Musical selections for 2020 Pops at the Post draw on array of past years

Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 31, 2020

SALISBURY — This year’s Pops at the Post concert — Pops at the Post Home Movies Edition 2020 — is set to be a virtual event on Saturday, with the swing band starting at 7:30 p.m. and the symphony at 8 p.m.

Event organizers decided to use old taped recordings from various events over the years after it became clear that the concert, which is usually held outside the Post building and at the Transportation Museum last year could not go on as it usually would.

Salisbury Symphony Conductor David Hagy got to go through tapes and put a program together.

John Stafford Smith’s “Star Spangled Banner,” arranged by John Williams, will start off the event, Hagy said.

A selection from Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide Overture” will follow, Hagy said.

Hagy enjoys featuring artists from Rowan County, he said. So, the middle of the program will include a rendition of “Hello Dolly!” that was performed in 2018. It is by Jerry Herman and arranged by Jay Meachum.

It features local singers Teresa Moore-Mitchell, Alexis Greer, Virginia Rush and Rebecca Stinson as well as an impressive trumpet solo, Hagy said.

John Stafford’s “Bell Tower March” is something that the orchestra members enjoy playing; so that will also be played, Hagy said. The footage is of a performance that included three members that are no longer in the orchestra. That was another reason he chose it, Hagy said. Two have since past away, and one is suffering from Alzheimers.

“Summon the Heroes” by John Williams and arranged by Calvin Custer will be featured next, as it seems particularly appropriate at the current moment, Hagy said. It is dedicated to first responders and medical workers.

“Nimrod” from the “Enigma” Variations, by Edward Elgar, will follow.

Musical excerpts from “Back to the Future” will also be highlighted since it also seems fitting now, Hagy said.

“Boy, would we like to get back to the future at this point,” he said.

Two marches by John Philip Sousa — the “Salisbury Post March” and the “Stars and Stripes Forever March” — will also be near the end of the program, Hagy said. One commission from 2018 incorporates the Bell Tower itself as well as four snare drums.

The encore will be a rendition of “America the Beautiful” arranged by Samuel Ward, as it has been in the past, Hagy said.

A video of the performance is going to be available online at PopsHomeMovieMemories.com and broadcast on the Hotwire network on channel 397 and on Spectrum Access 16. The event is set to be a little over an hour long, Hagy said.