Boston Pops At Symphony Hall
Keith Lockhart Launches Season December 9
By: Ariel Petrova - Nov 30, 2009
One of BostonÂ’s greatest holiday traditions, the Holiday Pops season, under the direction of Keith Lockhart, opens on Wednesday, December 9, with a program that combines favorites of the Holiday season with exciting new arrangements of some of the most beloved Christmas-time classics, along with new video images created especially for the Boston Pops. The concerts take place at Symphony Hall, festively decorated to capture the magic of this special time of year, and feature the critically acclaimed Tanglewood Festival Chorus, which will join the orchestra for the entire season of 35 performances, December 9-27.
The program opens with Sean O’Laughlin’s festive and rousing “Christmas Canticles,” followed by the magnificent Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah,” featuring members of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. The 2009 Holiday Pops season will feature two new works, including a new arrangement of “The Christmas Story,” for narrator, soloist, chorus, and orchestra by London arranger Philip Lane, with baritones James Demler and Robert Honeysucker alternating in the role of narrator/vocal soloist. For “Gifts of Great Meadows,” the Pops’ principal horn player Richard Sebring arranged “Coventry Carol” and “Silent Night” into a score complemented by video projections of the stunning natural ice sculptures he photographed last January in the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Sudbury.
The second half of the Holiday Pops program, which opens with the Boston Pops famous arrangement of “Sleigh Ride,” features one of the orchestra’s most popular new arrangements, “Twelve Days of Christmas,” which was recently made available for download at bostonpops.org. Written by Broadway composer and arranger David Chase, this version of one of the Christmas season’s greatest classics sports a clever, creative twist that made it an instant hit and audience favorite when it premiered in 2007, inspiring a live recording session resulting in the download release in 2009. The 2009 Holiday Pops program brings a new dimension to the Christmas-time classic, “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” with images from award-winning author and illustrator Jan Brett’s book of the the same name projected on screens above the orchestra.
No Boston Pops program would be complete without a few of the orchestra’s classic holiday medleys highlighting the most beloved songs of the season. Christmas Waltz features “Silver Bells,” “My Favorite Things,” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” And the Merry Little Sing-Along features “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” and “Jingle Bells.” Other holiday favorites include “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “White Christmas,” and “Frosty All the Way.”
SPECIAL KIDS MATINEE PROGRAMS
This yearÂ’s Holiday Pops includes 35 evening and matinee concerts, six of which will be special kidsÂ’ matinee programs featuring soprano Maureen Brennan: Saturday, December 12 (11 a.m.); Sunday, December 13 (11 a.m.); Friday, December 18 (4 p.m.); Saturday, December 19 (11 a.m.); Sunday, December 20 (11 a.m.); and Thursday, December 24 (11 a.m.). These family concerts include a childrenÂ’s sing-along, and parents can bring cameras to take photos of their children with Santa after the concert. Table seats will include a kid-friendly menu, along with special holiday treats.
.TICKET AND SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION
Holiday Pops tickets, ranging in price from $27-$122, depending on date and time, are available online at www.bostonpops.org
. Tickets may be purchased by phone at SymphonyCharge at 617-266-1200 or 888-266-1200, and through the Symphony Hall Box Office, located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue. Symphony Hall Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Saturday Box Office hours are 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and through intermission on concert nights. American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, Diners Club, personal checks, and cash are all accepted. There is a $5.50 per ticket handling fee for tickets ordered by phone or online. All Holiday Pops patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket.
The 2009 Holiday Pops season is sponsored by Fidelity Investments. New England Coffee is the official coffee of the Boston Pops. The 8 p.m. concert on December 10 is sponsored by The Fairmont Copley Plaza, the official hotel of the Boston Pops. The 8 p.m. concert on December 11 is sponsored by Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation, the official chauffeured transportation of the Boston Pops. American Airlines is airline partner of the Boston Pops and is sponsoring the 8 p.m. concert on December 15. The performance of “Gifts of Great Meadows” during the 2009 Holiday Pops season is made possible in part by The Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, The River Stewardship Council, and the Sudbury Valley Trustees.
Programs and artists are subject to change. For further information, call the Boston Pops at 617-266-1492 or visit the orchestra online at www.bostonpops.org
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