Ives Concert Park to host free Family Fair Sept. 23
Event to feature live music, multicultural, children’s entertainment

DANBURY, CONN. — More than two decades after The Charles Ives Center for the Arts was founded to honor the memory of Danbury native Charles Edward Ives, the popular venue on the Westside campus of Western Connecticut State University will return to its roots by hosting a free family event that pays tribute to the great composer — and the diversity of the city from which he hailed — on Sunday, Sept. 23.

The gates will open at 2 p.m. for the daylong festivities designed to entertain guests of all ages and ethnicities at Ives Concert Park, Lake Avenue Extension in Danbury. Parking and admission will be free and the public is invited. Food and beverages will be available for purchase and guests also are invited to bring a picnic lunch. The celebration will culminate with a 5:30 p.m. performance by the Ives Festival Orchestra, under the direction of WestConn Professor of Music Dr. Fernando Jimenez.

“The orchestra itself is made of first-rate musicians from Fairfield County and New York City,” Jimenez said. “All the orchestral players on WestConn’s music faculty will be participating in the ensemble, as well as several advanced students.

“The program will include an eclectic sampling of music intended to showcase the Ives Festival Orchestra’s capabilities,” Jimenez added. “From Aaron Copland’s ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ to Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 with Charles Ives’ ‘Variation on America,’ to George Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris,’ our intention is to offer a variety of styles for what promises to be an entertaining event.”

Activities throughout the afternoon are designed to appeal to all segments of the community, with local multicultural and children’s performers on the main stage, satellite stages and roaming the lawn. Among the acts scheduled to appear are pianist Ed Husted, who will perform “Rhapsody in Blue” and other selections from the Gershwin songbook. A five-piece ensemble will accompany Husted, along with his daughters Sharon and Stacey, both vocalists. Husted, who has dedicated much of the past several years to perfecting his “Rhapsody in Blue” performance, said that while the focus of his stage time will be Gershwin, he might throw in some blues, too.

Also on the bill are Irish performers The Merry Ploughboys; the Brazilian pop group Ai Delicia; Brazilian heritage musicians; former WestConn employee-turned-gospel-singer Terri Small; Ecuasound, an Ecuadorian folk group; Purigcuna, an Ecuadorian Dance group; belly dancers and hula dancers; and the Alay Philippine Cultural Group of Greater Danbury. In a special tribute to Charles Ives, the Danbury High School Marching Band will split into two groups and recreate the famous Ives “experiment” of having two bands march toward each other playing opposing pieces of music.

On hand to entertain the children will be the Shalamazoo Players, characters derived from the children’s book of the same name written by Danbury native Joe Shaboo; the Danbury High School communication arts department’s Living Statues; local magician Erik Ofgang; a Puff the Magic Dragon sing-along; and impersonators of Danbury’s Heritage Heroes, including Charles Ives, Marian Anderson, Zadock Benedict and Rose Wilder Lane. Also available to engage the kids will be recyclable art from Roots & Shoots and Escape to the Arts, face painting and hayrides.

Don Weedon, a longtime supporter of Ives Concert Park and member of the Ives Authority, chairs the committee that has been planning the Sept. 23 event.

“I think it’s terrific that the mayor and the Common Council have created the Charles Ives Authority for the Performing Arts,” Weedon said. “Of equal importance is the commitment of WestConn to the Charles Ives Center for the Arts’ continuation and growth. It means that both the city and the university recognize the value of the Center to their respective communities and are interested in insuring that the summer program remains varied and attractive to a wide audience. The program on September 23 will contain a number of local acts representing the ethnic diversification of our great city, as well as the Ives Festival Orchestra playing pieces from several American composers, including ‘Variations on America,’ a lively tune written by Charles Ives himself when he was still a teenager.”

WestConn faculty and students who will comprise the Ives Festival Orchestra include:  concertmaster Eric Lewis, on violin; cellist Judith Smith; principal flutist Kerry Walker; principal oboist Mark Snyder; principal bassoonist Gina Cuffari; principal French horn player, Marjorie Callaghan; Andrew Rogers, on tuba; David Smith, on timpani; principal percussionist Patrick Smith; Dan Goble, on alto saxophone; Javier Oviedo, on tenor saxophone; and students Megan Burke, on horn; Hafez Taghavi and Seth Uricheck, on violin; Eric Glaviano, on oboe; Ashley Williams, on flute; Laura Telman, on trumpet; and Chase Bronstein, on percussion.

The event is presented by the Ives Authority, under the auspices of the City of Danbury and in partnership with WestConn. Sponsors include Union Savings Bank, Savings Bank of Danbury, Ellen and W. Jason Hancock, the Danbury Cultural Commission and the WCSU Foundation Inc. For more information, call the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486 or visit www.ivesconcertpark.com.

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