Free Pops in the Park Family Concert
Sunday July 7, 2019
Michael Klazek, Conductor
Gates open 1:00 P.M. Concert starts 2:30 P.M.
Ed Macgregor Park, 6751 West Coast Road (Hwy 14), Sooke
It’s Fling! time again. Bring your lawn chairs, picnic lunches, and family and friends. Sit back and enjoy a selection of light orchestral classics and music from stage and screen. The Sooke Philharmonic Society presents its annual Philharmonic Fling! — a free outdoor concert, Sunday afternoon July 7, 2019 in Ed Macgregor Park, Sooke.
Michael Klazek, Conductor, has chosen a program of lively music. Woven into the program are several solo features including Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous and popular Double Violin Concerto, showcasing the musical skills of violin soloists Rebecca-Reader Lee and Boris Li. Both are multiple Music Festival award winners.
Next is a joyous and delightful showpiece originally scored for violin and piano, Tambourin Chinois. Composed in 1910 by Fritz Kreisler, one of the greatest violinists of his time, the composition evokes music in the Chinese manner, with its use of pentatonic scale. Soloist Emma Reader-Lee, now a music student at McGill University, is Rebecca’s sister. Emma and Rebecca were the youngest members of the Sooke Phil for several years.
The Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra’s triple trumpet section will entertain with the flashy Bugler’s Holiday, composed by Leroy Anderson. Probably the best-known trumpet trio of all time, Bugler’s Holiday always thrills both musicians and audiences alike.
It’s not often that the tuba takes the concert spotlight but Fling! audiences will be entertained and surprised by not one but four. Tuba 4, a unique quartet of local musicians, will entertain playing these lower brass instruments.
Conductor Michael Klazek is a founding member of the Sooke Philharmonic, playing viola. Over the years he has conducted acclaimed choirs, bands, orchestras and musical theatre ensembles. This is his fifth year conducting the Fling! concert.
The Fling! is a way for the Sooke Philharmonic Society to say “thank you” to area residents for their support throughout the year. Since its inception 22 years ago, the orchestra and chorus have grown to become the major musical presence it is today and acknowledged as one of Canada’s finest community orchestras.
Refreshments, provided by the Harmony Project Sooke, will be on sale at intermission. Proceeds go to the Harmony Project, a wonderful program dedicated to teaching young people to play music in ensembles. These budding musicians will once again also be featured in the Fling!.
Donations to help offset the cost of staging the Fling! are welcomed. Attendees can also support the orchestra by purchasing 50:50 draw tickets ($1) to win a fire pit generously donated by Village Foods.