The popular Symphony in the Park returns to Mill Lake Park in Abbotsford on Friday, Aug. 16.
The free concert, presented by Songs Strings and Steps, starts at 6:30 p.m. and features a full symphony orchestra conducted by Calvin Dyck.
Guest artists include Sebastian and Sabrina Sanchez, the current under-21 Canadian champion dancers in American Smooth, who will perform to the famous Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss, and the Abbotsford Skipping Sensations, a troupe of competitive skippers who will perform to the famous Can-Can by Offenbach.
Musical highlights of the show include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, the Mozart Clarinet Concerto featured in the movie Out of Africa, an Irish Suite by Leroy Anderson and the energetic Pirates of the Caribbean.
In addition, the orchestra will perform music from the opera Carmen, Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite and the rhythmic El Medico de pianos by Cuban composer Jorge Lopez Marin.
Local violinist Sanne Heaven, who is currently studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, will be a guest soloist in the heart-wrenching Last Rose of Summer.
Abbotsford violinist Anna Krahn, who is studying at Biola University in Los Angeles, will be featured in the theme from Cinema Paradiso.
Fifteen-year-old Alina Nicolenco, who in the spring was nominated for the Provincial Music Festival Competition, will perform Ziguenerweisen (Gypsy Airs), accompanied by the orchestra.
The audience is invited to bring a picnic and a lawn chair. There will also be food trucks on site. Last year, the concert drew more than 3,000 people.
The concert site is located next to the lawn bowling area across from Godson elementary on Bevan Avenue. Parking is available at the MSA Arena, Sevenoaks Shopping Centre and Abbotsford middle school.
In addition, bus routes No. 2, 5 and 24 drop off at Ware and Bevan, close to the concert site.
