FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PARTNER MOVIE NIGHT PRESENTING SPONSOR
SALUTE TO AMERICA
Thursday, July 3, 2025, at 8 PM Friday, July 4, 2025, at 8 PM
Blossom Festival Band Michelle Rakers, conductor
JOHN STAFFORD SMITH The Star-Spangled Banner (1750–1836)
CLARE GRUNDMAN Concord (1913–1996)
SAMMY NESTICO Uniquely Trombone (1924–2021)
AARON COPLAND The Promise of Living (1900–1990) from The Tender Land arr. Kenneth Singleton
JOHN WILLIAMS Flying Theme (b. 1932) from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial arr. Paul Lavender
H. OWEN REED Carnival from (1910–2014) La Fiesta Mexicana
INTERMISSION 20 minutes
LEONARD BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide (1918–1990) arr. Clare Grundman
RYAN GEORGE Firefly (b. 1978)
GEORGE W. WARREN God of Our Fathers (1828–1902) arr. Thomas Knox
VARIOUS Salute to the Armed Forces arr. Jari Villanueva
JAMES STEPHENSON Stars and Stripes Fanfare (b. 1969)
SAMUEL A. WARD America the Beautiful (1848–1903) arr. Carmen Dragon
Total approximate running time: 1 hour 30 minutes
A fireworks display will immediately follow the performance, weather permitting.
Tonight’s concert is sponsored by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
PLEASE RECYCLE
Kristen Diana Designs
SUMMERS
MOZART & STRAUS S
JULY 10 | 7 PM
BEETHOVEN & RAVEL
JULY 17 | 7 PM
LISZT & BARTÓK
JULY 31 | 7 PM
CHOPIN & RACHMANINOFF
AUGUST 21 | 7 PM
MICHELLE RAKERS
conductor
American-born conductor Michelle Rakers was the senior assistant director for “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra from 2004–18. In that capacity, she led the band and orchestra in countless high-profile programs at the White House, in Washington, DC, and across the country.
Her career with the Marine Band began in 1998 after she won a national audition for a trumpet position. She then auditioned and was appointed to the assistant director’s position, becoming the first female conductor and first female commissioned officer in the history of “The President’s Own.” Throughout her tenure, Rakers was an ardent supporter of educational outreach, which included the creation of the national concerto competition for high school musicians.
Rakers is in high demand as a conductor and clinician across the world. She has regularly conducted the Slesvigske Musikkorps in Denmark since 2014, and has conducted other groups such as the Odense Symfoniorkester, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Brass, Prinsens Musikkorps, and the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, among others. She was a resident at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy in 2015 and 2016 and has guest conducted at many universities across the United States.
Rakers earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, her Master of Music degree in trumpet performance from Northwestern University, and her Bachelor of Science degree in music management from the University of Evansville. Additionally, Rakers received an Emmy Award for her part in producing the program United States Marine Band: New England Spirit. She also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Evansville and is an honorary inductee into Tau Beta Sigma, receiving their Outstanding Service to Music Award in 2010.
BLOSSOM FESTIVAL BAND
Considered one of the finest ensembles of its kind in the nation, the Blossom Festival Band performs each summer in Northeast Ohio, continuing a long and well-loved tradition of outdoor band concerts in the United States. The ensemble has its roots in historic American band music and some of its legendary leaders.
Band music has been a part of each summer’s musical offerings at Blossom since 1969. That year, Fourth of July band concerts were presented as part of the second annual Blossom Music Festival. From 1969 to 1973, these band concerts were conducted by Meredith Willson (composer of Broadway’s The Music Man), who at age 17 had toured with the Sousa Band as a flutist.
Based on the success of these concerts, a genuine symphonic band and concert program was organized under the direction of Leonard B. Smith, another of this country’s most respected band directors (he was music director of the nationally known Detroit Concert Band for many years and a widely acclaimed cornet soloist). Smith made his Blossom debut conducting “The Golden Symphonic Band of Blossom Music Center” in “A Salute to Labor Day” on September 4, 1972. The success of that concert provided the impetus to schedule a series of concerts during the 1973 summer season, with a newly selected band of 65 instrumentalists from the Cleveland area.
David Zauder (1928–2013), a former student of Smith and longtime member of The Cleveland Orchestra’s trumpet and cornet section, served as a guiding spirit for the Band and regularly performed as a soloist with the ensemble. Smith served as director from 1972 until his retirement in 1997. The Blossom Festival Band was then conducted by Loras John Schissel, founding music director of the Virginia Grand Military Band and senior musicologist at the Library of Congress. Schissel led the ensemble for 25 years, from 1998 until 2023.
In 2004, the Blossom Festival Band recorded its first album, under the direction of Schissel. It was released as a CD by the Musical Arts Association (parent organization of The Cleveland Orchestra and the Blossom Music Festival).
FLUTES
George Pope*
Kyra Kester
Kimberly Zaleski
Sally Sherwin
OBOES/ENGLISH HORN
Thomas Friedle*
Gretchen Myers
B-FLAT CLARINETS
Georg Klaas*
Thomas Reed
Alix Reinhardt
Joseph Minocchi
Katie Smith
Denise Soulsby
Justin O’Toole
Meghan Colbert
Natalie VanCuren
Patrick Hickey
E-FLAT CLARINET
Justin Wisner
E-FLAT ALTO CLARINET
Elizabeth Carney
BASS CLARINET
Lisa Antoniou
BASSOONS
Mark DeMio*
Todd Jelen
SAXOPHONES
Howie Smith*
Todd Gaffke
Kent Engelhardt
George Shernit
HORNS
Kristin Andlauer*
Kent Larmee
Thomas Park
Ethan Hahn
Lisa Fink
CORNETS
Gil Hoffer*
Michael Mergen
Michael Miller
Sarah Viens
Jack Brndiar
TRUMPETS
Mark Maliniak*
Heather Zweifel
TROMBONES
John Sebastian Vera*
Christopher Graham
Whitney Clair
Evan Clifton
EUPHONIUMS
Gail Robertson*
Rebecca Ciabattari
TUBAS
Kenneth Heinlein*
Andrew Tatman
William Ciabattari
John Caughman
TIMPANI
Dylan Moffitt*
PERCUSSION
Bruce Golden*
Julie Angelis-Boehler
Hunter Wirt
Matthew Larson
Thomas Morris
Sunday, July 27 Blossom Music Center
Summer Soirée
clevelandorchestra.com/soiree
HARP
Ina McCormack*
BASS
Thomas White*
KEYBOARD
Jacob Bernhardt*
LIBRARIAN
Elizabeth Carney*
* Principal
KENT BLOSSOM Music Festival
YOUR VISIT
LATE SEATING
Guests with Pavilion seats who arrive after the start of the concert may be asked to wait outside the Pavilion until the first convenient pause in the music, after which our ushers will help you to your seats.
LAWN SEATING
Guests on the Lawn may bring their own chairs, but guests with high-backed chairs that obstruct others’ views may be asked to relocate to the rear of the Lawn. Rental chairs are available for a fee of $10 per evening. Tents, flags, balloons, or other structures that might obstruct views or present a hazard are prohibited. Open flames are also prohibited.
PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEOGRAPHY & RECORDING
Audio recording, photography, and videography are prohibited during performances at Blossom. Photographs and videos can only be taken when the performance is not in progress. As a courtesy to others, please silence all electronic devices prior to the start of the concert.
SMOKING
All Blossom Music Festival events are presented in a smoke-free environment. Smoking or vaping are not allowed anywhere on the grounds or in buildings once you have entered through the ticket gates. A smoking area is available outside the gates in a designated area of Parking Lot A.
WEATHER INFORMATION
In the event of severe weather, a coordinated campus-wide alert will be issued. Guests and staff will be directed to safety by our staff and loudspeaker system. Text BLOSSOM to 844-955-4377 or visit clevelandorchestra.com/ weather for weather updates and more information.
FREE TRAM & ADA VAN SERVICE
Free tram service between the parking lots and Smith Plaza and the Pavilion is available on a continuous basis before and after each concert. The ADA Van Service can pick up at the Main Gate with service to the Tram Circle.
QUESTIONS?
Visit our Information Center, hosted by the Blossom Friends of The Cleveland Orchestra, inside the Main Gate on Smith Plaza.
FREE MOBILE APP TICKET WALLET
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The Cleveland Orchestra is grateful to these organizations for their ongoing generous support of The Cleveland Orchestra: National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Ohio and Ohio Arts Council, and to the residents of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.
