Show ri Westley's Cannons Resound To 1812 Overture Vj J I S U L f t l r 94 ly i iby r l d' d by Robert Kjar Dave Westley welding instructor at has an explosive hobby he assembles 45 caliber cannons to give a musical blast to the 1812 Overture Appearing with the Utah Symphony for th the first time four years ago Westley and a crowd of nearly twenty which have since become a featured attraction at atthe atthe atthe the annual Snowbird summer concert At the conductors conductor's cue he pushes a button on the electronic control board to ignite the cannons The controls were fashioned by electricity students under Frank Harpers Harper's supervision Westley is a member of the Mountain Men of the Wasatch Muzzle Loading Club and that's where he got the idea to use cannons The sixteen cannons fired in the overture were assembled from a kit with some of Westley's own modifications Each one takes him about two or three hours to complete Set to debut in June will be an accordian and cannon group that's sure to make a bang Westley will combine his skills with accordian students of the Larry Pino Conservatory where his son studies The accordian ensemble will be performing the 1812 Overture on June 11 as s part of its raising fund-raising concert at Eisenhower Junior High Later this summer Westley will be appearing with the Utah Symphony again as they perform at Snowbird Weber State College Midvale Park and Sundance Included in his is a homemade cannon bored to 1 2 11 M inches that Westley uses on New Years Year's and the Fourth of July to keep keeps his neighborhood lively He also has an elaborate collection of model rockets including a 40 inch high Saturn 5 replica and a space shuttle with boosters that sprout parachutes as the shuttle glides in for a landing Westley who formerly taught a handgun safety class clas at emphasized that extreme caution is always observed when operating his musical guns as even a blank fired up close can cause serious damage 0 r I |