Boston Landmarks Orchestra @ Fenway

Wednesday July 7th I attended the Boston Landmarks Orchestra season opening concert at Fenway Park.

This was the first time an Orchestra performed at a major United States ballpark. I was really excited to be in attendance along with Adam, his twin sister Kirsten and her fiancée Phil.
The concert took place in the Bleachers section of the park. It was a rather hot evening, so the four of us sat high high up in seats away from the masses where a cool breeze was blowing.

The Boston Landmarks Orchestra was founded in 2001 by conductor Charles Ansbacher. His mission to perform only free concerts in an effort to allow a diverse audience to experience and appreciate vibrant classical music has been a huge success. Boston Landmarks is only one of a few professional orchestras in the U.S. who abide by this mission.

I'll admit, I don't necessarily know the songs by reading their title in the program below, but once the Orchestra starts to play a familiarity seeps in. They don't call them classics for nothing!

I'm pretty sure you would all know Beethoven's Ode To Joy. And the majority of you probably know the William Tell Overture, too. But I guarantee if you can't hum Copeland's "Hoedown" from Rodeo in your head right now, you'd know it once you heard it. (Hint: "Beef: It's What's for Dinner" TV commercial theme song circa 10+ years ago.)
These are genuinely fun, vivacious, energetic pieces of music. It's not what the kids are listening to, but if you're not down with the classics, you're missing out. Combined with a setting like Fenway Park on a warm summer evening, I was completely moved and in awe of the music and my surroundings. Which is no doubt what Ansbacher hopes for his concert-goers to experience. Selections from West Side Story proved for an upbeat finale. In an encore performance The Star Spangled Banner and A Fifth of Beethoven kept the crowd in lively spirits 'till the very end.
I grabbed a Fenway Frank for dinner at intermission.
Mayor Menino spoke in the beginning of the show and Governor Deval Patrick narrated the touching Jackie Robinson Story towards the end. Needless to say there was an exuberant amount of Boston pride resonating through Fenway in those moments. We live in a great city and we're proud to call it home. 
Every Wednesday beginning July 14th and lasting through September 1st Boston Landmarks Orchestra performs free concerts at the Hatch Shell. As quoted from the website: "It's like a Symphony, but with more leg room and picnicking and people watching."
Have you ever been to a concert at Fenway Park?

I saw The Police on their Reunion tour in 2007! Good times.