Happy Independence Day 2024!

July 3: “A Traditional 4th in an Unconventional Way!”

A great way to enjoy Independence Day!

 Hilary Kole

Bryan Bourne

Watch "July 3:  "A Traditional 4th in an Unconventional Way!"

The Online River Concert Series 2020
Featuring jazz artist Hilary Kole performing from New York City, the Southern Maryland Community Gospel Choir, Chesapeake Orchestra Brass, Bryan Bourne on trombone (our photography), fire trucks in "Hosedown" (my photos possibly), Ballet Caliente, and a video by Jim including the 1812 Overture and my fireworks photos set to a song by Jennifer Cooper and Carl Reichelt.

Performers subject to change

Tune in at https://www.chesapeakeorchestra.org/

http://www.smcm.edu/river-concert/#2020-virtual-series

If you miss it live, you can watch it later on Youtube!  The first concert, "Let Us Break Bread Together" is available to watch now online.

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 Hosedown

 The Crowd

River Concert June 30 2017 An Evening of Americana for Our Independence Holiday

The second River Concert of the season featured the lovely voice of Kelly Balmaceda, a 2001 graduate of Leonardtown High School and the Chesapeake Orchestra plus many other soloists.  She sang some American pop favorites like a Medley from the "Sound of Music" and Burt Bacharach music.  The concert also featured Sousa's "Stars and Stripes", "Hosedown" a Morton Gould favorite including members of the Southern Maryland Fire and Rescue squad, and of course the "1812 Overture" and fireworks.  The concert was held on the Townhouse Green at St. Mary's College of Maryland on Friday night at 7 pm.

Here are my favorite photos of the many I took at the concert as the official Chesapeake Orchestra photographer.  Please feel free to share the blog with friends.

Kelly Balmaceda

 Tuajuanda Jordan, President of St. Mary's College of Maryland

 Reflection of the brass section

 Maestro Jeffrey Silberschlag conducting

 Woodwinds:  Bassoons, clarinets?

 Brass section:  trombones and trumpets

 Woodwinds:  oboes, flutes

 Karen Johnson and friend on flutes

Amanda Durst, cellist and fellow musician

 Kelly Balmaceda with the Chesapeake Orchestra

 Kelly Balmaceda

 bubbles, bubbles, catch the bubbles

 Grizzly Mountain Grill vendor

 The huge crowd at sunset

 Serving pizza at the Nicolletti's truck, Yumm

The concert shell at sunset

 (L to R) Amanda, Kelly and a St. Mary's College alumna we met that night

 Trio with Jeffrey Silberschlag

 Deborah Greitzer, Executive Director and narrator for "Hosedown"

 Logan, a choir friend was one of the speakers in "Hosedown"

Local Fire and Rescue participated in "Hosedown"

 Jeffrey Silberschlag

Hats off to the crowd

 Fireworks

Fireworks

Boat reflections after the fireworks

Happy Independence Day!

Some of my favorites from the holiday displays.

      Looks like a comet!

      Sparklers

      Lanterns that float off into the sky.  Don't worry, they flew off over water.

     Fireworks favorite.

Happy Independence Day!

My toy poodle is celebrating.  She even watched some fireworks (scary!). Her photo is part of my photography exhibit at the Lexington Park Library which has been extended through mid August.  Please comment and share!

River Concert 2011 Celebrates Independence Day Weekend in Patriotic Style

The third 2011 River Concert of the season gathered a huge crowd, filling the lawn at St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a sea of people on the evening of Friday, July 1st . Before beginning the concert with the Chesapeake Orchestra playing the “Star Spangled Banner”, music director Jeffrey Silberschlag warned the crowd to ”get under their chairs for the flyover” after the anthem. No one ducked, but they did give a hearty cheer! “Danger Zone” from “Top Gun” immediately followed, sung by a passionate performer playing electric guitar. The flyover in honor of the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation included two Navy jets whose pilots, and some Navy brass, were introduced later in the concert.
Next on the musical program was “Holiday Overture” by Elliot Carter, written in the modern mode during World War II. The music was a little jumbled with a varied style and not particularly melodic. There were jerky sounding strings, bells, sticks and an abrupt ending.

The audience was amused by “A Grand, Grand Overture Op. 57 composed by Malcolm Arnold, a satire of a serious overture. The work was announced by Maestro Silberschlag as “going where no orchestra would ever dare go.” The Overture featured hedge trimmer played by Sam Goddard, two vacuum cleaners amusingly presented by St. Mary’s College President Joseph Urgo and Ginny Stein, muskets shot by costumed interpreters from Historic St. Mary’s City (as can only be portrayed in St. Mary’s County) and a leaf blower performed by Jim Bershon. Some of the “instruments” were actually substitutions for the original use of a floor polisher and real guns. To our amusement, the vacuum cleaners had a lovely sword fight, attempted to dust a nearby photographer’s camera and Joseph Urgo quietly vacuumed his yellow tie.

Jeffrey Silberschlag joked that the excerpts from the “Air Power Suite” by Norman Dello Joio were “one hour long. We’ll do it twice.” The work had lots of soaring melodies, a lot of repeated notes in the string section, full sized chimes and some lovely flutes. I was disappointed that the Chesapeake Orchestra didn’t play “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines” a favorite song listed in the program.

After intermission, and the familiar “Liberty Bell March” by J. P. Sousa, Sterling Lambert, a professor of Musicology at the College read “Thomas Jefferson: In His Own Words” in his dramatic British tenor voice accompanied by the full orchestra. The music was a backdrop for the words which included everything from the “Bill of Rights”, to love, and the number of free and captive slaves Jefferson kept. The work ended with Jefferson’s words, “I Shall not die without the hope that life and liberty are on steady advance.”

The concert concluded with some rousing Sousa music including the “King Cotton March” and “Stars and Stripes Forever” (accompanied by many amateur singers in the audience), Morton Gould’s “American Salute” (based on “When Johnny comes Marching Home Again”) and of course P.I. Tchaikovsky’s ”1812 Overture” accompanied by fireworks over the St. Mary’s River. The many boats with their small lights bobbing in the waters of the river were a delightful sight to behold after the concert.