A Booming Success
By Caitlin Davis
Aug 6, 2012, 14:35
Young and old gathered on the lawn at Appomattox Manor in Hopewell on Friday night to hear sounds of music on the bluff overlooking Hopewell’s two rivers as Fort Lee’s 392nd Army Band joined forces with the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra to put on a show for residents of the community.
photo by Caitlin Davis
The audience was also treated to a round of canon fire, something City Point hasn’t had much of since the Civil War.
Soldiers sent off artillery blanks along to the playing of Peter Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” just as the famed Russian composer wrote it. Some members of the crowd screamed, while other grabbed their phones and cameras to capture the moment.
Ann Blumenschine, Park Ranger with the Petersburg National Battlefield, stood on the hill with hundreds of members of the community to enjoy the music on Friday evening. She said the event was a collaboration, not only between the two groups of musicians, but between the park and the city of Hopewell.
“I got a phone call from the 392nd Army Band and they told me they had a date picked out they could play and they told me they were going to bring the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra,” Blumenschine said.
Once Blumenschine hung up the phone, she knew she needed to reach out to another source to help find funds for the event.
“I called the city of Hopewell and talked to Jo Turek, who agreed to assist me,” Blumenschine said.
Jo Turek, Director of Recreation and Parks, was more than happy to lend a helping hand.
Turek saw a great partnership in the works with the Petersburg National Battlefield.
“We helped pay for a portion of the orchestra to come on site,” Turek said. “This is a golden opportunity for the National Park Service and city to work well on.”
Turek said she and Blumenschine did a large amount of advertising for the event, sending out emails and posting flyers for the concert.
Both ladies, looking out at the crowd on Friday, were pleased to see their six months of work had paid off.
“Ann did a wonderful job putting it all together,” Turek said. “The community really appreciates events like this.”
Both bands mixed different styles of music on the lawn Friday night.
photo by Caitlin Davis
Spirited and patriotic selections, such as the “Star Spangled Bannerr” composed by Francis Scott Key and “Washington Post March” composed by John Phillips Sousa, mixed with show tunes ranging from “West Side Story,” composed by Leonard Bernstein, to “The Phantom of the Opera” composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
“I love it, especially the Phantom of the Opera music,” Blumenschine said. She said she was also pleased that her son, a trombone player who will be attending Prince George High School in the Fall, had a chance to listen to professionals play.
Turek was also all smiles as she listened to the bands and watched those in the crowd sprawled out on lawn chairs and blankets.
“I am thankful the weather worked out for us,” Turek said. “This is a great evening.”
The members of the band were also pleased by the turnout and how they sounded that night.
Aaron Gellos, a member of the 392nd Army Band who has been playing French Horn for almost 15 years, said the concert went very well. The best part, he said, was joining forces with the Petersburg Orchestra.
“It is always good to get together and play music with other people,” Gellos said.
Nelson Lawson, Assistant Conductor and French Horn player for the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, agreed that the best music is often played by many people working together.
photo by Caitlin Davis
“It was wonderful,” Lawson said. “It is always inspiring and invigorating just to make music. That’s what it’s all about.”
Del. Riley Ingram, (R-62), said listening to the concert brought back memories.
“I played in the Army Reserve Band for six years,” Ingram said.
Ingram played the Bass Horn in the band and was delighted by the show.
“They did just wonderful,” Ingram said. “It was really good.”
