By Amy Eskind/ Nashville Public Radio

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 30, 2017) -- Larry Trotter is a Knoxville pastor, and a former lead guitarist in a rock band. But on July 4th Trotter turns into the maestro of the downtown fireworks — the man who times the fireworks to the live music.

Standing on the symphony stage, beside the trombones, he fixes his eyes on the conductor.

“We fire our first shot of every song on his downbeat,” says Trotter. “And the conductor is very good to make sure that he makes big motions for us so that I see when that downbeat’s coming.”

Trotter is senior pastor at Concord United Methodist Church. He and others have studied the musical scores and decided exactly where in the songs to use cascading sparkles, thunderous booms, strobes, hearts, stars, Saturn rings, and ribbons of color.

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