RPO Lights Up the Night with Music and Fireworks at SUNY Geneseo
Rochester NY – Returning from its six-concert series opening the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra continues the excitement by kicking off its Rochester-area summer season on Friday, July 11, 2008 with its popular Summer Spectacular with Fireworks at SUNY Geneseo (1 College Circle). The concert takes place on Saratoga Field at 8:30 p.m.; rain location is the College’s Wadsworth Auditorium. Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik brings his always-entertaining style to various selections from the RPO’s new CD, HONOR: Portraits of America, alongside timeless favorites featuring RPO brass and woodwind soloists. A CD signing by Tyzik and a fireworks display follow the concert.
Opening the program is Jeff Tyzik’s own arrangement of Star-Spangled Banner followed by two rousing John Philip Sousa marches. Tyzik’s original Fantasy on American Themes and his Armed Forces Song Medley – both featured on the HONOR CD – add to the spirit of Americana, while his Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton pays homage to the jazz great. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leroy Anderson in 2008 will be a toe-tapping selection of his works including Bugler’s Holiday and Clarinet Candy, rounded out by Richard Rodgers’ Victory at Sea – Symphonic Scenario for Orchestra. Sousa’s well-loved Stars and Stripes Forever sets the stage for an electrifying fireworks show.
This event is generously sponsored by the family of Mrs. Hubert W. Chanler and the Gertrude L. Chanler RPO Fund at the Rochester Area Community Foundation.
Tickets for this concert are $10/adults and $5/children (ages 5-18) in advance, $12/adults and $6/children at the gate. Children under five are free. Tickets may be purchased between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday at the RPO Box Office at 108 East Avenue in Rochester or through the website at www.rpo.org. Tickets also may be purchased at various locations throughout Geneseo including the Central Presbyterian Church, Geneseo United Methodist Church, David Mann’s Jewelers, Noreen’s Hallmark Giftshop and John W. Chanler Agencies in both Livonia and Geneseo.
Celebrating its 85th season in 2007-08, the RPO inspires and enriches the community through the art of music. The Orchestra is passionately dedicated to outstanding musical performance at the highest artistic levels, and has a unique tradition of musical versatility, commitment to music education in the broadest sense and a deep and enduring engagement with the community. The RPO has been honored with the New York State Governor’s Arts Award and two recent ASCAP awards for adventurous programming. RPO performances are made possible in part by grants from Monroe County; City of Rochester; National Endowment for the Arts; and New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.
