TodayPitch perfect for Summerfair concert
Harrisburg Symphony attracts overflow crowd to its Summerfair concert in Carlisle Theatre
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Stuart Malina conducts the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra during a performance Sunday night at the Carlisle Theatre. Matthew Harris/Special to The Sentinel
An overflow crowd turned out to hear the Harrisburg Symphony play in Carlisle Theatre Sunday night after the threat of rain moved the Summerfair concert indoors.
“Unfortunately, we did have to turn some people away because of fire code,” said Casey Segen, the orchestra’s director of marketing and community affairs. She estimated 35 people were turned away but said they were understanding.
John Alexander of Carlisle was one of the many who did get into the theatre, albeit in the balcony.
“We thought we’d come early to get a good seat outdoors,” Alexander said, explaining that he hadn’t found out that the concert was moved until a policeman told him. “Here we are!”
But Ray and Kim Barbeito of Shippensburg, several rows below Alexander, said they arrived early especially to get high seats.
“It’s the best sound, and it’s also kid-conducive,” Ray Barbeito said. They came with two other families and a number of children, he said, as part of four birthday celebrations.
“It looks like a great program,” Barbeito said. “Great music, great price.”
Program
Curt Stambaugh, chairman of this year’s Summerfair, said organizers were disappointed to have to move the concert indoors but said that if rain did fall, “I’m sure that our musicians will appreciate this.”
Also appreciated were the sponsors who made the evening possible, he said, naming Orrstown Bank and Sen. Pat Vance, R-31, who helped garner additional funds.
“This has become quite a tradition,” Vance said, “eagerly anticipated every year.”
She drew laughs when referencing the original intent of Summerfair, which was to help people save gas by giving them something to do close to home. That, she said, was when gas was 66 cents a gallon, which, adjusted for inflation, would be $2.11 today.
So, she said, “we are particularly grateful we can stay in our community.”
And then they turned the program over to Conductor Stuart Malina, who led the musicians confidently through a toe-tapping program ranging from John Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare and Theme” to selections from “Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Webber and, of course, Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.”
Participation
The audience clapped in appreciation. For Chris Rose, a percussionist who played the xylophone for two rags in a mallet-blurring show, they produced a standing ovation. And for a selection from “Victory at Sea” by Richard Rodgers, at Malina’s direction, they did the wave twice.
“Wow,” Malina said, “I love the Carlisle Theatre.”
Jeff Woodruff, executive director of the orchestra, said as much as the orchestra likes playing in The Forum in Harrisburg, it loves getting out to some of the surrounding communities to share its music. So far, he said, the orchestra is on steady ground financially, but like all of society, it is paying attention to the economy.
“The reality is, we have to raise a substantial amount of money each year to stay afloat,” Woodruff said. “Everything seems to be going up.”
Happy
But somehow, the state of their wallets didn’t seem to be on anyone’s mind when they finished clapping and left the theatre.
“That was great,” Ray Barbeito said. “It was wonderful.”
His 21-year-old daughter, Nicolette Barbeito, agreed. A pianist, she said her favorite was the “Carnival Overture” by Antonin Dvorak.
“I like cheerful music,” she said. The concert, she said, was “absolutely” worth the drive.
