The final Music at McClellan concert of the summer went out with a bang.Ten Civil War-replica cannons provided thundering authenticity to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra’s final performance of the evening, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.
Although lightning and heavy rain wreaked havoc with the first concert of the series, attendance shot up for the last three concerts, including more than 1,000 who attended Saturday night’s Classical Spectacular.
Attendance at all four concerts reached more than 5,000, which means organizers will come close to meeting the approximately $220,000 of expenses it took to put on the concerts, said Pete Conroy, chairman of the Music at McClellan committee.
“For the first year of anything, that is miraculous,” Conroy said.
The crowd approved with applause when Conroy announced that the orchestra will make McClellan its summer home, returning next year for another series of concerts and sharing their musical talents with the area’s high school musicians.
As Anniston Mayor Chip Howell scanned the concert grounds filled with families, Sheriff’s horses, and crowd-pleasing mimes, he said the concerts have been incredible.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for all of Calhoun County to soak in the beautiful music of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra as they make this their summer home,” Howell said.
The concerts also will help create a new perception of Anniston, Howell said.
“The state will begin to see Anniston as something other than a negative headline,” he said. “We’re moving through our challenges, particularly with the redevelopment of McClellan residentially, recreationally and now culturally.”
The cannons added a historical element to the evening. More than 30 members of five Civil War re-enactment groups from Georgia and across Alabama traveled to McClellan, hauling thousands of pounds of cannons behind them.
The cannons Tchaikovsky used in the first performance of the Overture in 1882 were similar to the Civil War replicas used by the re-enactment groups, said Tom Land of Hoover, who helped coordinate the effort.
Often, modern groups use electrical devices to detonate the gunfire at the precise moment it is intended in the score. But the re-enactors fired their cannons Saturday night like the Civil War soldiers did, pulling cords known as lanyards to set off the primer which detonates the blast.
“It’s much more difficult to do it that way,” Land said. “The biggest challenge is the timing of the primer with the conductor.”
Mike Mahan, a member of Fowler’s Alabama Battery, said Saturday night’s performance of the 1812 Overture using the authentic firing method was the first of its kind in Alabama and possibly in the Southeast.
By the end of the Overture, concert-goers were on their feet, clapping along with music often associated with the Fourth of July. A final round of cannon fire, which reverberated across the parade grounds, closed the piece.
Lew Wiedeman, an Alexandria resident, said the cannon fire was impressive.
“With no rehearsal (with the symphony), I thought they did a really good job,” Wiedeman said.
He kept an eye on Orchestra Manager Terri Johnson, who was directing the cannon fire with a flashing red nightstick. But the blasts jolted others, who didn’t see Johnson’s cue.
Several concert-goers said Saturday night’s performance was their first time to attend a McClellan concert.
Laura Mills brought her four children from Atlanta. Her mother, who lives in Anniston, raved about the previous week’s Simply Sinatra concert, persuading Mills to come see one for herself.
Mickey Pinkston of Alexandria, who was turned away from the first concert after the storm forced it to move indoors, came back for the Sinatra concert and Saturday night’s performance.
“It’s wonderful,” Pinkston said of the outdoor setting. “It’s kind of like going to Auburn and tailgating. Bringing it home to McClellan is important.”
The concerts left Pinkston longing for more.
“I just wish they’d keep doing this all summer,” she said. “This is great.”
“We’ll be back next year.”
