By Donald Singer
“In the summer season, the audience is looking for entertainment and we try to provide it,” says Arthur Fagen, the peripatetic music director of the Queens Symphony Orchestra.
This will be the QSO's second Forest Park season in the refurbished bandshell which was built in 1920 on the site where George Seuffert Sr. began offering free concerts in 1898.
“I have to tell you, the new bandshell is an enormous improvement compared to what we previously had,” Fagen said to Qguide. “They increased the size of the space for the orchestra, enormously. It's a stage where you could do very big productions with orchestra and chorus. It's a space with tremendous potential. Queens is very fortunate to have it.
“On July 1, we'll be featuring Robert Bonfiglio on harmonica. As far as I'm concerned, he is the greatest harmonica player in the world today. He plays with orchestras all over the world and we're lucky we've got him.”
The July 8 program is “Magic & Music,” featuring “Danse Macabre” by Saint-Saens, plus selections from “The Nutcracker. “The magic happens while we're playing,” Fagen said.
On July 15, musicians in their mid 20s perform. Tenor Dori Ciren, a native of Tibet, will do arias from “La Boheme,” and violinist Anton Polechayev will play part of a Tchaikovsky violin concerto.
Thursday, Aug. 9 is the annual concert at St. John's University, featuring “The Three Tenors.”
“At St. John's, you have that beautiful lawn, you know,” Fagen said, “and you have the buildings in the background. We do have to build a platform, but it's a beautiful space and we love performing there.” The orchestra will present an encore of the concert in Forest Park on Aug. 12.
The final Forest Park concert, on Aug. 19, is “Zarzuela Zings!” featuring a return engagement by guitarist Jorge Caballero performing Spanish zarzuela.
Zarzuela is a Spanish stage piece in which music and song alternate with dialog. It's named after the La Zarzuela Palace near Madrid where the royal family enjoyed this type of entertainment in the 17th century.
“The summer programs contain generally light classical music, show tunes and Sousa marches,” Fagen said. “It's something worthwhile to bring families to.”
Also great for families is the schedule of performances presented by Forest Park at the Bandshell – Puccini's comedy opera, “Gianni Schicchi” July 19, 20, and 22, and a Plaza Productions presentation of the Broadway classic, “Guys & Dolls” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 13. All performances are free; for more information call 235-4100.
Reach Qguide writer Donald Singer by e-mail at timesledger@aol.com, or call 229-0300, Ext. 139.
