It started as a musical lark. Could you take the marimba and strum ringtone from an iPhone and make something a symphony orchestra might play?

Turns out, for Oberlin College and Conservatory freshman Christian Won, the answer was yes. Then came the surprising thing.

The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra will play his six-minute composition, “iPhone Variations for Orchestra,” this weekend at its annual Pops in the Park concerts. The late summer performances are a Labor Day tradition at Quiet Waters Park, now expanded to Downs Park in Pasadena.

“After I wrote down the first maybe 20 seconds, it turned out that, wow, this could actually be something great,” said Won, who composed the piece as a homeschooled high school senior in Grandview, Missouri.

“You know, it doesn’t just have to be like a joke piece. So I really invested my time for the next, like, two months, and it went from something that started out as a silly project to one of my main pieces. I’m proud to have finished it.”

He used a computer app to perform the variations and caught the attention of José-Luis Novo, the ASO’s artistic director and conductor. He discovered the piece on YouTube and thinks audiences will love it.

“I thought that this would be a great thing to do at a concert like this because it’s using the things that everyone is so used to hearing on telephones and creating a symphonic piece of music, which is actually quite good,” he said.

The piece is a set of seven orchestral variations on the ringtone familiar to anyone with an iPhone, or anyone near someone with one. It fits in with the fun nature of Pops in the Park outdoor concerts.

“I think that people love going to an outdoor venue and having a good time and listening to good music,” Novo said. “I think it’s as simple as that. … And being free, I think, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

There will also be movie music from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Jungle Book” and other films, works by more traditional composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich and popular artists like jazz great Duke Ellington.

Won’s piece, though, is also part of a more serious message by Novo and the ASO. The symphony is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act this season. Won is a first-generation Korean American, and Novo said his selection adds more diversity to the symphony’s programming and efforts to reach new audiences.

“We want to represent or highlight the importance of the Civil Rights Act in bringing to our society the full range of benefits and rights to all the people that are members of our society who in the past were not quite so,” Novo said.

Won has been working with Novo and the ASO staff to arrange his composition for the musicians. Although he won’t be in Annapolis for his world premiere, he looks forward to hearing it.

“I’m really looking forward to hearing the audio recording once it happens,” he said. “I don’t think it’s completely, you know, settled in my mind. I’m so very excited.”

ASO Pops in the Park takes place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Downs Park, and at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Quiet Waters. The rain date is 5:30 p.m. Labor Day at the Annapolis park. Both concerts are free, but registering enters you for a raffle for free tickets to future concerts.

Bring your own chairs, blankets, food and drink. Parking close to the concert grounds fills quickly, so arrive early for prime spots and the best seats on the lawn.

Here are other great things to do in the next seven days.

Inspired by Frederick

5:30-7 p.m. Thursday

Quilt artist Aynex Mercado will talk about her new exhibit, “Quilting Frederick,” at a reception at Maryland Hall. The architecture of the Western Maryland city inspires the pieces. The exhibit continues through Nov. 22 in the Openshaw Gallery. Free.

State House stretch

8:30-9:30 a.m. Saturday

Rasa Juice on Maryland Avenue wraps up its summer session of yoga classes on the State House lawn. In the event of rain, classes move inside the shop. $15.

Home opener

Noon Saturday

The Naval Academy Midshipmen will face the Bucknell University Bison at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for the first time since 1925. It’s the start of a rare three-game home stand for Navy, and a win would be the first season opener victory since 2019.

The 4,500-member Brigade of Midshipmen marches over from the academy for the game, arriving at 11:43 a.m. The National Anthem and an aircraft flyover start at 11:53 a.m. Tickets, which can be hard to get for the first game and remain scarce if Navy starts winning, are $29-$55. If the game is sold out, you can catch the CBS Sports TV broadcast or livestream, or catch it on several regional radio stations.

Old school dinos

2-4:45 p.m. Saturday

See the original, and probably best, of the movies about a theme park gone wrong, “Jurassic Park.” The Busch Annapolis Library will host a showing for families. Free.

September arrives

11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

The First Sunday monthly arts festival returns to the first block of West Street with food, crafts and music. The lineup for September includes the Soul Journers, the Johnson Male Chorus, the Starvation Army Band, Aaron Hawkins, Mike Waskey and Michael Kocher. Free admission.

Just 40 seats

7:30 p.m. Monday

Annapolis is a small music town, and the monthly Back Room Sessions at 49 West Coffeehouse are proof. With just 40 seats, it’s about as intimate a venue as you can find.

The next song and story concert series session features Ecuadorian singer Isa Saenz and Shawn Owen, an Annapolis reggae singer. Garage-folk artist Skribe, whose real name is Aaron Yealdhall, hosts the show and also performs a set. All shows are recorded. A $15 cover that’s added to your check goes to the artists.