NILES Orchestra to play the field at Cafaro

The conductor said he's looking forward to the performance.
By MOLLY SHERIDAN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
While the Mahoning Valley Scrappers are on the road this coming weekend, Cafaro Field will host a different home team.
The Youngstown Symphony will take the field Saturday evening under the baton of guest conductor Carl Topilow for "Pops at the Ballpark," an annual summer event at the park since it opened in 1999. The performance attracts a crowd of between 3,000 to 4,000 people every year.
"It's a great cross cultural event," said Alan Milovich, general manager at the ballpark. "We end up with symphony followers who don't traditionally come to the ballpark and baseball fans who wouldn't usually follow the symphony coming together. It's a really neat event in a great setting."
The field gates will open at 6:30 p.m. for a planned 8 p.m. downbeat. A jazz ensemble will provide pre-concert entertainment. Concertgoers can sit in the stadium or reserve tables that seat eight right on the field. An Italian buffet will also be offered for an additional charge.
Topilow has never conducted in Youngstown before, but he said he's very much looking forward to leading the orchestra. Though local audiences may never have seen him in action, Topilow's national reputation precedes him to the podium. In addition to guest appearances around the globe, he is the founding conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and serves as the conductor and director of the orchestral program at the Cleveland Institute of Music and music director and conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado.
His program
For "Pops at the Ballpark," Topilow has planned a program that he characterized as fun, full of recognizable tunes, and filled with opportunities for audience participation. Speaking recently by phone from Breckenridge, Colorado, where he was wrapping up the NRO's eight-week summer festival season, Topilow explained that "the fun thing for me is when I can get the audience involved -- singing and clapping. We have a good time. Usually the audience enjoys being part of the show."
Also an accomplished soloist, Topilow usually works his unique red clarinet into the show. He said we can expect the trademark instrument to be featured during a few numbers on Saturday's program.
Special affinity
Though he conducts a range of symphonic repertoire on the concert stage every year, Topilow has a special affinity for classical Pops programming. "I like the variety of music that you get to do and also the Americana feel to it," he explained. "There's a lot of creativity in putting together a Pops season and coming up with interesting programs that really have a great appeal and are entertaining on various levels."
Topilow's selections for the Cafaro show run through a gamut of styles, offering everything from the Anvil Chorus from Verdi's II Trovatore and March of the Toreadors from Bizet's Carmen to medleys of tunes from The Sound of Music and James Bond films. In classic summer style, the orchestra will close the night with the 1812 Overture and a fireworks display.
Challenges
A successful outdoor performance pits the orchestra against a number of challenges -- from amplifying some 70 musicians to keeping track of sheet music on a windy summer night.
Still, Topilow said the size of the venue makes it all worthwhile. "Being outside gives you the chance to play for a lot of people," said Topilow with a laugh.