nathan’s Famous Hot-Dog Eating Contest, the traditional annual competition that takes place on Coney Island every Fourth of July. Selections from Peter Boyer’s “Ellis Island: A Dream of America” follow as well as a musical salute to the armed forces. Country music star, Lee Greenwood makes a guest appearance with a special message and song selection specifically for Pacific Symphony audiences.
The concert concludes with a moving mosaic video featuring members of Pacific Chorale and American Feel Young Chorus singing “America the Beautiful,” accompanied by Pacific Symphony, followed by the grand finale: a spectacular fireworks extravaganza orchestrated to “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa.
