The Queens Symphony Orchestra is now in its' 57th year and this past Sunday they made their only 2009 appearance at Forest Park.  About 45 minutes before the start of the show, the skies opened up and there was a tremendous storm.  As showtime approached, and the musicians took the stage and began to tune up, the skies were bright -- see below -- but it had that funny look to it.  Thus, everyone was wondering if we'd get through the whole show without getting drenched. 

It was a little humid -- but thankfully the organizers handed out complimentary fans (below right).

Although it had rained heavily, a good crowd had gathered (had the rain continued, they would have packed up and moved the concert to Christ the King High School).  Below right, Herb Chain - President of the Queens Symphony Orchestra -- addresses the crowd and explains that due to budget cuts, the QSO will only make one appearance at Forest Park this year (compared to the customary multiple appearances).  To remedy this, he suggests that "as you speak to your City Council Members, as you speak to your representatives in Congress, etc. talk to them about restoring funding to arts organizations."  It's good advice, if you want to see more of these shows in Forest Park. 

Soon after, QSO Music Director Constantine Kitsopoulos took the stage and led the crows with the Star Spangled Banner.  He was soon joined by Council Member from the 29th District, Melinda Katz, who sang Summertime, by George Gershwin.

Melinda Katz is no stranger to the QSO as it was her father, David Katz, who founded the orchestra 57 years ago.

Here is our video of Ms. Katz, on stage at the Seuffert Bandshell in Forest Park:

Nice job, Melinda!  But did you notice those dark clouds?  We could even hear thunder in the distance.  Against this backdrop. the crowd was introduced to Miss Antonia Kitsopoulos who performed Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing." 

At about a minute into this video, you'll hear the crackle of lightning -- and a real loud crack of thunder.  Everyone flinched -- but Miss Kitsopoulos kept singing, right up until the moment when the rain began to fall and everyone ran for cover.  This is a fun video. 

The rain came down hard -- big, full raindrops.  Everyone ran for whatever cover they could find. 

The rain lasted about 15 minutes.  The pictures below give you a good example of how hard it was raining.  It doesn't look like it rained all that hard when you watch the video -- but it was.

Another shot of the rain . . .

These folks were smart, they took shelter under this tent and under the canopy of the information booth.  We spotted a number of people taking shelter under trees.   

Soon enough, the rain started and the sun came out.  People came back to their seats.  There was lots of drying off being done on stage and off.

Here's something interesting.  The other day, I posted a notice that the Queens Festival Band was returning to Forest Park.  In that article, there's video of that band getting interrupted by Mister Softee and, about that, I wrote: "Wouldn't it be great to hear them play the Mr. Softee theme?"

Well, the QSO dries off and begins to warm up after the rain delay and Mister Softee enters the parking lot.  And a moment or two later, guess what tune they start warming up with?  Listen closely:

How cool is that?  Coincidence?  Or is there a PW reader on the QSO?  Either way, it was a nice moment we wanted to share.  Next up, the Queens Symphony Orchestra kicked off the show again with a jazzy tune -- Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Wave":

That was nice.   We had a good time at this show.  What I like about these shows is not only the experience of enjoying a day out in the park with some good music, but the opportunity to be exposed to music you might not hear otherwise. 

Then Miss Antonia Kitsopoulos came back for a second go round -- and this time the weather held.  This girl's got some pipes.  Here she is singing Cole Porter's "Night and Day" -- first in French, then English.  

As we made our way around the area, we ran into Heidi Chain, who is running for City Council (29th District, the seat Melinda Katz is vacating).  Her website is here. 

She was there to enjoy the show as her husband, Herb Chain, is the President of the QSO.  But she was kind enough to give us a few minutes to introduce herself to our readers, and tell us why she wants to run.  It was a little tricky for a minute or so as the band was loud -- even though we were way at the back.  Here she is:

All in all is was an excellent show and we had a great time.  If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

Return to Project Woodhaven's Home Page