Symphonic sounds strike chords at Bangor’s ‘Pops on the Green’> BSO’s annual summer performance delights 2,000 at Husson College

They came in cars, on bikes, in wheelchairs and on foot. They picnicked, quilted, danced and snuggled. And it didn’t matter that it was windy, hot and rainy. People wanted to hear the Bangor Symphony Orchestra present its chipper “Pops on the Green” concert Saturday at Husson College in Bangor. According to BSO manager Robert Bahr, more than 2,000 attended Saturday’s concert. In only its second year, the outdoor event is making a swift beeline to becoming one of Bangor’s most delightful performing arts events of the summer.

Last year, the BSO brought in a guest conductor for the event but, this year, BSO music director, Christopher Zimmerman, held the baton for a concert that was upbeat, friendly and well-executed by both the musicians and the organizers. Zimmerman was chatty with the large audience that spread itself comfortably across a central field in the center of the Husson campus. He put in a plug for the celebratory events and concerts in the BSO’s upcoming 100th anniversary season, and also introduced each piece on the day’s program.

Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” was the most popular offering with its wonderfully noisy and patriotic moods. The Maine National Guard provided the cannon fire required by the score and, although there was only one cannon where there should have been many, it was still exciting to hear the explosions boom into the sky while the music marched on. It was the only piece of the afternoon that was awarded an instant standing ovation at its completion.

But it was not the only piece worthy of praise. The concert began with the overture to Leonard Bernstein’s comic operetta “Candide,” which richly combined orchestral sound with Broadway sparkle. It was clear, from this first piece on, that the BSO, and particularly the percussion section, was in fine shape for this festivity.

Bernstein’s music arose again in the second half of the concert in the Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story.” This medley of tunes from Bernstein’s best-known work, and the one many believe to be the greatest in American musical theater, is a good deal more complicated than the typical theater-pit score. Even more than “Candide,” it seeks to combine Broadway with the philharmonic, but adds an extra dose of symphonic jazz. And although the symphony did an amazing job at the technical aspect of this tricky piece, it didn’t quite have the seductive swing that makes this music so hip and alluring. Orchestrally, however, it had all the punch and beauty — particularly during the “Maria” and “Somewhere” sections.

The concert also included a collection of suites from Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen,” which rollicked along through the many colors of that sultry spectacle. During one of the more fiery suites, one little girl was completely overtaken with the spirit and did a gleefully wild dance on the sidelines.

Such expressive moments are, of course, one of the charms of this type of event. People felt free to move to the music and to scream out cheers in a way many would find unacceptable within the sacrosanct walls of a concert hall. They pitched “bravos” onto the stage and hurled forward their support for this type of anybody-can-be-here concert.

The final piece on Saturday’s program was John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” conducted by Bangor resident Mel Braverman, who gave a lively performance and smiled the whole way through. The Bangor Band also made a laudable contribution to the afternoon by playing during the intermission.

Rumor has it that the BSO plans to offer a winter pops concert in the future, although there are no immediate plans under way. What a treat it would be, however, to have such a warm event happen in the course of a Maine winter, too.