The Fourth of July wouldn’t be complete without parades, barbeques, fireworks … and music. Sure, you can accompany the fireworks with recordings, but there’s nothing like live music to really help you celebrate. Fortunately for fans of classical music and the Fourth of July, three local symphonies are supplying the tunes.
The holiday weekend music begins on the third of July when the Oakland East Bay Symphony performs at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond at 8 p.m. On the Fourth itself, you have your choice of the Vallejo Symphony playing at 2 p.m. on the green behind the main library and the San Francisco Symphony concertizing at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View at 8 p.m. Both the Oakland and Vallejo concerts are free.
True to the spirit of celebrating the birth of a nation composed of people from all over the world and a thousand walks of life, the programs have something for everyone. Gone are the days of a steady stream of music by John Philip Sousa, “the March King.” While his Stars and Stripes Forever may be a staple of every Fourth of July concert, and while you almost certainly will hear The Star-Spangled Banner, the other offerings run the gamut from Chopin and Grieg to a Looney Tunes medley.
For the Oakland East Bay Symphony, branching out includes familiar movie themes, from Gone With the Wind to The Little Mermaid, as well as featured artist Misha Galant, who was the Junior Division winner of the IEBS Young Artist Competition. In Vallejo, selections from The Merry Widow, South Pacific, and Victory at Sea will be included, along with a tribute to prolific composer Henry Mancini. The S.F. Symphony is celebrating Americana, beginning with California, Here I Come and including works by Stephen Foster, Cab Calloway, and Brian Wilson.
For the musicians, it’s a chance to have some fun, especially when, as S.F. Symphony English horn player and oboist Russ deLuna says, you’ve spent 3½ weeks touring Europe playing three Mahler symphonies and have returned home to play pieces by Bartók and Beethoven. “I’m looking forward to something light and fun and not so heavy and thought-provoking,” he remarks. SFS Associate Principal Horn Nicole Cash agrees: “To be honest, I actually have a lot of fun playing the July Fourth repertoire. Of course, it’s not as serious as our usual fare, but who doesn’t like some old-fashioned Americana every now and then? It’s great to get outside our little classical box and play music in different styles: Broadway show tunes, patriotic marches, a little jazz — and, of course, film scores, which are my favorites.”
While it may be fun, don’t think the musicians are necessarily taking it easy. Cash adds that while some of the pieces aren’t that challenging, “Others definitely are! John Williams’ score to E.T. is actually really demanding for everyone, as are a number of other selections.”
Just as the selected pieces break out of the standard symphony box, the audiences may be more varied than those consisting of the usual symphony attendees. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t enthusiastic. According to Cash, there’s lots of clapping-along to the old standards, and “We all appreciate the encouragement.” DeLuna agrees, saying, “It’s different people than normally come. But it’s fun to invite people that normally wouldn’t attend our concerts. I’ve heard in the past that it has intrigued them to hear more.”
So, see what the fun is all about, and celebrate the Fourth with your favorite symphony. It’s sure to leave you smiling.