Don't miss concert and fireworks July 4

Barbara Gritzner
·2 min read

If you are looking for an exciting way to celebrate July 4 on a "high note," make plans to attend the Oak Ridge Community Band's Independence Day concert at A.K. Bissell Park on Monday evening and stay to watch the city's fireworks show.

A view from behind the Oak Ridge Community Band at last year's July 4 concert.
A view from behind the Oak Ridge Community Band at last year's July 4 concert.

Large crowds are traditional for the July 4 performance, so come early, bring chairs or blankets for outdoor seating, and enjoy the music and fireworks! Providing refreshments during the concert will be Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab with the distinctive "pink pig” automobile.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and there is no admission fee. The music program will be directed by band conductor Shaun Salem and will include a variety of selections designed to inspire audience members on Independence Day, including Sousa’s “Washington Post,” Morton Gould’s arrangement of “Yankee Doodle,” Tom Knox’s “Armed Forces Medley 72,” Shaun Salem’s “Indivisible!” Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” and Samuel Ward’s “America, The Beautiful”

In addition, the band will perform James Christensen’s arrangement of “The Homefront: Musical Memories from WWII,” featuring “It’s Been a Long, Long Time,” “Over the White Cliffs of Dover,” “Thanks for the Memory,” “Bell Bottom Trousers,” “I’ll Be Seeing You” and “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.” Among other songs on the July 4 program will be Gary Gilroy’s “Three Stars of Tennessee,” Jay Chattaway’s “Parade of the Tall Ships,” and Rossano Galante’s “Beyond the Horizon.”

Soloist

The Community Band is also delighted to learn that tenor vocalist Brian Ensign, who sang in our Memorial Day concert, will once again be singing our national anthem and “America, the Beautiful” for Monday evening’s show.

All Community Band concerts are free, and donations are gratefully accepted to help offset band expenses. During the concert intermission, several band members will be taking buckets through the crowd for contributions; we hope you will be generous as the band depends entirely on donations from the public. Other ways to contribute are through PayPal on the band’s website at www.orcb.org,  through Amazon Smile, and through Kroger Community Rewards. You can also mail contributions to ORCB, P.O. Box 6980, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830.

Rehearsals for the Aug. 7 Back to School concert will begin on July 7, and interested area musicians who would like to join us can call (865) 202-2773. Keep up with us on our website www.orcb.org and through our facebook page at through our facebook page at www.facebook.com/OakRidgeCommunityBand.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Don't miss concert and fireworks July 4th