The Sweetest Sounds

Erich Kunzel leads the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in rehearsal at Riverbend Music Center

The very words "Rodgers and Hammerstein" trigger something in people:  visions of old time Americana ("Surrey with the Fringe on Top" from "Oklahoma"), inspiration ("You'll Never Walk Alone" from "Carousel"), even yodeling ("The Lonely Goatherd" from "The Sound of Music").
   Hear those and more at 8 p.m. August 1 at Riverbend when Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops present an entire evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein with soprano Kathleen Brett, tenor Aaron Lazar, baritone Daniel Narducci, the Cincinnati May Festival Summer Chorus and Cincinnati Children's Choir.

Aaron Lazar

Lazar is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music who went on to fame on Broadway.  He earned a 2007 Drama Desk nomination for his portrayal of the student leader Enjolras in the 2006 revival of "Les Miserables" and is currently performing in his first Broadway play, "Impressionism," directed by Jack O'Brien.  This will be Lazar's Cincinnati Pops debut.
   The concert brings the Pops' 2009 Riverbend season to a close.  Tickets are $20, children under 12 are free to the lawn with a ticketed adult.  Call (513) 381-3300 or order online at www.cincinnatipops.org.

Crowd at Kentucky Symphony Orchestra concert, Devou Park Amphitheater, Covington

Ragtime will be the theme of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra's "Black Bottom Stomp," at 7:30 p.m. August 1 in Devou Park Amphitheater in Covington.  The KSO's Newport Ragtime Band will perform (rain or shine), led by KSO music director James R. Cassidy.
   Dubbed "Black Bottom Stomp," the concert will feature ragtime favorites by Scott Joplin, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Artie Matthews and others. 
   Admission is free, though donations ($5 a person suggested) are accepted.