Downey Symphony makes its long awaited return

Concertmaster Carolyn Osborn and Music Director Sharon Lavery. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY – “Wow! We are back,” said Sharon Lavery, music director of the Downey Symphony Orchestra.

New president of the Downey Symphonic Society, Anthony Crespo, welcomed the crowd on behalf of the Board and that hard-working money-raising arm, the Guild. He also saluted the members of the orchestra, a professional group of players from around the Los Angeles basin, most of them veteran returnees to Downey.

“So much fun rehearsing today,” said Sharon, “You couldn’t tell we haven’t been together for a year. This is why we are so happy” and she raised her arms, “to be here to play for you.” Old friends in the audience felt the same way. They had been greeting each other after a long absence too.

Long-time Symphonic stalwarts Katie and Bill Hare were there, and fellow Board members Joanne Gromley, Marge and Larry Lewis, Eric Pierce, and Joyce Sherwin, and supporter Bernice Mancibo Stumps. Adele Alexander waved, as did Jorge Montero and his wife Maru. Ryan Keene and about a thousand other happy music lovers gathered in the warm dusk. Several wore masks and most were probably vaccinated, as public health authorities and health workers are urging everyone to do, if we want to keep enjoying public events like this one.

Blue sky with a few white clouds to keep it pleasantly cool; families lined up for hot dogs, cake and baklava at the Rose Float pavilion; Miss Downey and her court greeting the audience: almost like old times. Newly redesigned Furman Park has lots of green grass to set up folding lawn chairs. Long-time subscribers to the symphonic programs joined park regulars for the final park concert of the summer and the Orchestra gave a symphonic flair to the evening.

Ryan Baird, principal bass for the Downey Symphony. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

“Are you ready for us?” Sharon asked, and everyone applauded. The Olympic Fanfare, composed by John Williams for the 1984 Los Angeles games, started the evening, followed by the bouncy March of the Siamese Children from The King and I, and the LiberTango that had people dancing on the grass to the fiery beat. Sharon conducted the audience as well as the orchestra members, and encouraged folks to clap along.

“I challenge any symphony orchestra in America to have a better clarinet section than we do,” said Sharon, as the orchestra launched into Licorice Candy, a symphonic romp by LeRoy Anderson featuring the First Chair clarinetist Patty Massey and abetted by the second chair. “Believe it or not, I used to play like that in my youth,” said Sharon, who starred on the licorice stick as a teen.

Musicians in a symphonic ensemble routinely practice for several hours a day, to keep their fingers nimble and to ensure their breath control. Each instrument can be heard distinctly, thanks to the superb new public sound system in the park, and none come through more clearly than the percussion. Not just snare drums but a booming timpani, the kettle drum, resounded and cymbals clashed on cue. A symphonic band is like the concert orchestra, but with fewer strings and an accent on the brasses and that percussive section.

The big instrumental number was a medley from Phantom of the Opera, and the Music of the Night shuddered eerily as the twilight deepened. The patriotic portion of the evening included Morton Gould’s arrangement of variations on the Civil War song When Johnny Comes Marching Home, a tune that had us seeing young men marching briskly off to war, and then returning as veterans in a deeper more somber mood, sometimes even sounding like skeletons tap dancing on graves in the graveyard. The Salute to the Services got many standing in tribute to their own service or that of a family member. Many women also had served, and stood.

Before the last piece Sharon invited everyone to come and hear the orchestra perform in the Downey Theatre for its three paid concerts, on October 23, in January 2022, and then in April when the audience gets to bid on the conductor’s baton. Watch this space for details and programs.

Sharon led the orchestra into the finale, John Philip Souza’s Stars and Stripes. Next year, we hope the children will again be able to come on stage and lead the band. Till then, stay healthy.