About 1,000 music lovers came to hear the patriotic sounds of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra on the grounds of the Vicksburg National Military Park Visitors Center Saturday.

This was the third year for the pops concert that is a mix of popular and patriotic music.

Before the concert began longtime Vicksburg resident Frances Koury was recognized for work to bring the arts to Vicksburg.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into this, but we’ve gotten good at it over the past three years,” VNMP interim superintendent Bill Justice said. “That’s been the really great thing is working with all the great partners and at this stage we’ve learned to adapt and what we need to change if we need to.”

“We’ve been wanting to do a concert at the Vicksburg National Military Park for years and we look forward to this one for a lot of reasons,” Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Conductor Crafton Beck said. “It’s our last concert of the year, it’s our farewell to each other for the summer and we won’t see each other until September.”

Al Sheffield and his wife Ellen came out to the park from Edwards for the second year to enjoy the outdoor concert.

“We were year last year and just loved it and were amazed at how many people showed up,” Sheffield said. “This is gorgeous weather.

The weather was beautiful with clear skies and temperatures in the low 80s with a slight breeze.

“We’ve been lucky that we’ve not had bad weather yet,” Beck said. “We do eight outdoor concerts a year and we’ve learned to come and do our best.”

The concert began with the National Anthem, included some songs from Oliver, a few selection of marching band music and a salute to those who are or have served in the Armed Forces with the playing of the songs of various branches as veterans stood to be honored.

After intermission the orchestra took to Hollywood and played selections from movies Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, Titanic, Star Trek and capped the night with God Bless America, which the crowd sang along to.

Justice told the crowd that Memorial Day is set aside specifically to remember those who have died in service to their country and was established shortly after the Civil War.

Saturday’s concert capped the commemoration of the sesquicentennial for the VNMP and signaled the beginning of the celebration of the centennial of the National Park Service. The theme of the centennial is “Find your Park and Justice said the VNMP was proud to be able to present events like Saturday’s concert.

“It’s a great opportunity to give back to the community,” Justice said. “There’s a great deal of interest in having this as an annual event.”

The concert became a reality through the partnership of Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park and Campaign, Four Seasons of the Arts and Vicksburg National Military Park.

Dorothy Brasfield is the organist, choirmaster, director of the Conservatory of Fine Arts at Church of the Holy Trinity and a board member of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and is heavily involved in making the annual concert a reality.

“We already have plans for next year’s concert, Brasfield said. “Next year we will be celebrating the centennial of the National Park Service.”