Ashland Symphony Orchestra bring the tunes at Pops in the Park concert on Sunday

ASHLAND − The Ashland Symphony Orchestra will present its annual Pops in the Park concert at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Myers Memorial Band Shell. Michael Repper, a Grammy Award winner music director and conductor, will be on the podium.

Patriotic favorites will include the “Star Spangled Banner”, “God Bless America”, “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Armed Forces Salute” narrated by Chief Warrant Officer 2 (retired) Joseph Lewis of the Ohio Army National Guard.

Repper has programmed pieces that acknowledge America’s musical history: “American Frontier” arranged by Calvin Custer, “Pops Hoedown” arranged by Richard Hayman, “Yankee Doodle” by Morton Gould, the finale from “William Tell Overture” (“A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty ‘Hi-Yo, Silver!’...The Lone Ranger!”), and a tribute to Henry Mancini arranged by Custer.

Cannons will be fired during '1812 Overture'

Civil War Battery D from the 1st Ohio Light Artillery will provide cannon fire accompaniment to “1812 Overture”. Audience members are invited to pop paper bag cannons and light sparklers during the performance.

Donations will be collected during the performance that will benefit the Ashland Symphony Orchestra and Ashland City Parks and Recreation.

The season sponsor is Samaritan Hospital Foundation. Other sponsors are The Hugo Young Foundation, Trinity Lutheran Church - Rybolt Fund, Ashland University, and Spreng-Smith Agency. Additional support provided in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC).

In the event of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to Ashland High School’s Archer Auditorium. Call 419-281-3018, Ext 3, for rain location updates.

For more about the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, call 419-289-5115 or visit www.ashlandsymphony.org.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Cannons will accompany '1812 Overture' at Ashland Pops in the Park