Clinton Symphony Orchestra’s annual free outdoor Pops Concert is Sunday, June 4, 2017. Music will begin at 6:30 p.m., in Clinton’s Riverview Park, located at 251 Ballpark Drive, Clinton, IA.
Conductor Brian Dollinger, marking his 10th season with the orchestra, has programmed music ranging from contemporary music of the Beatles, Dave Brubeck, and John Williams, to stage music of Richard Wagner and Gioacchino Rossini, with patriotic tunes thrown in.
The concert this year is partially funded by the A. E. Pearson Foundation. In case of bad weather, a rain site is under U. S. Bank at the corner of 4th Avenue South and South 3rd Street in Clinton.
Listeners are invited to bring a chair or blanket to the park and maybe even a picnic, for an evening with friends and family. Area food vendors will be available in the park area. Beginning at 5:30 p.m., activities with the Felix Adler Children’s Discovery Center will be set up in the park, including some special music activities.
For the orchestra, the concert will close the 63rd season of programming in Clinton and the surrounding area. Fifty musicians in the orchestra are gathered from a wide area of Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois. Many are music educators, but included are accomplished musicians from many professions.
The Symphony’s indoor concert season extends from September through April, with performances in Sterling and Morrison in addition to Clinton. Programs include everything from chamber music ensembles to large orchestra performances, including guest soloists and guest choral groups.
“We pride ourselves in offering ‘live’ music by area musicians. Our motto is ‘…right here where we live.,” Robert Whipple, the Executive Director, said.
Ticket prices for the regular season are kept artificially low, to allow all to attend the concerts, and students are admitted free to all concerts throughout the year.
Ticket sales cover only about a third of the cost of the operation. Many family and business contributors make up the other two thirds of the annual budget, as well as grants from area foundations. The annual fund drive is held in late summer.
Details of Sunday’s programming and general information about the orchestra are available on the Clinton Symphony website www.clintonsymphony.org.