Charlotte Symphony summer

Excited? ‘You’re darn right I am,’ says conductor
Paul Lascara
South Charlotte Weekly

Sunday, June 6 will mark the beginning of the Charlotte Symphony ­Orchestra’s Summer Pops 2010 concert series, held every summer at Symphony Park at SouthPark mall. The orchestra plays free concerts every Sunday at 7 p.m. until June 27. The series concludes with the CSO’s Saturday, July 3 patriotic concert to celebrate Independence Day.

At the helm of each one of the CSO concerts is Albert-George Schram, a conductor for the orchestra for more than a decade.

“When I was first engaged by the Charlotte Symphony, one of the exciting things that they did was on the corner of SouthPark when there was not this wonderful apartment building that’s there now,” Schram recalled. “Instead there was this open field, and they put up a movable stage and thousands of people came and the orchestra played. And that was just a wonderful celebration.”

The celebration continues this summer with a total of five free concerts, all with a distinct theme. These days, though, the concerts are held at Symphony Park, a venue created specifically for the CSO. Over the years the popularity of the concert series has grown. “When I look out of my window on Sunday mornings, at 8 o’clock it’s already covered with blankets. So it’s always fulfilling, and we’re looking forward to another great summer,” Schram said.

The series’ first show June 6 will feature a prelude performance by the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra, followed by the CSO with “Symphonic Dances” as the theme of the night. ­Schram explained, “Much, much, much of the symphonic repertoire is based on the dance, any kind of dance. Slow or fast, or rock or any kind that was meant to move your body in some way. It’s all fun.” The orchestra will perform pieces such as Aram Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance” and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Slavonic March.”

The following Sunday concert, June 13, takes spectators musically around the world. “’Musical Travels’ allows us to do material from every country under the sun,” Schram said. “You’ll find us doing hits of various countries. It allows us to cut a very wide swath.” That night, Schram will conduct Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” Johann Strauss’ “Voices of Spring” and others.

The orchestra will turn up the heat in late June with its concert on the third Sunday of the month, June 20, Father’s Day, with a tribute to dads. “Supermen! A Concert for Father’s Day” will feature “all kinds of testosterone-laden music,” Schram said. The music begins appropriately with John Williams’ “Superman March” and continues with the themes from “Mission: Impossible” and “Rocky,” and selections from the musical “Hair.”

“Music for Lovers” finishes off the Symphony Park concerts in late June. “There is so much music that is about lovers,” Schram said. “From Romeo and Juliet to Beatrice and Benedict, a lot of stories that people will know whether it is from Shakespeare or other late, great writers.” The CSO will play Felix ­Mendelssohn’s wedding march from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Overture,” Wolfgang Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro Overture” and several other selections.

“I picked music about people who have gotten together for better or for worse, and made a whole program of it,” Schram added. “Lovers, affairs gone awry, and all kinds of things.”

As always, the concert series concludes Saturday, July 3, with a patriotic selection of music to prepare for Independence Day. Patriotic pieces include an Armed Forces Salute, John Philip Sousa’s “­Liberty Bell March” and others.

Schram said for the uninitiated, it’s easiest to connect with the music by watching him. “I think if they keep an eye on the conductor they probably can figure out a little bit where their musical interest lies. On some level, physically, you can see by which way the conductor is engaging the musicians.”

On June 26 the CSO also will host a paid concert with Tito Puente Jr. and his band, featuring an evening of Latin American, Caribbean, mambo and salsa music. Visit www.charlottesymphony.org for more information.