"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?," Paul Haas muses. "Suffice it to say the concert will end with a bang. Or maybe two."
Anyone who knows the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and Haas, its music director, knows he has a penchant for surprising finales. And what better time to blow the lid off -- so to speak -- than a Fourth of July performance at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion.
FAQ
Fireworks Spectactular
With SoNA
WHEN — Gates open at 6 p.m. Saturday for the free Family Festival, with music at 8 p.m. & a fireworks finale at 9:30 p.m.
WHERE — Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers
COST — Lawn tickets for SoNA are $5 for adults & come with up to four free children’s tickets; covered seating is $10
INFO — 443-5600
Gates open for a free Family Festival at 6 p.m. Saturday, with music at 8 p.m. and fireworks wrapping up the evening at 9:30 p.m. Held in cooperation with the city of Rogers, the event is the brainchild of Peter Lane, chief executive officer of the Walton Arts Center, the AMP's parent company. Lane remembers Fourth of July events as a young bass player in the San Francisco Bay area.
"I had a hard time keeping my eyes on the music," he says with a chuckle. "I always wanted to watch the fireworks!
"I loved the fact that people would come and sit outside on their blankets and listen to classical music, which was a passion of mine. The traditional norms disappear. You don't have to worry about how you're supposed to act. That's what makes it so much more family oriented."
Lane says the opening of the new AMP prompted him to think about that tradition of Fourth of July music in many American cities and wonder why it didn't exist in Northwest Arkansas.
"And Paul is the perfect conductor for a forum like this. He has such stage presence! He knows how to conduct an orchestra, knows how to put a program together, but he's also so comfortable talking to audiences."
"I'm happy to give Peter Lane the credit for dreaming this up," Haas says. "When the Walton Arts Center started thinking about programming for the AMP, Peter sat down with Karen Kapella and me, and we brainstormed what would be the ideal scenario. From that discussion, this Saturday's concert was born.
"This has been a very fruitful partnership with the Walton Arts Center, and they have very generously given me completely free rein on the programming side of things," Haas adds. "Given the date, it seemed natural to go with a theme of patriotism and Americana, resonating with the pride and love we all feel for this great country. Most of the music I've chosen is American, or at least about America -- some examples are 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' and Aaron Copland's 'Hoedown' from the ballet 'Rodeo.' We will have a fair amount of film music, mostly taken from war movies, and the very famous Barber Adagio for Strings.
"Taking our cue from over a century of July 4 orchestral tradition, we'll be closing with the only non-American piece: the 1812 Overture."
Haas admits playing outdoors on the Fourth of July causes some concerns for classical musicians.
"Clearly we'll be doing everything we can to keep the conditions onstage conducive to playing, but a lot of it is out of our hands," he says. "Heat is obvious -- and we're all crossing our fingers for some cooperation from the weather -- but a windy day makes it very hard to keep sheet music on the stands. These are all highly trained professionals, which means neither of those challenges will even be noticed by the audience!"
Lane says he believes "a Fourth of July concert is just downright important -- and a great tradition, which is exactly why we wanted to do one."
NAN What's Up on 07/03/2015