“Call it the Fourth of July redux. The Cleveland Orchestra’s ‘Star-Spangled Spectacular’ Friday night was just that: Spectacular,” writes Michael Heaton in Saturday’s (7/30) Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH). “Guest conductor Loras John Schissel led the orchestra through a program of traditional patriotic numbers, marches and compositions from the Great American Songbook, including a knockout rendition of ‘Ol’ Man River’ from ‘Show Boat,’ sung by baritone Norman Garrett. All that, plus fireworks that lit up the sky…. Cleveland Orchestra executive director André Gremillet, who has only been on the job six months, enjoyed the debut at the newly refurbished Public Square…. Said Gremillet, … ‘It’s been so moving seeing the city come together with the Cavaliers and the RNC. We’re so proud to represent the city that everybody is talking about. Now it’s our turn to shine. This is our way of giving back. It’s our way of saying thanks.’ … Dorothy Ziganti, 88, of Parma was there with her daughter Denise. ‘I first came here with my late husband years and years ago. Then with the kids, and now the grandkids,’ she said. ‘My husband was a Marine. He loved the salute to the armed forces.’ ”
Posted August 1, 2016
In photo: The Cleveland Orchestra’s “Star-Spangled Spectacular” at the newly renovated Public Square in downtown Cleveland on Friday. Photographer: Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer
