GREENSBORO – It was a perfect evening for an outdoor concert, after three days of high eighties temperatures last week, at the Highland Center for the Arts on July 4 for the 2026 Summer Pops Concert of the Vermont Philharmonic. Appropriately programmed for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 by the dynamic and very personable music director, Lou Kosma, the selections covered the broad spectrum of American themes from various sources, reflecting our rich heritage of diverse cultures from many countries.
photo by Paul Fixx
The concert began with a work by Vermont composer Gwyneth Walker, “Yankee Doodle, from America 250!,” which contains two other parts. Her variations on the familiar tune were skillfully orchestrated, beginning with drums and then adding flutes and the rest of the instruments in a lively march, with a piccolo solo section towards the end. The lyrics were originally intended by the British to mock the rebelling colonialists, but the piece became so popular that it was adopted by them.
Next was a suite from the musical, “Hamilton,” by Lin-Manuel Miranda, arranged by Jerry Brubaker, which had a medley of jazzy numbers at different tempos. Quite impressive was the scoring of “Homecoming” by Grayson Eley, a student in the Vermont Music COMP Program, by which aspiring young composers can study with a mentor and develop their musical talents. He wrote this piece when he was a freshman in high school and it demonstrated unusual maturity in its well developed melody and instrumental massing, all resolved in a peaceful ending.
photo by Paul Fixx
Closer to the time of the writing of the Constitution than the Declaration of Independence was the famous “Catalogue Aria” from the opera Don Giovanni (1787) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Here the title character’s innumerable amorous conquests of women (“1,003 in Spain”) are related to his jilted lover. Erik Kroncke sang this delightful aria with his beautiful bass voice, rich in color and with commanding projection.
“Give My Regards to Broadway,” by George M. Cohan, with an arrangement by William Ryden, was a catchy tune that has long been a favorite.
“Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess” by George Gershwin, adapted for string orchestra by Bob Cerulli is one of Gershwin’s most engaging melodies, which we can never tire of hearing. The languid rhythm embodies the mood of the season.
photo by Paul Fixx
Bob Krogstad’s arrangement of music from “Frozen,” the Disney movie, by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, was characterized by a typical, background film score without particularly developed themes, at times featuring the oboe, clarinet and violin in varied rhythms.
Selections from “Oklahoma” by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, orchestrated by Robert Russel Bennett, gave us one gorgeous melody after another, from “Okalahoma” to “Some Will Say We’re in Love,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “Poor Jud Is Dead,” “The Surrey with the Fringe On Top,” “Everything’s Up To Date In Kansas City” and others, from the Golden Age of Broadway musicals.
“Adoration” was a very peaceful and spiritual piece originally for organ, written by Florence Price in 1951 for church organ, then lost and rediscovered in 2009. This adaptation of the public doman work by Elaine Fine has only recently has come to be more fully appreciated.
“America The Beautiful” had a great melody with poetic lyrics, and really should replace the “Star Spangled Banner” as our national anthem as a much worthier work of music.
photo by Paul Fixx
Eric Kroncke returned for two more numbers, starting with “If I Was a Rich Man” from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” by Jerry Bock, arranged by Marek Czekala, singing the very humorous lyrics with wonderful animation. “Some Enchanted Evening,” from “South Pacific” by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, was one of the highlights of the evening, with Kroncke’s powerful voice and sensitive phrasing bringing out all the emotions and beauty of this timeless melody.
The last work on the program was the “Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa and orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski. Here the orchestra had the honor of being directed by a young girl from the audience, as Lou Kosma handed the baton over to her.
This was a particularly enthusiastic piece of music with positive patriotic energy to end the Fourth of July celebration of the founding of our democracy, which will survive the present perverse aberration.
This event attracted a huge audience to sit in chairs and on the grass in and around the large tent where the orchestra played.
It was a free concert, accepting donations, thanks to the generosity of the Greensboro Funky Fourth of July Committee, Cilla Bonney-Smith, Nat Smith, Jim Federeicke, Jo Ann Hanowski and the Highland Center for the Arts.
Several local musicians played in this all-volunteer orchestra: Irene Nagle on violin from East Hardwick; Deborah Black, principle violoncello, from Plainfield; Joseph Surkiewicz on bass and Abigail Stockman on harp, both from Craftsbury Common.
The next Vermont Philharmonic concert at the Highland Center for the Arts will be October 17 at 4 p.m., in a program including Sibelius’ “Symphony No. 1” and Czerny’s “Piano Concerto for Four Hands, Op 153.” For more information, go online at vermontphilharmonic.com
David K. Rodgers
David K. Rodgers is a writer, mason and card carrying dilettante, who dabbles and babbles in art. He has lived in East Craftsbury for the past 40 years.
