Olympia Symphony’s Concert at the Capitol returns as ‘musical party’
The Olympia Symphony Orchestra is playing together again, just in time for its traditional Concert at the Capitol, set for Sunday, July 25.
The free concert on the Capitol lawn — with a program including patriotic tunes and classical pieces made famous by Bugs Bunny and his cartoon compatriots — will be “a musical party,” the symphony website promises.
“I am just giddy,” said Jennifer Hermann, the orchestra’s executive director. “I can’t believe it’s going to happen. I can’t imagine how it’s going to feel to hear 48 people playing together.”
At last Saturday’s LoveOly Summer Fest, the community was invited to try conducting 16 of the orchestra’s musicians, along with 11 from Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia.
“That’s the most people I’ve heard playing together in a year and a half,” Hermann told The Olympian. “Some of my musicians said they teared up during the first notes.”
The Concert at the Capitol has been an almost annual tradition since 2007. It has drawn 1,000 to 3,000 spectators, who are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, umbrellas and picnics.
“We always call this concert our gift to the community, because it’s free,” Hermann said. “But this time, I would say it is equally a gift to our musicians. They need the opportunity to play together.”
The musicians will get another opportunity to play on Aug. 8, when the orchestra will present the same program at the Tenino Quarry Pool, which has been drained for repairs. Tenino Mayor Wayne Fournier, who asked the symphony to play at the pool, will conduct one of the tunes.
The main conductor for both concerts will be Joe Dyvig, who teaches orchestra at Olympia High School. Dyvig is also the school district’s music coordinator and plays double bass in Symphony Tacoma.
“We’re really excited to have him,” Hermann said. “I felt it was important to have someone who knows the musicians conduct this concert.”
“This is exciting,” Dyvig said. “This will be the first time I’ve gotten to conduct an adult group that is not adult students.”
The orchestra is in the process of hiring a music director, a task that was delayed by the pandemic. Each candidate for the position will conduct a concert during the 2021-22 season as part of the selection process.
The Concert at the Capitol has traditionally included popular music as well as patriotic classics with a goal of appealing to an audience that might be less familiar with classical music.
Dyvig came up with the idea to bridge classical and pop culture by including tunes used in cartoons.
“So many people have learned about classical music through the classic cartoons like Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies,” he told The Olympian.
“The Barber of Seville,” used in the Bugs Bunny cartoon “The Rabbit of Seville,” is a classic example, as is Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Dance No. 2,” used in cartoons starring Bugs, Mickey Mouse, Tom and Jerry and Woody the Woodpecker — and in the 1988 film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
The orchestra also will play selections from “West Side Story,” a choice inspired by the upcoming Steven Spielberg remake of the classic romance, and the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The full symphony was on the program for the orchestra’s April 2020 concert, which was canceled due to COVID-19.
What few might know is that the symphony also has a connection to both patriotism and cartoons.
“During World War II, there were cartoons produced in support of the war efforts, and every time they talked about V for victory, they would use the main motif from Beethoven’s Fifth,” Dyvig said. “The Morse code for V is short-short-short-long.
“I thought that might be a nice connection,” he added. “Even though we’re not yet able to declare victory over COVID, it’s an opportunity for the Olympia Symphony Orchestra to say, ‘Hey, we’re still here providing live music.’ ”
Concert at the Capitol
- What: The Olympia Symphony Orchestra gets patriotic and playful at its first concert since February 2020.
- When: 6 p.m. Sunday, July 25
- Where: Capitol Campus, 416 Sid Snyder Ave. SW, Olympia
- Tickets: Free, with donations welcome
- More information: https://www.olympiasymphony.org/capitol
The program:
- “The Star Spangled Banner,” arranged by John Stafford Smith
- Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, first movement
- Selections from “West Side Story,” by Leonard Bernstein
- “Armed Forces Salute,” by Bob Lowden
- “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” by John Philip Sousa
- Gioachino Rossini’s Overture to “The Barber of Seville”
- Bedřich Smetana’s “Dance of the Comedians”
- Franz von Suppé’s “Light Cavalry” Overture
- Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2”
Concert at the Quarry
- What: The orchestra will play its summer program again in the Tenino Quarry Pool (which has been drained for repairs).
- When: 1 p.m. Aug. 8
- Where: Tenino Quarry Pool, 149 Hodgden St. S., Tenino
- Tickets: Free, with donations welcome
- More information: https://www.olympiasymphony.org/quarry
This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 5:00 AM.