As Stephen Gunzenhauser sees it, an orchestra is a lot like the Lancaster community.

"You've got the strings, you've got the woodwinds, you've got the brass and you've got the percussion," he says. "It's like an entire community that comes together to play together."

And that's just what the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra's concert in Binns Park on Friday will be all about. It's part of the 10th annual Celebrate Lancaster event, just in time to celebrate the Fourth of July season. 

"That's the ideal of what America, what the Lancaster community is all about," says Gunzenhauser, the musical director and conductor of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. "Despite all the cynicism raised by the pressures of daily life, we need to appreciate the ideals of our forefathers — and mothers — and we can do that through music."

The performance will begin on a somber note, with the "Bells of Remembrance."

"These four bells were cast from some of the remains of Sept. 11, of the World Trade Center," Gunzenhauser explains. "One bell is in memory of the firemen who died. One bell is in memory of the policemen who died. One bell is in memory of the victims and the final bell is a memorial to to the unknown who passed away in this terrible tragedy."

The bells are maintained and housed by the Franciscan Center of Wilmington, Delaware, and the McShane Foundry of Glen Burnie. They travel throughout the country.

The orchestra will perform a canzona from 16th century Italian composer Gabrieli to accompany the ringing of the bells.

"From that point on, it's really a celebration of all of us, of so many walks of life coming together," Gunzenhauser says. "I wanted to do work that clearly takes the different communities that live in Lancaster and celebrate each on of them with the orchestra."

The orchestra will perform a medley of Ray Charles songs, a tribute to Louis Armstrong, a Slavonic dance by Dvorak, and "Vita La Viva," a celebration of the Hispanic influences on music.

The program also includes a new arrangement of the 1920s classic, "The Charleston," and the first Pennsylvania performance of "New Beginning," by Peter Boyer, who composes for movies and television.

"It's about the strength and vibrancy of our society," says Gunzenhauser. "Out of this mixing bowl comes a great strength that no other country can match."

To cap everything off, the orchestra will perform "The Stars and Stripes Forever" and "El Capitan," by John Philip Sousa.

Gunzenhauser says he's excited about playing downtown, this time without the confines of the Fulton, where the symphony performs six concerts a year.

"I think we'll have an entirely different kind of energy that at the Fulton," he says. "There will probably be a number of people who've never heard the symphony before. The energy of discovery will be thrilling for the orchestra."

Celebrate Lancaster will begin at 11:30 a.m., with a variety of food vendors along North Queen street selling everything from funnel cakes and French fries to Trinidadian shark pitas and stromboli.

Comedian Jonathan Burns will perform at 7:30 p.m. on the main stage. Be prepared for pretty much anything to happen. He juggles, does stand-up, magic tricks, body contortions and other sideshow stunts.  

And the grand finale of the evening, of course, will be a fireworks display. The booming and banging begins at 10 p.m. atop the Duke Street Parking Garage.

All events in Binns Park are free. A special events parking rate of $3 will apply at the King, Prince and Water Street garages, beginning at 4 p.m.

Celebrate Lancaster!
Fri. 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
(Lancaster Symphony 8:30 p.m.)
Free
North Queen Street and Binns Park
www.cityoflancasterpa.com/lancastercity


Staff writer Jane Holahan can be reached at jholahan@LNPnews.com or 481-6016.