Redlands Bowl Concerts End with a Bang

On Friday Aug. 23, the Redlands Bowl brought families together again to enjoy the last performance of the summer where admission was free of charge. As a dedication to the associates of the Redlands Bowl, the Redlands Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Frank Paul Fetta, opened with the Circus Polka by Igor Stravinsky, which he had subtitled “For a young elephant.” Next, Yana Reznik, a Russian-born pianist, performed three musical movements written by the late Sergei Rachmaninoff. One was his Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. The Redlands Symphony Orchestra played “Variations for a Celebration” by Dr. Wayne R. Bohrnstedt, a former dean at Redlands University and director of the School of Music. As Redlands Symphony Orchestra continued to perform, members of the Great All-American Youth Circus from Redlands Family YMCA began to pour out into the crowd, showing off their talents with tricks, kicks and unicyclists. DeeDee Inzer, a Riverside resident and best friend of 40 years to Tina Marie from San Francisco, shared, “The music playing from the Redlands Symphony Orchestra had been amazing thus far.” During intermission, the final collections of donations by volunteer ushers of the Kiwanis Club of Redlands–Noon and Redlands Community Hospital were being passed around, while the Optimist Club and Soroptimist International of Redlands were selling refreshments and goodies at booths to the audience. Kevin Lee, sitting snug with Lindsey Olsen under the moonlight said, “The sound coming from the orchestra brought me back to movie nostalgia when certain scenes begin to build intense emotion. It’s great.” As the end began to draw near for the 90th Annual Summer Redlands Bowl Music Festival, the Redlands Symphony Orchestra literally went out with a bang, upholding the theme “Fireworks Finale,” playing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture as a display of fireworks lit up founder Grace Stewart Mullen’s “The Prosellis” outdoor theater in Smiley Park.