01 Jul 2024 Arkansas Symphony Orchestra to perform Thursday at Pops on the River

Posted at 7:14 PMh in News by

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will perform at the First Security Amphitheater in Riverfront Park at 8:30 pm. Thursday, July 4, as part of the Pops on the River Fourth of July celebration. The concert will feature many popular American marches, including John Williams’ “Imperial March” from his iconic “Star Wars” score. Come as you are and bring the family! 

Pops on the River is free to the public. Festivities will begin at 5 p.m. in the River Market pavilions and include two kids zones, food trucks and other activities. Learn more at pops.arkansasonline.com/.

Associate Conductor Valery Saul will lead the program, including: 

Francis Scott Key/Arturo Toscanini – The Star Spangled Banner 

Arr. Bob Lowden – Armed Forces Salute 

Leonard Bernstein – Overture to Candide 

Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 9, I. Adagio-Allegro molto 

John Williams – Star Wars Suite, III. Imperial March 

James M. Stephenson – Fanfare for Democracy 

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – 1812 Overture

John Philip Sousa – Washington Post 

Sousa – Hands Across the Sea 

Sousa – El Capitan 

Sousa – The Thunderer

The ASO celebrates its 59th season in 2024–2025. The ASO is the resident orchestra at Robinson Center and performs more than 60 concerts each year for more than 165,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, First Orion Pops Series, River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series, and numerous concerts performed around the state of Arkansas. In addition, the ASO offers numerous community outreach programs and brings live symphonic music education to more than 26,000 school children and over 200 schools throughout Central Arkansas. The ASO employs 13 full-time musicians, more than 70 part-time musicians and 18 administrative staff members with an annual operating budget of $4 million. The ASO is a member of the League of American Orchestras and a partner orchestra of the National Alliance for Audition Support, an unprecedented national initiative to increase diversity in American orchestras.   

For more information about ASO, call 501.666.1761 or visit ArkansasSymphony.org.