La Cañada Presbyterian Church to Present Patriotic “Americana” Concert July 1

La Cañada Presbyterian Church will give three cheers to the red, white and blue at the “Americana Concert,” a stirring program of patriotic music and other beloved American tunes on Sunday, July 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Emcee Tyler Wright, President and CEO of the Crescenta-Canada Family YMCA, will provide inspirational and comic commentary, and recite patriotic poems.
As the nation prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July, LCPC’s Chancel Choir and Orchestra will conjure up images of America, its history and what makes it so special to each of us. That means alto soloist Diane Wallace in an inspiring rendition of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” the orchestra at full throttle for John Philip Sousa’s original version of “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” and the choir and orchestra combining for the iconic arrangement of “America the Beautiful” by the late Carmen Dragon, former director of the Hollywood Bowl and Glendale symphony orchestras.

“We will present a wide range of purely American music,” said Jack Lantz, Director of Worship and Music Arts at the church.

New this year will be a rendition of “Amazing Grace,” with John Allan on bagpipes, as well as a medley of themes from the 1930’s and ’40’s in “A Salute to the Big Bands.” Other highlights: “Victory at Sea Suite” by Richard Rogers, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” George M. Cohan’s “Star-Spangled Spectacular,” Morton Gould’s “American Salute” and Randall Thompson’s “Testament of Freedom,” which sets the words of Thomas Jefferson to inspirational music written when the nation was deep in the throes of World War II.

Tickets to “Americana” are $15 ($20 reserved), and are available in advance from Lori MacDonald at (626) 794-1522, at the church office (626 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada, CA 91011), or at the door. For further information, call the church office at (818) 790-6708 or visit lacanadapc.org.

About La Cañada Presbyterian Church

La Cañada Presbyterian Church (LCPC) began in 1948 with 158 members and a vision to reach the world for Jesus Christ. That early church was built quite literally on faith and charity from remainder brick and an operating budget that turned just about all of its revenue into active ministry. Through 65 years of outreach, LCPC grew to 2,000 active attendees doing ministry throughout Southern California and in 40 countries around the world. In 2010 the church completed a campus expansion which doubled its physical base for ministry and kept its historical sanctuary as the heart of the new grounds.

La Cañada Presbyterian Church, 626 Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada, (818) 790-6708, or visit www.lacanadapc.org.