Dana Point : Orchestra to Play Whale Music From Brig’s Deck

At sunset tonight, 60 musicians of the Capistrano Valley Symphony Orchestra will perform special whale music from the decks of the brig Pilgrim at her anchorage in the west end of Dana Point Harbor.

Open to the public at no charge, the program will be a highlight of the third weekend of the harbor’s annual Festival of the Whales, which will conclude next weekend.

Harry Helling, director of education at the Orange County Marine Institute and coordinator of the festival, said the concert will provide several “firsts.”

It will be the first time a symphony orchestra has performed on the decks of a tall ship for an audience on shore a few yards away, and the first time that original music--”Flight of the Whales,” by Jean Lundstrom of Dana Point--has been written and dedicated to the California gray whales, which now are migrating from the Arctic to lagoons in Baja Mexico and passing close to county shores.

The orchestra, directed by Donn Laurence Mills, also will perform “And God Created Great Whales,” plus Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, accompanied by the Pilgrim’s cannons at the finale.

Visitors are invited to bring their folding chairs to the grounds of the Marine Institute, where the nearby cliffs will provide a natural amphitheater, Helling said, adding that if it should rain, the performance will be rescheduled for March 9.

During this weekend and next, a number of activities will be going on in various parts of the harbor, including scuba lessons at the Marina Inn’s heated pool, contests, lectures and exhibits at the Marine Institute.