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The annual Independence Day Concert and Fireworks display will be held on Friday, July 3, on the campus of The Ohio State University at Newark and Central Ohio Technical College. The event is free and open to all.



The evening’s celebration will begin with a variety of musical entertainment. Popular local singing duo Sticks & Stones 2 will open the festivities at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra (NGSO) at approximately 8:15 p.m. Joining the orchestra for special guest appearances will be highly-acclaimed soprano Alison Davy, another local musical favorite, Common Thread, and The Ohio State University Marching Band. A fireworks display will begin at dusk to the accompaniment of patriotic favorites performed by the symphony.



All performances will be held at the Martha Grace Reese Amphitheatre. A number of local vendors will be serving food and beverages on the campus grounds during the event. The public is encouraged to bring lawn chairs, picnics and blankets for a fun-filled evening of music and entertainment. Free parking is available at the campus. The annual Independence Day Concert and Fireworks is fully funded by the Reese Family Foundation.



Bill Price and Skip Anderson have been playing music together since the mid 1960s. Known as Sticks and Stones 2, their easy listening, no gimmicks style of music includes two acoustic guitars and vocals of timeless, classic hits from the 60s and 70s. They perform frequently at many locations throughout central Ohio. For more information, visit their web site at www.thesticksandstones.com.



Alison Davy joins the NGSO from New York City. Davy, a Lyric coloratura soprano, will perform favorites by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Lerner & Lowe, plus a Puccini aria and the Star Spangled Banner. She has appeared in opera and oratorio both nationally and internationally. Praised by Opera Orchestra of New York conductor Eve Queler for her “beautiful expression and style,” Davy has performed as a soloist with The Washington Opera, Handel Choir of Baltimore, Centro Musica Antica in Italy, Parma Symphony Orchestra, New York City’s Downtown Symphony Orchestra and the Choral Arts Society of Washington, D.C. outreach program. This will be her second appearance with the NGSO. 



Common Thread will perform for the first time with the full NGSO. This local favorite group features the tight tenor harmonies of Hugh Price, Kevin Plaugher and Tim Hofmeister. The trio met singing in the choir at the First Presbyterian Church in Granville and have performed at numerous functions in central Ohio including the Granville Fourth of July Celebration, Take Five at the Works, Concert on the Green in Granville, three Community Picnics in Granville, Spring Rotary Party at the Midland Theater, Think Pink, and Ovation for the Midland Theatre. For the July 3rd concert, the trio will offer some of their acoustic favorites and then be joined by the NGSO for world-premiere arrangements of “Ventura Highway” and “Dance the Night Away.”



Maestro Timothy Weiss, NGSO music director, is professor of conducting and chair of the Division of Conducting and Ensembles at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He holds degrees from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, from Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan. An active guest conductor, he has conducted recent concerts in New York City and San Francisco, and has appeared with the Toledo Symphony, the Quad City Symphony, San Angelo Orchestra of the Nacional Association de Conciertos in Panama City and at the Almeida Festival in London.



The Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra is committed to providing outstanding symphonic entertainment for the residents of Licking County. Formed in July 2005, the orchestra boasts more than 75 outstanding musicians from throughout Licking County and Central Ohio. Also in 2005, NGSO established Licking County’s first Youth Symphony, giving the area’s best young musicians an opportunity to play and learn orchestral music. For more information, contact Cindy Wilkins at 740.975.4633 or visit their website at www.ngsymphony.org.