Dr. Ed Siegel will realize a childhood dream as he guest conducts the Fort Collins Symphony in the Prelude to Carmen during the 4th of July Celebration at City Park. Maestro Wes Kenney will conduct the remainder of the concert entitled Reflection on America which will feature such patriotic favorites as an Armed Forces Salute, America the Beautiful, Stars and Stripes, and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. It will also include popular pieces from Jurassic Park, and Superman. The concert will begin at 8:15 p.m. and conclude with awe-inspiring fireworks.

Ed Siegel, son of successful and community-minded parents, Julian and Ida Siegel, was born at the Poudre Valley Hospital in 1939 and was raised in Fort Collins. While enrolled in CSU’s Experimental Day Care Center, he discovered he could play the piano by ear and was soon playing for school assemblies; playing on KCOL’s Children’s Hour hosted by Jack Hitchcock, Ft. Collins’ first radio announcer; and competing in talent shows at the America Theater on College Avenue (now the Galleria Building), and in the Annual Kiwanis Club’s “Stars of Tomorrow” contest at the Ft. Collins High School (now CSU’s Center for the Performing Arts). Siegel has been a longtime supporter of the Fort Collins Symphony and recently, through the Friends of the Symphony,honored his parents by endowing The Julian and Ida Siegel Assistant Concertmaster Chair.

Dr. Siegel has, for over 35 years, been a highly regarded psychiatrist and lecturer in the fields of social and behavioral sciences at the University of California-San Diego. Currently living in Solana Beach, California, Siegel has given piano performances, at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., at the Museum of New York City, and on NBC’s Today Show with Katie Couric to name a few. He frequently returns to his hometown of Fort Collins to see friends and to take in Symphony performances. His dear friend Kay Edwards contacted Maestro Kenney after Siegel shared his dream to be a guest conductor. As an opportunity to thank Dr. Siegel for his generous financial sponsorship, the Fort Collins Symphony will help make his dream come true.

The Fort Collins Symphony’s 4thof July performance is made possible with support from Banner Health, the City of Fort Collins, and the Fan Foundation. For more information, please contact Mary A. Kopco, Executive Director at 970.482.4823 or by visiting www.fcsymphony.org