Loading Events

« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Pops, Patriots, & Fireworks

SOLD OUT

Thursday July 4, 2024 at 8:00pm

Westchester Symphonic Winds
Curt Ebersole, conductor/music director
Shelén Hughes, soprano
César Andrés Parreño, tenor

Add To Calendar

Overview

Thursday July 4, 2024 at 8:00pm


Tonight’s Pops, Patriots, & Fireworks concert is a ticketed event. If you do not have a ticket, you will not be able to attend the concert or the fireworks.


Caramoor’s Independence Day fireworks show returns this summer! The Westchester Symphonic Winds, joined by alumni soloists from our Schwab Vocal Rising Stars program, perform a selection of works that pay tribute to America’s independence including rousing renditions of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever. This evening concludes with a spectacular fireworks display on the Caramoor grounds.

In case of inclement weather, the concert will be held as planned on Thursday, July 4 and the fireworks will take place at 9:00pm on Friday, July 5.

Artists

Westchester Symphonic Winds
Curt Ebersole, conductor/music director
Shelén Hughes, soprano
César Andrés Parreño, tenor

Program

Various Composers / Barton Green: Pre-Americana 
John Stafford Smith (Arr. by Walter Damrosch / John Philip Sousa): The Star Spangled Banner 
John Philip Sousa: Washington Post March 
Jerry Bock (Arr. by Barton Green): Fiddler on the Roof: Tradition 
Robert Sheldon: Sixty-Six 
Clifton Williams: The Sinfonians 
Giacomo Puccini (Arr. By Barton Green):
Turnadot: Nessun dorma 
Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro 
La bohème: O soave fanciulla 

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, Op. 49 
John Philip Sousa (Arr. By Keith Brion & Loras Schissel): Stars and Stripes Forever 

pops and patriots

    Summer Season Shuttle / Take the FREE shuttle from Metro North’s Katonah train station to and from Caramoor! The shuttle runs before and after every summer afternoon and evening concert. There is no RSVP to get on the shuttle, it will be there when you arrive (in the parking lot side of the station). If it’s not there, it’s just making the loop and should be back within 5–10 minutes.
The shuttle will start running 2.5 hours before the concert, and 1 hour after the concert ends.

Explore the Rosen House from 6:00pm–7:30pm / Select rooms of the Rosen House are free to explore during our Open House hours. No RSVP is required; feel free to attend and discover more about Caramoor’s history and founders.

Learn More About the Artists

Shelén Hughes, soprano

Bolivian soprano Shelén Hughes has performed the operatic roles of Atalanta in Handel’s Atalanta, Inez in Mercadante’s I Due Figaro, Snegurochka in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Snegurochka, Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, and Magda in Puccini’s La Rondine. Hughes made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 and her New York Festival of Song debut in 2022. She was a Young Artist at the 2019 Gstaad Menuhin Festival and a 2022 Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where she performed the role of Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen and Ms. Kohl in the premier of Picker’s Awakenings. Combining her deep passion for music and social service, Hughes is the founder of Voices for Bolivia, a small but growing international non-profit organization that seeks to use proceeds from classical music concerts to help Bolivians in need. Hughes currently studies with Darell Babidge while pursuing her Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at The Juilliard School.  She is a 2023 alum of Caramoor’s Schwab Vocal Rising Stars mentoring program.

César Andrés Parreño, tenor

Tenor César Andrés Parreño is a native of Manabí, Ecuador. In 2016, Parreño performed as a soloist with the University of Cuenca’s Orchestra and with Guayaquil’s Symphonic Orchestra. In early 2020, Parreño made his Peter Jay Sharp Theater soloist debut as part of the New York Festival of Song’s NYFOS@Juilliard with Steven Blier, and he has performed in two other NYFOS concerts since. In 2021, Parreño made his Juilliard Orchestra soloist debut with Stravinsky’s Pulcinella conducted by Barbara Hannigan. Parreño recently performed his Peter Jay Sharp Theater opera debut as Momo in Luigi Rossi’s L’Orfeo and as Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Parreño is a graduate student in Darrell Babidge’s studio at The Juilliard School and has the distinction of being the first Ecuadorian to ever attend the institution. He is a 2022 alum of Caramoor’s Schwab Vocal Rising Stars mentoring program.

Curt Ebersole, conductor/music director

Curt Ebersole has served as the Conductor and Music Director (John P. Paynter Memorial Chair) of the Westchester Symphonic Winds since 2008, fostering its exponential growth over the past 14 years. He retired from Northern Valley Regional High School (Old Tappan, NJ) in 2013 after serving as Director of Instrumental Music for 31 years. His ensembles were honored with consistent critical accolades, and his instrumental Prism Concerts became a local rite of spring. He now serves on the faculty at The Masters School, in Dobbs Ferry, NY (Jane Rechtman Faculty Chair), where he teaches String Ensemble, Chamber Music, and Public Speaking. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Conducting from Northwestern University, and a Master’s degree in clarinet performance from SUNY Purchase, where he studied with Ben Armato. 

Maestro Ebersole has served as a guest conductor and clinician for numerous county, regional, all-state, and adult community ensembles around the world, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Symphony Space, with the U.S. Army Field Band, along with performances in Las Vegas, South Korea, and Australia. He is the founding coordinator of the Music Educators of Bergen County Wind Conducting Symposium. He has served as a clinician at the Midwest Clinic, Temple University, Florida Music Educators Association, and presented his TED Talk, “Framing Failure,” at TEDxOneonta in 2017. His performance achievements include solo and ensemble performances as both a clarinetist and basset hornist, including a recent recording with the West Point Band. 

To learn more about Curt Ebersole, please visit jce.ebernet.biz

Westchester Symphonic Winds

Westchester Symphonic Winds — an adult, community-based, 60-piece wind and percussion ensemble — celebrates its 35th season in 2022 – 23. The ensemble strives to promote music in our area, instill pride in our nation and heritage, provide opportunities for personal expression and growth within its membership, and nurture the love of music by offering an exceptional musical experience for people of all ages.  

The ensemble was founded by Rachel Eckhaus, Robert LaPorta, and the group’s first conductor, James D. Wayne, who conducted the band from 1988 – 2004. Dr. Luis Fernando Jimenez was conductor from 2005 – 08. Curt Ebersole was invited to conduct the 20th Anniversary Gala Concert in 2008, and was subsequently invited to stay on permanently as Conductor and Music Director. Since 2008, guest conductors and clinicians have included Dr. Mallory Thompson, Dr. John Lynch, Dr. Tom McCauley, Dr. Shelley Axelson, Dr. Travis Cross, Joseph Greco, among many others. 

Over the years, the ensemble has given benefit concerts for many groups, including the Food Bank for Westchester, Student Assistance Services, Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, Irvington Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Rotary Club of Briarcliff Manor, Family Services of Westchester, Yonkers Arts Education, and others.  

The ensemble made its New York City debut at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in March of 2010, its national debut at the 2012 Association of Concert Bands National Convention, and this event marks its ninth performance at Caramoor. The organization is an Ensemble-in-Residence at the historic Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, and rehearses there on Monday evenings from September through June.  

To learn more about the Westchester Symphonic Winds, please visit their website


Caramoor is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive George Latimer.
All concerts made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.