Home » Entertainment » Arts & Music » Mariposa Symphony Orchestra Goes A Little Country
The Sierra Riders -- Mark Campos, Arnie Johnson, Tim Johnson and Keith Johnson -- photo courtesy Tim Johnson

Mariposa Symphony Orchestra Goes A Little Country

MARIPOSA — The Mariposa Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) annual “Independence Day Spectacular!” concert will be held on Saturday, July 2, at 7 p.m. in the Mariposa County Park Amphitheatre, located at 4998 County Park Road in Mariposa.

This year’s concert will feature regional favorite The Sierra Riders in concert with the MSO. The band, led by Fiddler/Guitarist Tim Johnson, also includes his brothers Arnie on guitar and Keith on double bass, as well as drummer Mark Campos.

Johnson and MSO Founder/Conductor Les Marsden have been friends for 45 years, since first performing together in the Fresno Junior Philharmonic Orchestra as young teens.

The Sierra Riders last played with the MSO in 2011, and this year’s concert will feature such country/ Western classics as “Back in the Saddle Again,” “Rawhide,” “San Antonio Rose,” “Red River Valley,” “Ghost Riders” and many others.

The concert will feature the Mariposa Symphony Orchestra alone in American composer Victor Herbert’s “Irish Rhapsody,” an orchestral suite from Jerome Kern’s landmark 1927 musical “Show Boat,” as well as patriotic favorites.

The winning “Young Master Composers Celebration” composition for 2016, 14-year-old Matthew Kroeker’s “Unfinished Symphony” will receive its world-premiere performance.

The annual MSO “Independence Day Spectacular!” concert is billed as “Mariposa’s own version of the Hollywood Bowl,” with patrons invited to dine at one of the town’s many fine restaurants or to bring a picnic dinner to enjoy on the lawn. The music is performed as the evening cools and the stars come out, in an old-fashioned celebration of America’s birthday.

The concert is never held on July 4th out of respect for the many other fine area events held on that date, and so that the musicians of the orchestra can enjoy the actual holiday with their friends and family.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for students, with special discounted rates for Mariposa County Arts Council members. Tickets are available for secure online purchase by visiting the Arts Council’s website at http://www.mariposaartscouncil.org — the direct link for tickets is https://tinyurl.com/MSO-Indy16

The Mariposa Symphony Orchestra is a program of the Mariposa County Arts Council, Inc.

Leave a Reply

Sierra News Online

Sierra News Online