OCEAN CITY – “Strike Up the Band” opened the Ocean City Pops Orchestra concert on Sunday night. Maestro Vince Lee introduced a season of variety from the Pops Orchestra, previewing some of the summer’s coming repertoire and showcasing the amazing breadth of talent in the orchestra.
Lee, as he often does, raved about the collection of music “upstairs” at the Music Pier. Some, handwritten arrangements by Johnny Warrington, turned classics like the “William Tell Overture” into a big-band sound. The familiar three-note trumpet call introduced a fierce-tempo overture with busy violins and striking dynamic contrasts.
For Lee, the library is a “candy store” of unexpected stock. Lee described how Johan Strauss II wrote a “Farewell to America Waltz” at the end of his visit to the U.S. as the Pops danced through lilting Austrian tunes and quoted “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” swayed a beguine. “Dunke Schoen” advertised the coming August concert with Wayne Newton. A medley of Beatles songs foreshadowed the July concert of Paul McCartney’s music.
A touching moment came when Lee and the Orchestra paid tribute to two influential leaders of the Friends of the Pops. In Sandy McMahan’s memory, Lee went to the piano and, with light orchestral accompaniment, played one of her favorite hymns, “How Great Thou Art,” also a favorite of this audience.
Remembering Amelia Batastini (“Tootsie”), Lee introduced guest tenor soloist Angel Gomez for “Ave Maria.” Gomez was also featured on “Bring Him Home” and the spectacular tenor tour-de-force “Ah, Mes Amis.”
Eight familiar tunes were quoted in a medley of Irving Berlin standards. Another medley surfed through Beach Boys tracks. For a taste of film scores, “Mission Impossible” drove its theme notes with enormous energy.
The evening closed with a short excerpt from “Carmina Burana,” coming in September. “O, Fortunata” screeched to what seemed like an abrupt ending — perhaps to encourage the audience to return for more performances.
The next concerts are tonight (July 2) at 8 p.m. at Ocean City High School’s Carey Stadium, with two free patriotic concerts the following evenings, July 3 and 4, also at the stadium. The full season is online at oceancitypops.org.
– STORY and PHOTO by RICHARD STANISLAW/For the Sentinel