A Service of UA Little Rock
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra To Play For Independence Day

ArkansasSymphony.org
/
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will begin its free performance tonight at 8:30 PM as part of Little Rock’s annual Fourth of July celebration. Music Director Phillip Mann says the orchestra will play music of regional significance, as well as some Fourth of July classics.

“One of the traditions here has been to do Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture as the final piece on the program. It’s a wonderful piece of music. It has this energy and connection that it establishes with the audience with its very first notes,” said Mann.

Other performers include the National Guard Band of the Southwest. The winner of the “Oh Say Can You Sing?” competition will perform along with the orchestra. The show is free and is one of the orchestra’s largest events of the year. Mann says the performance is part of the orchestra’s on-going efforts to reach a wide audience of listeners.

“You’ll hear a program that has all kinds of patriotic favorites. Some of the music has historical significance. Some of it has very deep personal significance, especially when we’re honoring and acknowledging people who have made sacrifices for our country. And then we’ll have a few selections that are also just regionally significant. We’ll have some Dixie Land jazz on the program,” he said.

The orchestra will play at the First Security Amphitheater and will be followed by fireworks beginning at 9:30 PM at the Main Street Bridge.

Sarah Whites-Koditschek is a former News Anchor/ Reporter for KUAR News and Arkansas Public Media.