Mass. Symphony marks 75 years of free Worcester concerts

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  Thumbnail photo Patrick O'Connor

  The Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the 75th season of its free summer concert series at Worcester’s Institute Park in July, continuing a tradition that has drawn generations of residents to Salisbury Pond for outdoor music and fun.

  The series opens Friday, July 3rd, at 7:45 p.m. with a patriotic concert featuring fireworks during Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and marches by John Philip Sousa. A rain date with fireworks is scheduled for Sunday, July 5th. The concert will also commemorate America’s 250th birthday.

  The opening performance will be led by M.S.O. Principal Conductor Myron Romanul and feature tenor Taylor Lawton and soprano Jane Shivick as vocal soloists. Music by composers including Leroy Anderson, Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and John Williams is planned. Worcester City Councilor-at-Large Gary Rosen will serve as master of ceremonies.

  The series continues the following weekend with a Latin Jazz Concert featuring Costa Rican-born composer, arranger, singer and percussionist Manolo Mairena and his ensemble La Pura Vida. The performance will include works composed exclusively by Mairena.

  The orchestra’s annual “Salute to Disney” concert will conclude the series the following weekend under the direction of Associate Conductor Jorge Soto. The concert will feature Lawton and soprano Elisabeth LaBarre as vocal soloists, with Rosen again serving as master of ceremonies.

  Unlike previous years, the Latin Jazz Concert and Disney concert will each be scheduled for either Saturday or Sunday based on weather forecasts. Organizers said the decision for the Latin Jazz Concert will be announced Thursday, July 9th, while the Disney concert date will be announced Thursday, July 16th. The orchestra said updates will be posted on its website and social media channels.

  M.S.O. Executive Director Paul Levenson said the milestone season reflects the enduring popularity of the free concert tradition established by his parents, Harry and Madelyn Levenson, in 1951.

  “The concerts have been about families and the shared experience of being together to hear wonderful music on a summer weekend night,” Levenson said in a statement. “75 years is a testament to how sound the original concept was, and to the public’s desire to do something special for their families during the summertime.”

  Romanul currently serves as First Kapellmeister of the Nationaltheatre in Munich and previously toured as pianist with the Boston Pops Orchestra under Arthur Fiedler. Soto is principal conductor of the New Philharmonic Orchestra in Newton and has served as a cover conductor for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

  Additional performers include Shivick, director of the Central Mass. Festival Chorus; Lawton, who has appeared with Worcester County Light Opera and Theatre at the Mount; and LaBarre, who performs frequently at the College of the Holy Cross and teaches at Bancroft School.

  More information about the concert series is available at www.masymphony.org or by calling (508) 754-1234.