RI Philharmonic Returns To Roger Williams Park

The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra played a pops concert at Providence’s Roger Williams Park on Thursday night, in a return of sorts for the orchestra. The philharmonic’s last concert in the park dated to more than a decade ago, in 2004.

Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School Executive Director David Beauchesne and Resident Conductor Francisco Noya discuss the pops concert, the future of classical music, and why you may see fewer tuxedos on concert stages.

The organizer of the concert, The Rhode Island Foundation, planned the public event as part of its centennial celebration. The nonprofit philanthropy has also embarked on a campaign to raise $10 million for the park, half of which will pay for immediate capital improvements. The other half will create an endowment for future maintenance and programming.

Baritone Philip Lima, who performed three solos on Thursday night, explains his approach to pre-performance jitters; plus how to make a song “sassy.”

Rhode Island Public Radio and Latino Public Radio offered live broadcasts of the concert.

On RIPR, a special intermission program included interviews with R.I. Philharmonic Resident Conductor Francisco Noya, and soloist Philip Lima, who wowed the crowd with his rendition of Gershwin’s ”It Ain’t Necessarily So.”  You can find audio from the program posted here, in three segments.

The Rhode Island Foundation’s Jessica David on the history of Roger Williams Park, and the foundation’s initiative to renovate the park.