Symphony orchestra to perform at Furman Park

DOWNEY - The Downey Symphony Orchestra will perform its annual free concert this Wednesday at Furman Park, part of the city's Concerts in the Park program.The concert is titled "A Tribute to John Williams" and will include performances of Williams' best known and loved works, said music director Sharon Lavery. Williams, considered to be one of the greatest film composers of all time, has been nominated for 48 Academy Awards, winning five. He also won three Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, 21 Grammy Awards and seven British Academy Film Awards. Williams currently holds the record for the most Oscar nominations for a living person, and is the second most nominated person in Academy Award history behind Walt Disney's 59. Forty-three of Williams' Oscar nominations are for Best Original Score and five are for Best Original Song. He won four Oscars for Best Original Score and one for Best Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score ("Fiddler on the Roof"). The John Williams selections to be performed by the Downey Symphony include "Raider's March," "Harry Potter Symphonic Suite," "E.T.'s Adventures on Earth" and "Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra (Movements III, IV, V)." "The second half of the concert we are presenting such patriotic works as 'American Salute' (based on the tune 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home'), 'America the Beautiful' and a work entitled 'Armed Forces Salute' which includes the theme songs of all five branches of the United States military," added Lavery. Continuing a long tradition, kids will be invited on stage to individually conduct the orchestra in a selection "of some of the finest marches ever written by none other than John Phillip Sousa," said Lavery. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and guests can bring blankets and chairs. Umbrellas and pop-up structures are prohibited.

********** Published: Aug. 1, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 16