Southwest High Teacher Brings the Boom
At the crescendo of the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky performed by the San Diego Symphony's Summer Pops, Howitzer canons fire simulated shots into San Diego Bay. The canon shots signal that Southwest High music teacher Donna Clark and her husband Robert are ready to begin the show. They aren't a part of the orchestra, but their role is just as important - they are lighting up the sky with fireworks over San Diego Bay.
As owners of Fireworks America, a local pyrotechnics company, the Clarks have been a part of several sporting, cultural and community events including everything from professional sporting events to high school homecomings.
Robert, an electrician by trade, got into the fireworks business through a friend who worked for another local pyrotechnics company. He says that one "behind the scenes" moment was all it took to hook him.
Eight years ago, the opportunity to buy Fireworks America came up and he and Donna jumped at the opportunity. Since then, the Clarks have been joined in the business by Donna's mother, Pat, and several other friends and family members.
"Either you like it, or you don't," said Robert Clark. "We do this because we love to entertain people."
For the Pops performance, Donna uses her experience as a music teacher to work with Robert in synchronizing the pyrotechnics to Tchaikovsky's score.
With the picturesque setting of the San Diego Bay and the Coronado Bridge in the background, Robert and Pat begin preparation for the 9:00 PM show in the early afternoon. One by one, they set out several hundred explosives on a small floating concrete barge and begin stringing them with fuses that are linked to an electronic launch control board.
Donna is stationed near the symphony, and Robert and his team on the barge are towed via tugboat to the middle of San Diego Bay several hundred yards away from the orchestra. Donna calls the team on the bay via radio and prepares them for the four-minute display. Dressed in fireman's jackets and hardhats, the team on the barge gets the call to be prepared for the Howitzer shots.
The canons go off and Donna's voice comes over the radio. "Fire 1, Fire 2, Fire 3..." The barge shakes and the explosions become deafening. The smell of sulfur fills the air and the fireworks light the barge. The four-minute show concludes to the sound of applause from the symphony patrons.
"They loved it," exclaimed Donna Clark over the radio. "You're getting a standing ovation!"