The Royal Fireworks Concert™ is the largest independent outdoor music event in the Inland Northwest, reaching more than 30,000 people each year. The concert's performing ensemble is the Royal Band. The Royal Band is the oldest established wind band of this type in the nation. It is made up of oboes, bassoons, trumpets, horns, percussion, and a serpent -- the instrumentation specified by Handel when he wrote his 1749 masterpiece, Musick for the Royal Fireworks. The sixty professional musicians in the Royal Band come from throughout the Pacific Northwest, from the East Coast, and occasionally from Europe. The Royal Fireworks Concert™ was founded by Beverly Biggs and David Dutton, specialize in historically accurate performances, in 1978 who sought to recreate the historical performance of Musik for the Royal Fireworks by George Frederick Handel. The piece was written in 1749 to celebrate the end of the War of Austrian Succession. The Royal Fireworks Concert™ is a perfect way to present period music and dazzling fireworks -- a crowd-pleasing event. Beverly Biggs and David Dutton who are also founders of Allegro Baroque and Beyond (Spokane's period music organization) and the Northwest Bach Festival.As when the piece was first played in 1749, fireworks are choreographed to the final movements of Handel's music. In addition to this musical masterpiece, the concert includes other baroque period music written for an outdoor wind band. The concert is FREE and takes place on the Floating Stage in Spokane's Riverfront Park on the last Sunday of July.
