Ballpark hosts Riverfront Pops concert

Font Size:

By David Heitz | Saturday, September 6, 2008 10:40 PM CDT | () comments

Quad City Symphony Orchestra conductor Mark Russell Smith leads the audience in the singing of the National Anthem to start the Riverfront Pops concert Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008, at Modern Woodmen Park. (Andrew Link/Quad-City Times) Buy this Photo

While some Riverfront Pops concertgoers lamented the relocation of Saturday’s symphony to a baseball stadium, others found plenty of perks to watching the performance somewhere other than its usual venue of LeClaire Park.

Although the June floods forced the concert and other summertime events out of the washed-out green space where it had been held since 1983, Modern Woodmen Park offered a setting with amenities LeClaire Park does not have. Those attractions included a 14- by 17-foot video screen (which the symphony used to show the blockbuster “E.T.” after the concert), an inflatable play area for children, concessions and more.

As a result, the Quad-City Symphony Orchestra was able to offer much more than the exhilarating music of John Williams, the world’s most famous composer of movie scores and other household tunes, such as the “Today” show theme on NBC as well as the opening music to “NBC Nightly News.”

“It’s a movie in the park on top of a concert in the park,” said Dawn Van de Moortel of Rock Island. “I think it’s a good solution. I love LeClaire Park and I want it to have its chance to heal.”

Van de Moortel said she attended a Hootie and the Blowfish concert at the stadium several years ago. “The acoustics here are great.”

The Riverfront Pops concert marked the first for Jeff vom Saal, executive director for the symphony. Brand new conductor Mark Russell Smith made his debut as well, even wearing a River Bandits jersey.

Just as with the pops concert at LeClaire Park, ticket-holders could bring in their own food and drink, including alcohol, and could spread out blankets on the stadium field. “We’re trying to replicate LeClaire Park for all the great things it has to offer,” vom Saal said. “People can bring in a chef if they want. We’re in the experience industry. This is much more than a concert.”

Vom Saal expected as many as 7,000 people to pack the stadium. He said the symphony will not rule out permanently moving the pops concert to the stadium if they determine it was a hit with those who attended.

“That has been discussed, in concept only,” he said. “It would take a lot to move this concert.”

The concert had an unmistakable pro-children feel. Besides the showing of “E.T.,” a film adored by American youngsters, “stormtrooper” characters from “Star Wars” also roamed the grounds and posed for pictures with wound-up kids.

“Star Wars” tops the list of famous movies for which Williams wrote the music. Others include “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Schindler’s List,” “E.T.,” “Superman” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” all of which the symphony played at the concert.

Kurt and Patti Schmidt of Davenport, who met at a Riverfront Pops concert in 1995, brought their little ones along. Peter, 9, wore a “Star Wars” shirt and carried a light saber while Anna, 5, toted a Darth Vader mask.

The family had placed a piece of wood over a wagon to create a makeshift picnic table complete with silverware, candles and more. “We’re having organic, chocolate-covered strawberries,” Patti Schmidt said. “We’re going gourmet.”

The Schmidts said they didn’t mind coming to the concert at a baseball stadium. “I don’t mind if it’s a change of venue,” Patti Schmidt said. “This is a great symphony orchestra. They could have this in a back alley and I wouldn’t care.”

David Heitz can be contacted at (563) 383-2202 or dheitz@qctimes.com.