Grab your picnic basket and drinks and join the LCSO for a FREE outdoor summer concert under the stars in Friendship Botanic Gardens at the Celebration Pavilion! Dr. Carolyn Watson leads the orchestra in a varied program of familiar favorites, as well as a preview of the upcoming LCSO concert season. Also featuring the 2024 Hoosier Star Youth Winner Sophia Grubbs and Adult Winner Alyssa Atkinson singing their winning songs. Don’t miss this unforgettable night of beautiful music in an equally beautiful setting!
Sunday, July 20, 2025. Gates open at 6:00 pm, concert at 7:00 pm.
Highlights from the Past
Celebration Fanfare – Rick DeJonge
Rick DeJonge holds a special place in our La Porte musical family. He began his musical career as a music teacher at Lincoln Elementary and Indian Trail in the city of La Porte. Rick DeJonge has also served as guest conductor for three Drayton Family Children’s Education Concerts for the symphony. Celebration Fanfare was commissioned by Garry and JoFran Bendix for the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra’s 50th anniversary.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Overture (Excerpt) – Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn was a German Romantic composer, pianist, and conductor who became one of the most celebrated musicians of his era. Born into a wealthy, cultured Berlin family, he displayed extraordinary musical talent from childhood, composing his first symphony at age 15. Mendelssohn was instrumental in reviving interest in Bach’s music and founded the Leipzig Conservatory, helping to establish Germany as a center of musical education.
Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream stands as one of his most brilliant achievements. This orchestral work captures the magical, ethereal world of Shakespeare’s play with remarkable sophistication. The piece opens with four mysterious chords that immediately transport listeners into an enchanted forest, followed by dancing woodwind melodies that evoke playful fairies. Mendelssohn’s use of orchestral color and thematic development demonstrates his mature understanding of both Shakespeare’s drama and the expressive possibilities of the Romantic orchestra.
Country Gardens – Percy Grainger
Percy Grainger was an Australian-born composer and pianist who became one of the most eccentric and innovative musicians of the early 20th century. Born in Melbourne, he moved to Europe as a young man to study piano and composition, eventually settling in the United States where he spent much of his career.
Country Gardens stands as perhaps Grainger’s most beloved and frequently performed work. Originally a traditional English folk dance, Grainger arranged it for piano and later orchestrated it, transforming the simple tune into a showcase of his distinctive harmonic language and rhythmic vitality. The piece captures the essence of English pastoral life with its lilting melody and spirited character, featuring Grainger’s characteristic use of irregular phrase lengths and unexpected harmonic turns.
Pavane – Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré was a French composer and teacher who played a pivotal role in bridging the Romantic and modern eras of classical music. Born in the south of France, he studied at the École Niedermeyer in Paris and later became a prominent organist and choirmaster. Fauré eventually served as director of the Paris Conservatoire from 1905 to 1920, where he taught influential composers including Maurice Ravel and Nadia Boulanger.
Pavane in F-sharp minor, Op. 50 stands as one of Fauré’s most beloved orchestral works. Originally written for orchestra and optional chorus, this elegant piece captures the stately, processional character of the Renaissance pavane dance form while infusing it with Fauré’s distinctive harmonic language. The work features a hauntingly beautiful main theme that weaves through various orchestral colors, creating an atmosphere of gentle melancholy and refined grace.
The Typewriter – Leroy Anderson
Leroy Anderson was an American composer who became famous for his light orchestral music and novelty pieces that brought classical music to popular audiences. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Anderson studied at Harvard University where he earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music. He later worked as an arranger for the Boston Pops Orchestra under conductor Arthur Fiedler, who became a champion of his compositions.
The Typewriter stands as one of Anderson’s most beloved and innovative works. This playful orchestral piece literally incorporates the sounds of a typewriter as a percussion instrument, with the typist serving as a soloist alongside the orchestra. The composition captures the rhythmic clicking of typewriter keys, the ding of the carriage return bell, and the zip of the carriage sliding back to start a new line. The piece builds to a frantic climax that mirrors the intensity of rapid typing, complete with the final flourish of pulling the paper from the machine.
Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah – Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer, organist, and pianist who became one of the most prominent musical figures of the late Romantic period. Born in Paris, he was a child prodigy who gave his first public piano recital at age ten. Saint-Saëns was incredibly versatile, composing in virtually every musical genre including symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and operas.
The Bacchanale is the thrilling orchestral showpiece from Act III of Saint-Saëns’ opera Samson and Delilah. This wild, intoxicating dance depicts a frenzied celebration by the Philistines as they revel in their victory over the captured Samson. The piece is built around swirling, exotic melodies and driving rhythms that evoke an ancient, hedonistic ritual.
The Entertainer – Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an African American composer and pianist who became known as the “King of Ragtime.” Born in Texas to a formerly enslaved family, Joplin developed his musical talents early and eventually made his way to Sedalia, Missouri, where he studied music formally and began composing.
Joplin wrote numerous ragtime pieces, but his most famous composition is The Entertainer. It initially gained moderate success, but it experienced a remarkable revival in the 1970s when it was featured prominently in the Academy Award-winning film “The Sting” starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The movie’s use of Joplin’s music introduced ragtime to a new generation and made “The Entertainer” one of the most recognizable pieces of American popular music.
Stars Shining Bright
Sophia Grubbs is a Senior at Elkhart High School. She began her theater career in Hairspray at age 6 and has performed in 27 productions including her roles as Gretchen Weiners in Mean Girls (Elkhart High School), Anna in Frozen ( Amish Acres Youth Production), Olaf in Frozen (Elkhart Civic Theater), and Belle in Beauty and the Beast (Amish Acres Youth Production). She is active in choir at Elkhart High School (earning a gold with distinction solo at ISSMA state contest 4 years in a row). She is a member of 4-H where she won best soloist in the performing arts competition regionals in 2022 and 2023 and performed at the Indiana State Fair. Sophia is currently interning at the Goshen Theater as a part of her high school career. Sophia plans to sing and perform in theater productions at Indiana State University as she pursues her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Sophia won the Hoosier Star Youth Division in 2024 performing My Strongest Suit by Elton John.
Alyssa Atkinson has recently reignited her life-long passion for performance after a multi-year hiatus and rejoined the local community theatre scene. In July, she portrayed Brooke Wyndham in Legally Blonde at Phoenix Performing Arts. A few of her favorite credits include Susan in [title of show], Cathy Hiatt in The Last Five Years, and Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Show. A Saint Mary’s College graduate, Alyssa currently works in University Operations, Events, and Safety at The University of Notre Dame. When off the stage and outside of campus, she enjoys traveling and annoying her fiancé, Geoffrey, and their pup, Snickers, with relentless affection. Alyssa is deeply honored to make her Hoosier Star debut and for being granted the opportunity to perform with the La Porte County Symphony Orchestra. She extends her love and gratitude to her friends and family for their steadfast belief in her and inspiring her to believe in herself! Alyssa won the Hoosier Star Adult Division in 2024 performing A New Life from the musical Jekyll & Hyde.
Looking Ahead to the 53rd Season
Lightspeed – Kevin Day
Kevin Day is an American composer, conductor, and pianist who has rapidly emerged as one of the leading young voices in contemporary music composition. Born on February 23, 1996, in Charleston, West Virginia, Day is a native of Arlington, Texas. His father was a prominent hip-hop producer in the late-1980s in Southern California, and his mother was a sought-after gospel singer from West Virginia, singing alongside the likes of Mel Torme and Kirk Franklin.
Lightspeed is a fanfare for orchestra commissioned for the Washington and Lee University Orchestra. The La Porte County Symphony Orchestra performed Lightspeed in 2021 with Kevin Day as the composer in residence.
Day said the title is based on his love for “Star Trek” and “Doctor Who”, reflecting his interest in science fiction. The composition is described as energetic and charged with energy, symbolizing what America is about – knowing how to move forward and come together despite differences.
The La Porte County Symphony Orchestra will premiere Day’s new work Upwelling for solo saxophone and orchestra at our opening concert on November 8, 2025.
Slavonic Dance No. 8 – Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvořák was a Czech composer who became one of the most celebrated figures in classical music, known for infusing his works with the folk melodies and rhythms of his native Bohemia. Born in a small village near Prague, Dvořák initially worked as a butcher’s apprentice before pursuing music full-time. He gained international recognition in the 1870s and 1880s, particularly after Johannes Brahms championed his work.
Slavonic Dance No. 8 in G minor, Op. 46 is the final piece in Dvořák’s first set of Slavonic Dances. Originally written for piano four hands and later orchestrated, this dance is based on the furiant, a fiery Czech folk dance characterized by its rapid tempo and shifting between duple and triple meters. The dance became hugely popular and helped establish Dvořák’s reputation as a master of nationalist music, demonstrating how classical forms could be revitalized through the incorporation of indigenous musical traditions.
The La Porte County Symphony Orchestra will perform Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World” on March 8, 2026.
Tea for Two – Vincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans was an American composer who became one of the most successful songwriters of the 1920s, despite his brief career being cut short by tuberculosis. Born in New York City, Youmans initially worked as a song plugger and rehearsal pianist before establishing himself as a composer for Broadway musicals.
Tea for Two stands as Youmans’ most famous composition, with its memorable melody and playful lyrics by Irving Caesar. The song tells of a couple’s dreams of domestic bliss, with the simple pleasure of sharing tea together symbolizing their romantic contentment. The song’s sophisticated harmonic structure and catchy rhythm made it a favorite among jazz musicians, leading to numerous interpretations and arrangements.
The La Porte County Symphony Orchestra will perform Shostakovich’s orchestration of Tea for Two on February 7, 2026.