The Austin Civic Orchestra put on their annual concert
in a park series entitled “Missed It By
That Much,” where the Orchestra played music from movies and plays whose
anniversaries they had just missed. “Titanic,” “Superman,” “Star Wars,” and “Grease”
were among a few of the pieces played at this year’s “Pops” concert.
The Hillside was filled with hundreds of happy
families, baby boomers and young adults. One thing everyone shared was his or
her excitement for the concert to begin.
Before the concert began, I sat down with two of
Austin Civic Orchestra’s biggest stars, Lois Ferrari and Caroline Richards-Chacon.
Lois Ferrari, the director of the Austin Civic
Orchestra, got her start playing in middle school. From there, Ferrari went on to Ithaca College
and proceeded to Eastmon College of Music to study conducting. Soon after
graduating Eastmon, a job at Georgetown University called her name, and she
soon found herself teaching orchestra and wind ensemble, as well as conducting.
“As a musician I wanted to keep growing over the years,
and so you need something like a full symphonic band with mature players to do
that,” said Ferrari. This reason is exactly what brought Ferrari to the Austin
Civic Orchestra and it has been her love for the past ten years.
“The entire Austin Civic Orchestra is a volunteer group.
The only people paid are the conductor and a few staff members,” said Ferrari. Other
than that, this group truly performs a labor of love. Head Mistress Caroline
Richards-Chacon can vouch for this statement: “If it wasn’t for the Austin
Civic Orchestra, my violin would have probably still been sitting in its case,”
said Richards-Chacon.
Soon after my chat with these influential members, I
made my way up to the hillside and secured the best spot on the hill. The
weather was perfect with a gentle breeze blowing through the park. Before Ferrari
began the concert in a joking tone she said, “While y’all get a nice breeze, we
get the luxury of clothespins.”
At exactly 8 p.m. the sun set and the concert began. As
the pieces changed, so did the orchestra’s costumes. For songs played from “Superman,”
the orchestra put on Superman cloaks, while for songs by the musical “Cats” (you
guessed it), the orchestra put on cat masks. The costume changes created a roar
of laughter on the hillside and allowed a way for the orchestra to connect with
the audience.
The most exciting part of the concert took place in
the form of a raffle. The winning raffle winner got the opportunity to conduct “Stars
and Stripes Forever.” The time came for the winner to be called, and the
suspense drew as the raffle ticket was drawn. “Number 962,” said the woman
calling the raffle. As people tried to look at their number on the now dark hillside,
an “I won!” was heard from the top of the hill. Quickly, a woman ran down the
hill and proceeded to conduct the orchestra; however, halfway into conducting,
she handed the baton to an eager little girl who was a volunteer at the
concert.
When “Stars and Stripes Forever” ended, the Orchestra
received a standing ovation, along with many hoops and hollers.
“I loved the music. It was a great family event,” said
Andrea Garcia. Garcia attended the event with her young daughter and came to
support her husband who plays in the orchestra.
As people walked away from the concert that night, one
thing is for certain “Grease lightning, go, grease lightning” was definitely in
the minds of all concertgoers.
