September 08, 2008
Pack your picnic baskets and a blanket and head out to the Todos Santos Plaza in downtown Concord on Saturday, September 20, for one of the best free family events in the East Bay! The 9th Annual POPS ON THE PLAZA outdoor concert, which begins at 6:30 pm, will once again feature a jam-packed evening of entertainment performed live by the award-winning California Symphony under the direction of Maestro Barry Jekowsky.
Presented by Target, this year’s POPS ON THE PLAZA will showcase a dazzling line-up of musical selections and extraordinary soloists. Highlights include a celebration of the Olympic spirit, with the passing of the torch as the California Symphony performs Léo Arnaud’s “Bugler’s Dream” (heard throughout this summer’s televised coverage). Video game fans will have the thrill of hearing the scores to such popular titles as “Halo,” “Civilization IV,” “Bounty Hunter,” and “Kingdom Hearts.” Two of the California Symphony’s many talented musicians will solo: Catherine Matovich performing Henry Mancini’s “Oklahoma Crude” on an electric fiddle, and principal trombonist Don Benham playing his own arrangement of “My One and Only Love.” Excerpts from “Fiesta Mexicana” will showcase the extraordinary range of folk music indigenous to Mexico, and a rarely-heard Aboriginal didgeridoo will be played with a symphony orchestra for the first time. And an unprecedented closing tribute to the American patriotic spirit will feature a poignant rendition of “Liberty for All,” with stirring quotes from the Declaration of Independence, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy, narrated by ABC7 news anchor Dan Ashley.
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