Music Under the Stars, a concert series performed by the Toledo Symphony Concert Band, will be offered at the Toledo Zoo Amphitheater for six Sundays this summer, from July 8 to Aug. 12.
This marks the return of the free series, offered for more than 60 years before last year’s hiatus.
“Music plays an important part in each of our lives and that’s why Mercy felt it was so important to ensure that Music Under the Stars — this community’s treasure — returns to the Historic Amphitheater at the Toledo Zoo,” said Mercy President and CEO Andrea Price, in a news release.
The Andersons, The Toledo Community Foundation, Huntington Bank, Taylor Cadillac and the Toledo Zoo are additional sponsors of the series.
A different faculty conductor from the Michigan and Ohio area will direct each show, while Sam Szor, who conducted the shows for almost 60 years, will make a “cameo appearance” at each performance, said Toledo Symphony General Manager Keith McWatters, also a drummer in the concert band. Szor was diagnosed with leukemia last summer, McWatters said.
“Between the lack of funding and Sam’s health, we decided to step away for the summer and regroup,” McWatters said of last year’s series cancelation. “Sam’s health was not really the deciding factor; it was one of the ingredients. We wanted to create a strategic plan to relaunch the series and make it brand new.”
Some conductors are choosing themes, as Szor did, and all are encouraged to partner with community organizations for their shows, McWatters said.
The series opens on July 8 with a patriotic-themed concert directed by Bruce Moss, director of band activities at Bowling Green State University, who is also music director of the Wheaton Municipal Band in Illinois, according to BGSU’s website. McWatters said Wheaton’s band is similar to the Symphony’s Concert Band.
On July 15, John Madden, associate director of bands at Michigan State University, will direct the show.
For the performances on July 22 and 29, University of Toledo fellows Robert Mirakian and Jason Stumbo, respectively, will conduct. Mirakian is the director of the UT Symphony Orchestra and is also music director of the Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra, according to ourtownperrysburg.com. Stumbo is the director of bands at UT.
Rodney Dorsey, associate director of bands at the University of Michigan, will lead the band on Aug. 5 and Kenneth Thompson from BGSU will close the series on Aug. 12. In addition to serving as associate professor of band activities at BGSU, Thompson is the artistic director of the Toledo Youth Orchestras (TYO) and conductor of the TYO Philharmonic Orchestra, according to BGSU’s website.
Each show, which will begin at 7:30 p.m., is expected to run a little less than two hours, including an intermission.
“[Times] will vary,” McWatters said. “They might do a medley for six to eight minutes and then a couple of marches. Some will choose four pieces that are 10 minutes each, or some might choose 10 pieces that are four minutes each.”
The 45-member band, of which half are salaried Toledo Symphony members, will typically not learn the pieces they will play in the evening performance until that afternoon, McWatters said.
“With a professional group at this caliber, … we get together at two o’clock on Sunday afternoon and practice and then do the performance in the evening,” McWatters said. “We don’t rehearse at the zoo; we rehearse at the symphony. We don’t mind playing the concert in the heat, but practicing (outside) can be kind of a drag.”
A new feature of this summer’s series will be the symphony’s partnership with the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA), which will provide a shuttle service to and from the amphitheater and Toledo-area locations, similar to the service TARTA provides for Toledo Mud Hens and Toledo Walleye games.
“The participation of community sponsors, including reduced fares from TARTA, reduce barriers to transportation and parking, and enable many more people to enjoy the Zoo’s historic amphitheater and the outstanding sounds of the Toledo Symphony Concert Band. These are the collaborative partnerships that continue to improve our quality of life in Toledo,” Mayor Michael Bell said in a news release.
The cost of the TARTA transportation is $1 each way, with pick-up and drop-off sites at Centennial Terrace in Sylvania, St. Luke’s Hospital in Maumee, River Place Shopping Center in Perrysburg, Miracle Mile Shopping Center in Toledo, Sears at Westgate Shopping Center in Toledo, Kroger in Waterville and Adams Street in Toledo.
Steve Atkinson, marketing director at TARTA, said the “park and ride” shuttles will leave each location at 6:30 p.m. and are scheduled to leave the zoo 20 minutes after the concert ends.
“[Drop-off and pick-up] will be on the Broadway entrance, so it’s a short walk from the bus to the amphitheater,” Atkinson said.
Admission to all concerts is free and seating is first-come, first-serve. Parking is free for zoo members; nonmember parking is $6 or $15 for buses and campers.
For more information on transportation, visit tarta.com or call (419) 243-RIDE.
