Over 100 guests attended the Brantford Community Symphony Orchestra’s annual Symphony Under the Stars performance at the Bell Homestead on Friday, August 23, 2024.
The local and out-of-town visitors were sure to arrive early for a chance to secure their spot and set out their lawn chairs out on the front lawn of the historical landmark.
As everyone settled in and the event got underway, Deb McLoughlin, Conductor of the Brantford Community Symphony Orchestra, explained that throughout the night, the band would be playing music from the early 19th century.
“In our program tonight, we’d like to evoke the world of the late 19th century. What were people watching, listening and dancing to? Of course there was no television, the arts were experienced in person. At that time, orchestras had developed as popular music… similar to today’s rock, country or folk bands.”
For the first half of their performance, members of the band played songs like Franz von Suppé’s “Light Cavalry: Overture,” Georges Bizet’s “Les Toreadors” from Carmen Suite No. 1, John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” and Calvin Custer’s “A Salute to Big Bands.”
During the salute to big bands, Brian Wood, Curator for the Bell Homestead, joined the ensemble group for a small part in Glen Miller’s “Pennsylvania 6-5000” where he played the telephone bell with one of the museum’s display phones.
“When the orchestra said they were going to do that song, I told them, ‘I have lots of phones, I can provide the bell!’” said Wood.
Afterwards, the Ryerse Jazz Singers, a ladies vocal jazz chorus, stepped in to perform seven songs for the audience including Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s “Blue Moon,” Petula Clark’s “Call Me,” and their self-proclaimed theme song, Bobby Troup’s “Route 66.”
To end out the evening, the Community Symphony Orchestra performed Johann Strauss Jr.’s “Emperor Waltz Op. 437” and “Pizzicato-Polka,” Sam Dillard’s “Star Trek Epic Symphony: Where No One Has Gone Before,” a medley of songs from the Sound of Music and Antonín Dvořák’s “Symphony No. 9,” also known as “New World Symphony.”
Overall, Brian Wood, Curator for the Bell Homestead, said the annual event was a success.
“I thought it was really lovely, they always draw in a great crowd and there’s just something about the homestead in terms of the sound quality because the acoustics are fantastic,” he said. “It’s a great chance to hear live music performed by locals and I think people really enjoy the event because it’s affordable. Admission is by donation so you can donate whatever you can afford and it goes back to supporting, not only the homestead, but the Brantford School of Instrumental Music.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
