Looking to enjoy free classical music? ProMusica has you covered this August
At ProMusica Chamber Orchestra's free annual Summer Music Series, no two concerts are the same.
A spontaneous flock of geese flying overhead, summer-scented evening breezes dancing through the trees, scatterings of stars coming into view as the sun slowly sets — these are the special elements of an outdoor space that make each concert unique and enhances the live concert experience, said Janet Chen, ProMusica's CEO.
This year, ProMusica is returning to the Summer Music Series tradition by harnessing the beauty of the great outdoors to complement the talents of the orchestra with three free concerts at Franklin Park Conservatory and Alum Creek Park Amphitheater.
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"We rely 100% on contributions to put this on, and that always has been at the forefront. Anyone is welcome. You can bring a family of 30 if you want, or just two of you can come and enjoy it that way," Chen said.
"And once we started, it just grew in popularity. Now every year, in the spring, we often get people calling to ask us when the dates are because they want to make sure they're in town and they don't go on vacation during the summer series. So it's, I think, really becoming a beloved event."
This year, the Summer Music Series is presenting two different programs: "A Night in Vienna" and "Grieg & The Lark." Chen said both programs — whether it be lighthearted tunes from Mozart's opera, "The Marriage of Figaro," that will "sparkle" into the night sky, romantic tunes from the British countryside by composer Ralph Vaughan Williams or an epic finale with Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" — embrace and complement the natural environment where they will be performed.
The programs also each feature a soloist, either the Columbus-based soprano Chelsea Hart Melcher or ProMusica's own concert master and violinist Katherine McLin.
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Whichever program audiences choose to join in on, it's a community event that invites all to experience the joy of classical music, Chen said. These summer concerts are one approach that the ensemble is taking to achieve the vision of using its programming to help individuals engage with the world around them.
"We definitely want all the attendees to leave feeling uplifted, to leave feeling like they were part of a collective experience with everyone who's there and feel a connection with the people, with our musicians onstage, feel a connection to their surroundings," Chen said.
On top of the live music, families are invited to join in on children's programming that starts one hour before performance times. Past activities have included music memory games and crafts to create conducting batons or instruments, like shakers and reeds.
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Now in its 12th year, the Summer Music Series traditionally kicks off the beginning of a new season for ProMusica. The concerts will mark the orchestra's 46th season following an energized 2023-2024 season that included a special two-day residency with Emmy, Grammy and Academy Award-winning artist Jon Batiste. Looking forward, Chen expressed her excitement for the upcoming season.
"We've got a couple of new commissions and world premieres that the orchestra will be presenting — that's always really important to us, to promote music of today and promote composers of today, in particular American composers, and just really strong artistic quality," Chen said.
"Our musicians, about a third live in Columbus, but about two thirds fly in or drive in, and it's just always a special thing to bring everybody together and make music, and we're looking forward to getting back to that."
At a glance
"A Night in Vienna" programming will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at the Alum Creek Park Amphitheater, 221 W. Main Street, Westerville, and at 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9.
"Grieg & The Lark" programming will take place at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8. Children's programming takes place one hour before performance time.
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. at the Alum Creek Park Amphitheater and at 6 p.m. at the Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E. Broad St.
All three concerts are completely free. Audience members are welcome to bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnics. Outside alcohol is prohibited. There will be a full bar available for purchase at the Franklin Park Conservatory.
For more details about the event and ProMusica, visit promusicacolumbus.org.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: ProMusica Chamber Orchestra's free annual Summer Music Series returns
