Music, Fireworks Offer Evening Of Serenity, Excitement

Critic-at-large

For 18 years, the last Sunday in July has been set aside in Riverfront Park for fireworks coordinated to music. Friends and families in the tens of thousands know this. After a hot weekend, they come to the river.

It took a couple of hours of hauling in coolers, finding spots, laying out blankets and getting to know the new neighbors, but upon looking across the river at 9 o’clock, there was no grass or stone to be seen.

At that time, when the sun was down and things were beginning to cool off, people were finally ready for the Royal Fireworks Concert to start. The aerial salute, the horn call and the stately march of the musicians onto the floating stage caused a momentary flurry of excitement through the audience.

Nevertheless, listening to outdoor wind band music from 250 years ago in the cool of the evening had a peaceful and lulling effect. I have the honor of being allowed to perform with the Royal Band, and from the stage I could almost hear the collective blood pressure of the crowd dropping and minds clearing to the music of Lully and Byrd.

David Dutton, conductor of the band, arranged the Turkish March from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the ensemble. The familiar “Ode to Joy” perked people up a bit. Truly uplifting, however, were the fanfares.

Leo Arnaud’s “Bugler’s Dream,” which has been used for years as the broadcast theme for the Olympic Games, has to be one of the most immediately recognizable tunes in the country. Cheers went up and people were on their feet when the first notes were sounded. Excitement built with William Watson’s “Fanfare for a New Horizon” and Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.”

The grand finale, of course, was Handel’s “Musick for the Royal Fireworks,” coordinated with pyrotechnics. Dutton’s partner, Beverly Biggs, had the job of choreographing the shots with the music, and PyroSpectaculars actually launched the stuff.

During the concert, the Bravo Award, an annual presentation at the Royal Fireworks Concert since 1990, was given to Mary Gaiser for a lifetime of contributing to the performing arts in Spokane. She was unable to attend, so her granddaughter, Betsy Coombs, accepted the award on her behalf.