Courtesy | For The Flint Journa - The Hot Club of Detroit is the second performance during the FIM's Music in the Parks series this year. You can catch their free show at Kearsley Park at 7 p.m. July 7.
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The annual Music in the Parks series is something Andrew Ward of the Flint Institute of Music looks forward to each year. After 21 years, he said, Mary Margaret St. John’s vision of bringing music to the community is still alive and well.
“She’s been a member of the Flint Symphony Orchestra for 45 years. It’s pretty incredible,” Ward said. “Her goal has been to present something to the community that everyone could enjoy, regardless of age, race, music taste. It’s a time when everyone can have a nice afternoon with the family.”
MIP 2011 follows a long-standing tradition in the community of showcasing a range of both local and national music. The series kicks off Thursday night at Crossroads Village with a patriotic theme just in time for Independence Day.
With a committee of more than 20 local residents planning and putting on the concerts, Ward said the music is as diverse as the people behind it.
“It’s a large committee of all walks of life that come together for this community concert series. They want to bring different types of music in,” he said.
The music usually is the kind that doesn’t come around often. Take the former lead singer of The Platters, Sonny Turner. He’ll be joining the FSO to give the final MIP performance on Aug. 19. It’s a hand-clapping and foot-stomping show set to take place during the annual Back to the Bricks event.
Another highlight, Ward said, is the Gospel Celebration show July 26, featuring The Flint Area Gospel Musicians & Directors Fellowship, The Flint Jubilee Chorale and The Flint Jubilee Gospel Singers — a rare show to catch.
“The Gospel Celebration is always a great tradition, especially in the African-American community,” Ward said, noting that the show has been moved to Mott Park this year to hold even more people. “And it’s special because it is very rare to see the directors perform together.”
He says he’s eager for the performance of the Hot Club of Detroit and hearing the members’ unique sound. “They’re something very cool and eclectic to experience,” he said.
“We invite people to bring their blankets or lawnchairs, get some snacks and enjoy some music with the family,” he said.
MIP attracts an average of 600 people for each show. Ward says it’s one of the events in the city that really gets the community together.
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