In Oregon, the Eugene Symphony’s free July 18 “Symphony at the Park” concert at the outdoor Cuthbert Amphitheater featured a performance of Leopold Mozart’s “Toy” Symphony at which local leaders performed with the orchestra on toy instruments and other noise-makers. Among the participants were Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy; City Manager Jon Ruiz; Eugene Symphony co-founder Caroline Boekelheide; and Olivia Cowles and Julia Stiltner, granddaughters of Eugene philanthropist Carolyn Chambers. Music Director Danail Rachev led a program that included selections from Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, Williams’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Overture to Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Li Huanzhi’s Spring Festival Overture, and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. The concert was preceded by a performance by the Eugene Symphonic Band and an instrument petting zoo for children. At the concert, collections were taken of non-perishable food items for donation to FOOD For Lane County, as part of a food drive connected with Orchestras Feeding America, a national effort led by members of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with Feeding America.
Posted July 30, 2015
Pictured: Mayor Kitty Piercy (left) and Eugene Symphony Principal Tuba Mike Grose warm up their chops before the orchestra’s “Toy Symphony” performance during Symphony in the Park, July 18, 2015.
