The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's annual July 4th concert and fireworks display at Oregon Ridge Park is the organization's best-known summer concert. But the "Star-Spangled Spectacular" is only the first of several performances put on by the BSO.
Most of this year's concerts are at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St.
2010 Summer Concert Series Details
Star-Spangled Spectacular
- Oregon Ridge State Park
- July 3, 2010, 8 p.m.
- July 4, 2010, 8 p.m.
- Adults $18 in advance, $20 day of, kids under 12 $9/10
- An all-American holiday celebration featuring Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever and more, choreographed to an amazing fireworks display. This year's special guest is former Oriole great Rick Dempsey. Parking permits are $10 in advance, $15 at the gate.
Planet Earth Live
- Meyerhoff
- July 9, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
- Tickets range from $20-$62.
- The celebrated BBC series, featuring spectacular high-definition footage of nature's most mysterious and beautiful creatures, comes to life on the big screen with live orchestral accompaniment conducted by its award-winning composer George Fenton.
Rising Stars Perform Tchaikovsky
- Meyerhoff
- July 10, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
- Tickets range from $19-$50
- Two gifted young soloists, both only 15 years old, demonstrate their phenomenal talents as they each make their BSO debuts with a dramatic Tchaikovsky concerto - the Violin Concerto and the Piano Concerto No. 1. The program opens with the perfect summer fantasia, Capriccio Italien, all conducted by the BSO's Christian Colberg..
Michael Jackson Tribute
- Meyerhoff
- July 15, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
- Tickets range from $23-$50
- From his early years with the Jackson 5 to his mega-hit album Thriller and beyond, Michael Jackson made musical history with hit after hit, from "ABC," "I'll Be There" and "Got To Be There" through "Beat It," "Rock With You," "The Way You Make Me Feel" and many, many more. Join the BSO, conductor Brent Havens and Jackson-esque vocalists for an evening filled with music spanning 40 years of Michael Jackson's influential and celebrated career.
Music of The Eagles
- Pier 6 Concert Pavilion
- July 16, 2010, 8 p.m.
- Tickets range from $20-$45
- The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a full rock band and singers Terry Brock, Randy Jackson and John Hines will fill the Inner Harbor with the trademark vocal harmonies and rich melodies that are the hallmarks of the Eagles sound. The two-hour concert features 18 of the Eagles greatest hits including "Heartache Tonight," "Desperado," "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California."
Artscape: Free BSO Concert
- Meyerhoff
- July 17, 2010, 2 p.m.
- The BSO continues the tradition of free concerts for Artscape patrons with a program that includes special guest, rising Metropolitan Opera star Rachele Gilmore, performing a selection of operatic favorites.
Porgy and Bess
- Meyerhoff
- July 22, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
- Tickets range from $19-$55
- Music Director Marin Alsop makes her first Baltimore summer season appearance conducting the BSO in a concert suite of Gershwin's great American opera featuring sopranos Indira Mahajan and Alison Buchanan and bass-baritone Derrick Parker. Experience Gershwin's iconic style at his very best with favorites such as "Summertime," "A Woman is a Sometime Thing" and "It Ain't Necessarily So," joined by the D.C.-based Heritage Signature Chorale. The program opens with another Gershwin favorite, "An American in Paris."
The Music of Frank Zappa and Philip Glass
- Meyerhoff
- July 23, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
- Tickets range from $21-$48
- The BSO celebrates two of Baltimore's most celebrated native sons, composers Frank Zappa and Philip Glass. From his early work with the Mothers of Invention to his classical, rock, jazz and electronic compositions, Zappa is revered for the complexity and versatility of his music. Hear his own great orchestral versions of classics such as "Be-Bop Tango" and "Dupree's Paradise." Marin Alsop and the BSO also perform Philip Glass' Heroes Symphony based on the David Bowie classic '70s album, and introduce Baltimore beatboxer, Shodekeh, in a unique collaboration of vocal drumming pyrotechnics with orchestra.
Broadway Melodies
- Oregon Ridge Park
- July 24, 2010, 8 p.m.
- Tickets range from $9 to $18
- The BSO concludes its summer season with Broadway Melodies led by guest conductor Randall Craig Fleischer, featuring vocalists Doug LaBrecque and Patricia Phillips. The evening includes music from George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers and Andrew Lloyd Webber and favorites like "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady," Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera and "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables. A grand fireworks display ends the evening - and the summer series.
Pets are not permitted at any of the shows. Parking is available on site for all shows, and concessions will be available at all concerts.
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