Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, based in the Allegheny Mountains in western Pennsylvania, will perform its annual free Fourth of July Concert at Point Stadium in downtown Johnstown, a tradition it has been able to continue only with the support of twelve local financial institutions. The concert features Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, with howitzers from the Pennsylvania National Guard providing the overture’s artillery sounds. The orchestra has performed a July 4 concert every year since the 1989 centennial commemoration of the Johnstown flood of 1889, but since the recent economic downturn the orchestra needed to find additional sponsors after major corporate sponsors withdrew their funding. Through an initiative among local banks and other financial institutions, the concert has continued with the support of AmeriServ Financial, First Commonwealth Bank, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, First Summit Bank, Somerset Trust Company, Northwest Savings Bank, Indiana First Savings Bank, Mainline Bank, Slovenian Savings and Loan, CNB Banking, GAP Federal Credit Union, and HealthCare First Credit Union.
Posted June 29, 2011
