River Concert A Swingin Singin 4th

There was quite a crowd for the River Concert Series second concert at 7pm on the green at St. Mary's College of Maryland, not surprising considering that it was performed on July 4th.  Fireworks were included at the end.  We enjoyed seeing Sara Jones again, former alumna of St. Mary's College of Maryland perform lots of great jazz favorites in a very sparkly dress (that I envied).  They played some Duke Ellington music and old favorites like "Tea for Two" and "A Time for Love".  I especially liked how she encouraged and praised her accompanists quite a bit and had nice things to say about our favorite nearby college.  I was happy to see Zachary Silberschlag back home from Israel, safe and sound, performing with his Dad, music director, Jeffrey Silberschlag on the trumpet and conducting.  

Please join me and the Chesapeake Orchestra for the next three Friday night concerts at 7pm.  Next week is "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with José Cueto on violín, weather permitting.

Jeffrey Silberschlag, Music Director of the Chesapeake Orchestra 

Rhonda Phillips, new President of St. Mary's College of Maryland 

Sara Jones, Jazz vocalist

Zachary and Jeffrey Silberschlag on trumpet

 

Representatives of St. Mary's College of Maryland 

The music shell with sun rays, very carefully photographed.

 

Who doesn't love bubbles!

Sara Jones accompanists 

Rick Humpreys, saxophone soloist 

Zachary Silberschlag conducting with a smile 

A family music moment

What a crowd!  15 photos from the stage merged into a panorama

River Concert Series Fireworks July 4th, 2025

 The fireworks at the River Concert Series were further across the creek than usual this year.  Unless you were on a boat or on the edge of the water, there were quite a few wires in the photos.  I used AI in some of the photos to remove the wires here, but I thought I would post both, so you can see the difference.  Using photojournalism, I try to show the real event, microphones and all, only using cropping, dust removal, brightening and color correction so you see what actually happened. 

No Wires using AI

Originals with wires

Poppies 2

Baltimore Oriole

 

Beautiful Poppies

I visited a poppy field in May and June.  They are delicate flowers and don't last long in a vase, but they are so artistic to photograph with lots of unusual curves.  I suspect they are at their best early in the morning, but these were late afternoon photos.

Three poppies

Blue Bachelor Button with Bee

Dying but still beautiful

Hiding the center

Poppies in a Red Vase

River Concert Series Starts up Their Season 2025

The concert series opener was called "A Moment for our Thoughts".  Here's a few of my favorite photos from Friday night, June 27th.  

The next concert features jazz vocalist and alum from St. Mary's College of Maryland, Sara Jones in "A Swingin' Singin' 4th with Sara Jones".  Fireworks are planned at the end, weather permitting.  The free concert starts at 7 pm on the green at St. Mary's College of Maryland on the next 4 Friday nights.  Everyone is invited and there are food vendors available.

Be sure to check out the 2025 program if you want to see some of my photos from previous years.  My favorites of Jeffrey Silberschlag are on pages 16-17. 

Chesapeake Orchestra

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

Jeffrey Silberschlag, music director

Violinists

Robert Hayes on electric piano

Horns

Flutist

Woodwinds

Sound guy with a surprising flourish from my camera

First violin for the evening

French horns

Vendors

Freeze Dried Candy lady