Sat 5/27 @ 8PM
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra brings a dose of patriotism to Severance Hall for its “Summon the Heroes: American Salute.” The ensemble’s music director Carl Topilow will conduct the program, where the orchestra will be joined by the Cleveland Pops Chorus directed by William Zurkey, vocalist Bob McDonald and soprano Fiona Coughlin.
They’ll get things going with a rousing Star Spangled Banner and Morton Gould’s “American Salute” and close with John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” In between concertgoers will be treated to a program of mostly familiar tunes, both patriotic (“Good Bless America,” America the Beautiful,” John Williams’ “The Patriot,” “Service Dogs March”) and mostly uplifting popular songs such as Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone/Climb Every Mountain, “What a Wonderful World,” and the traditional Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts.”
There’ll even be a Glenn Miller medley, evoking the World War II era, when Miller’s and was at peak popularity before he enlisted in 1942 and went missing in action on a military flight in 1942. It will feature Topilow on his signature clarinet.
Go here for more info and tickets.