EL DORADO — First Financial Bank of El Dorado will once again be sponsoring the South Arkansas Symphony’s “Symphony on the Square” free concert. This outdoor concert will be held during Memorial Day weekend on the east side of the Union County Courthouse. The concert, slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, will feature patriotic and popular music as well as a salute to those who have served in the Armed Forces.
“We are honored to once again sponsor the ‘Symphony on the Square’ for our community,” stated Chris Hegi, chief executive officer of First Financial Bank. “We hope everyone will come out and enjoy this family-friendly evening of music, food and fun as we pay tribute to our country and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defending it.” In the event of rain, the event will be moved to the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium.
The El Dorado High School Thespian Troupe will once again be providing food and drinks for purchase at the concert. They are raising money to help pay for upcoming productions and projects.
“The program is a mix of pops, including music from Broadway (like West Side Story) and Hollywood (like ET and Frozen.) We also will hear music by some of the great American composers, like Scott Joplin (who was also an Arkansas native) and George M. Cohen,” said Kermit Poling, music director and symphony conductor for the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
“A big part of the program is patriotic and we will feature the traditional Armed Forces Salute, honoring our veterans and active military. Greg Oden, well known local singer and choir director, will lead the audience in singing ‘America the Beautiful.’ As promised from the very first First Financial Bank Symphony on the Square, the orchestra will perform the finale from the 1812 Overture,” Poling said.
“We will have about 50 players on Saturday’s concert – a full orchestra taking up the entire front area of the courthouse. Typically we get about a thousand people at this concert - last year we had over 1,200. Greg Oden will be the featured soloist – he’s the choir director at the El Dorado High School, First United Methodist Church and well known,” Poling said.
“I believe this may be around the 10th year (for the concert series) but I’m not sure,” Poling said. “The music is always a mix – I try to have a little something for everyone. The program includes Broadway, Hollywood scores and some Scott Joplin and Henry Mancini; and, of course, lots of patriotic music. This has been an amazing collaboration (the South Arkansas Symphony and First Financial Bank) and has really become an El Dorado tradition. The weather is expected to be very nice,” the conductor said.
Those planning to attend the concert are reminded to bring a chair. There will be limited seating available, but in the past “many people bring folding chairs,” Poling said.
Named by Forum Magazine as one of the top 10 faces to watch, Poling is celebrating his 22th season as music director of the South Arkansas Symphony and his 27th season as music director of the Shreveport, Louisiana Metropolitan Ballet. He is in his 31st year as associate conductor of the Shreveport Symphony, an orchestra where he also was concertmaster for over 27 years.
He has produced the Shreveport Symphony’s broadcast series since 1987, having also produced radio programming for WBUR Boston and other public radio stations. He serves as general manager of the Red River Radio public radio network at Louisiana State University-Shreveport, having been appointed to the position in 2006. In 2015, he will also become music director of the Marshall Symphony Orchestra in Texas.
As a conductor, Poling performs extensively throughout the United States and around the world. He has been featured with numerous orchestras, including the Orchestra of the Province of Lecco, Italy; the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México; the Guanajuato Symphony (Mexico); the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and Moscow Ballet; the Oklahoma City Philharmonic; Filharmonia Veneta; Shenzhen Symphony of China; University of Hartford and many others.
Also a composer, Poling’s most recent ballets include Peter Pan, premiered by the University of Hartford in 2014 and Beauty and the Beast, premiered by Ballet Oklahoma in 2014. His work, No Sound of Trumpet nor Roll of Drum, was premiered in 2011, honoring the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.
Last year, his score to the silent film, Tarzan, and for the documentary, Tarzan: Lord of the Louisiana Jungle, won accolades across the country. Past compositions include the ballets Snow White, Wizard of Oz, Aladdin and Phantom of the Opera. Several recent compositions commissioned by the Shreveport Summer Music Festival included Within the Orb of Glories Wearing and Visions of the Virgin.
Poling received the Outstanding Artist in Music Fellowship in 2000 from the State of Louisiana and twice received a Music Fellowship from the Shreveport Regional Arts Council. His awards include scholarships to the Boston Conservatory of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Tanglewood Music Center, where he studied with Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Masur, Gustav Meier and Seiji Ozawa. In 2005, Poling served as one of three international judges for China’s National Young Artists Competition with the China National Symphony in Beijing. In 2012, he was awarded a career advancement award from the State of Louisiana. In 1998, he was chosen by Oscar award winning artist William Joyce to compose the music for his stage adaptation of The Leafmen and the Brave Good Bugs.
In 2011 Centaur Records released a CD of Poling’s newest Christmas arrangements, performed by the West Edge String Quartet. He was also featured as an expert on the reality TV show Baggage Battles in 2013 on the A&E network.
He also serves as the choirmaster and organist at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Bossier City, Louisiana.