Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra's Institute Park concerts to start with fireworks

WORCESTER — The Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra's 73rd season of free summer concerts at Institute Park will include a renewed attempt to have fireworks there for the first time at its "Patriotic Pops" concert on July 3.

The season will also feature “Jazz in the Park: Celebrating Great African-American and Latin-American Musical Influences” on July 14 and "Salute to Disney" on the first rain-free Sunday following the Afro-Latin jazz concert.

MSO Executive Director Paul Levenson said that last summer’s effort at inaugurating fireworks at Institute Park, a first for this type of presentation in the summer at the park, was a misfire, with morning predictions of severe evening weather forcing a cancellation until the next evening, only to find clear weather when the concert was originally scheduled to begin. Fireworks could not be arranged for the next day's concert.

"We’ll keep trying until all the elements and stars align, because fireworks under the stars in Institute Park combined with our wonderful orchestra is definitely worth it,” Levenson said.

For 25 years, up to and including 2019, Worcester's annual Independence Holiday Concert featured the MSO at Cristoforo Colombo Park on Shrewsbury Street culminating with a fireworks display. 

After no Independence Holiday concerts at Cristoforo Colombo Park because of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Levenson decided to establish a new Independence Holiday concert tradition for the orchestra at Institute Park in 2022 to go along with the other concerts it performs there every summer. Levenson's late parents, Harry and Madelyn Levenson, founded what would be the MSO and the Institute Park concerts. The first Institute Park concert was in 1951.

No fireworks were scheduled for the "Patriotic Pops" concert in 2022, but they were for 2023 until the postponement.

"The summer series has become an institution in this area," Levenson said, "and is something that thousands of families look forward to each year. Our goal is continually to improve the audience experience, and to permit families and neighborhoods all across the city to enjoy Worcester’s version of what the Boston Pops does on Boston’s Esplanade."

This year's "Patriotic Pops" concert will start at 7:45 p.m. July 3. Led by principal conductor Myron Romanul, the orchestra will primarily feature music by American composers, including Irving Berlin, Aaron Copland, Morton Gould, and John Williams. The concert will also feature the world premiere of Jacob Samuel Snider’s “American Lapse.” Snider, who was born in Worcester, is a singer-songwriter and film composer based in Los Angeles. Guest vocalists will be soprano Jane Shivick and tenor Todd Yard. Fireworks will accompany Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and patriotic marches by John Philip Sousa. Former Worcester City Councilor Gary Rosen will be master of ceremonies. The rain date is July 4 but fireworks will be unavailable for that date.

At 7 p.m. July 14 the orchestra will be under the direction of principal guest conductor Jorge Soto for the "Jazz in the Park" concert. The concert will also feature faculty members from Boston's Berklee College of Music. The program will include a number of iconic jazz selections including W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues,” Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol’s “Caravan,” Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the 'A' Train” and Mercer Ellington’s “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be.” Master of ceremonies will be Costa Rican native and Worcester singer, percussionist and composer Manolo Mairena. The rain date is July 21.

The final concert of the series, "Salute to Disney," will also be conducted by Soto. Musical selections will feature highlights from “Encanto,” "Moana," "Frozen," "Planes," "Brave," "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Pocahontas" and "Aladdin," among others. Guest vocal soloists will be Taylor Lawton and Elisabeth LaBarre. Rain dates for the performance are the following two Sundays.

The concerts will be broadcast on WCUW, 91.3FM. For more information on the concert series, visit masymphony.org

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra Institute Park concerts begin July 3