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SUMMER POPS
2013
Pine Point School Preschool through Grade 9 PHOTO: CHRISTIAN STEINER
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
BY ANNA MARIA TRUSKY Special to The Sun n Saturday, June 22 at 8:00 PM, the Chorus of Westerly will proudly present its 33rd annual Summer Pops in Westerly’s magnificent Wilcox Park. The Chorus’ 180 singers and 60 orchestral musicians have created a fun-filled program of traditional and recent popular music suitable for the entire family, including patriotic favorites, songs from stage and screen, and a stirring performance of maritime music by a special guest soloist. The event will close with Tchaikovsky’s famous 1812 Overture — complete with fireworks by Grucci, cannons of the Newport Artillery, and the bells of Christ Church.
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Chorus of Westerly Executive Director Ryan Saunders is thrilled to be introducing the world to the Chorus’ new director, Andrew Howell, who will be at the Pops podium for the first time. “He is a talented and brilliant musician with a wonderfully engaging personality,” Saunders says. “He’s been conducting all season, so 6,000 or so people have already seen his work, but now he is getting up in front of 25,000 more people — really the entire town. The fact that he is a native son will make the evening even more special.” Another standout of Summer Pops 2013 will be distinguished guest performer and recording artist baritone William Sharp, who has sung with the Chorus in its classical concerts for many years and has presented hundreds of solo recitals in the United States and abroad. “He is one of our favorites,” Saunders says. “It will be
Baritone William Sharp
a real treat to have him at Summer Pops. He will be the lead in a larger work called Songs of the Fleet by C.V. Stanford. It is a collection of songs for soloist, chorus, and orchestra written in tribute of life in the British Navy.” There are scores of people and organizations Ryan would like to thank for their help with the event. “The list is exceptionally long,” he says. “There will be a donor page in our program with lot of names of people who make this all possible. We have hundreds of volunteers and donors without whom we could not do this. We also couldn’t do it without the support of the towns of Westerly and Stonington as well as the local police, fire, and ambulance departments.” Ryan is particularly grateful for See ENTERTAINMENT on page 14
Here’s to a Great Season!
Limited openings remain in selected grades for the 2013-14 school year.
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