As the red and white pennant flags flew stiffly in the Sunday breeze, fathers and their families gathered in the tent below to enjoy a leisurely afternoon of music. Celebrating the final concert of their 50th anniversary season, the Tri-County Symphony Band performed a soundtrack that was ripped from the scorebook of some of the most popular films released by the Walt Disney studios.
According to the band’s conductor and musical director, Philip Sanborn, “Three Generations of Disney” was designed to engage families on a wider level. “We wanted to attract little kids, so Disney music seemed perfect,” Sanborn said. This was the tenth annual benefit pops concert, six of which have been under the baton of Sanborn. “I thought that there was such a wide variety of music related to Disney, so I wanted to do a complete concert of Disney music,” he said.
In the past, the concert has been inside during the evening, but the band and organizers felt it was important to include the youngest members of the families during the Fathers’ Day celebration, so they moved it to the afternoon. “It truly is a family affair,” said event organizer and Tabor Academy Admissions Office manager, Leslie Geil. She and Lisa Gibson were responsible for organizing the tickets, the catering, and silent auction. “We have so many more guests this year,” Gibson said. The proceeds of the event go to benefit music scholarships and special summer classes. “Last year, we had about $12,000 in scholarships for the tri-county area,” Geil said.
Empty seats under the tent were scarce by show time. The program did attract the three generations the organizers were hoping to see turn out. “I like this music a lot. It’s good that they can make this a kid-friendly event,” said fourth-season percussionist Chris Chambers. His dad, Stan, was sitting at one of the tables up front. “I’ve been coming to see them since Chris started playing with them,” said Stan. “I love music, no matter what it is.”
He certainly wasn’t alone. Each musical transition brought smiles, sighs, clasped hands, and a flood of memories for everyone in the audience. The program drew from a wide variety of musical source material.
The first section of the show, the grandfathers’ set, featured a medley from “Fantasia” (1940) and a selection of classic Disney songs, including the theme to “The Mickey Mouse Club.” The fathers’ set opened with a medley of songs from the Academy Award-winning film “Mary Poppins” (1964), “The Jungle Book” (1967), and the classic “Under the Sea” from “The Little Mermaid” (1989). The third set, for the children in the audience, was comprised of music from “Beauty And The Beast” (1991), Broadway selections from “The Lion King” (1997), and themes from “Pirates Of The Caribbean” (2003). The classic John Phillips Sousa march, “Stars and Stripes Forever” was their finale.
By Eric Tripoli
