Boston Pops Season Starts May 9

You can follow the “What’s your Vision of America?” photo contest on twitter using the hashtag #visionsofamerica. The winning photograph will be selected by a panel including Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart and photo-historian Joseph Sohm. Additional Highlights of the Visions of America Season

 

During the 2012 spring season, the Boston Pops will usher in a series of exciting talents to pay tribute to a wide range of American musical genres. Comedian, author, musician and all-around king of artistic versatility Steve Martin will pluck the strings of his banjo for his Boston Pops debut with The Steep Canyon Rangers on May 29 and 30, and for “Presidents at Pops” on May 31. John Williams, who celebrates his 80th birthday in 2012, will lead the ever-popular Film Night on Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2, featuring music from many of the cinematic masterpieces that launched the Boston Pops Laureate Conductor to worldwide acclaim. Mr. Williams also shares the podium with Keith Lockhart for “Presidents at Pops” on May 31. Gospel Night at Pops celebrates a milestone as well, when conductor Charles Floyd raises the voices of the Boston Pops Gospel Choir on the 20th annual performance of this transcendent program.  The Saturday, June 9 Gospel Night concert will feature FOX Network’s American Idol finalist MelindaDoolittle, winner of BET Network’s Sunday’s Best Crystal Aikin, and Boston Pops cellist Owen Young.  The Pops pay tribute to Barbra Streisand on May 15 and 16 with captivating vocals from Ann Hampton Callaway, a great interpreter of the American Songbook. Cole Porter, one of the most prolific contributors to the American Songbook, will also receive a Boston Pops salute with the dynamic husband-and-wife Broadway showstoppers Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie on June 5, 6, and 8. This season also features a Wild West Night on June 12 and 13 with the three young members of the genre-trailblazing string trio Time For Three.

 

 

Celebrating the American musical traditions that weave together the imagination and spirit of our diverse nation, the “Visions of America” season will feature the striking images of photo-historian Joseph Sohm and his extraordinary photographs representing all 50 states.  Five winners of the “What’s your Vision of America?” photo contest will also be featured alongside Sohm’s works this spring. The season theme culminates in the “Visions of America Photo-Symphony,” a sweeping photographic portrait of American life set to music by the acclaimed Roger Kellaway, with lyrics by the unrivaled Alan and Marilyn Bergman. The images come from Joseph Sohms’s book Visions of America—Photographing Democracy , a vast compilation of 1,300 images taken across the nation. Joseph Sohm, an American history teacher turned photographer, producer, author, and public speaker, is prolific photographer, with images from his remarkable library published approximately 8-10,000 times a year worldwide in prestigious outlets such as National Geographic, Newsweek, TIME, and CNN. A selection of Mr. Sohm’s works will be on public display for free in the Prudential Center Huntington Plaza for the entire month of May.

The original “Visions of America Photo Symphony” (premiered in January 2009) featured two songs by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. The Boston Pops is proud to announce that their upcoming performances of the work will premiere three new songs from the iconic song writing team, in addition to the two original Bergman songs.  The Bergmans were recently honored by Barbra Streisand, whose 2011 album What Matters Most was recorded in tribute to them. The multimedia “Visions of America Photo Symphony,” enhanced by the recorded narration of Clint Eastwood, will feature acclaimed vocalists Patti Austin and Steve Tyrell in performances on June 14, 15, 16, bringing the 2012 season to a close.  

Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops kick off the 2012 Spring Pops Season on Wednesday, May 9, with a gala Opening Night concert featuring Broadway star Bernadette Peters. Ms. Peters’ divine voice was recently featured on a new cast recording of Follies released in November 2011, and she is a recurring guest this season on the NBC hit TV show Smash.  The multifaceted musical theater actress, whose career has spanned five decades, will be heard in full force on Opening Night at Pops, sharing favorites such as Some Enchanted Evening, There Is Nothing like a Dame, and Not a Day Goes By.

The season kicks off with an all-Gershwin first half to include the beloved Rhapsody in Blue featuring pianist Michael Chertock, the photographs of Joseph Sohm set to Love Is Sweeping the Country, and A Gershwin Medley performed by local jazz vocalist and teacher Maggie Scott. The grand opening night festivities include a complimentary pre-concert reception and a post-concert CD and book signing with Ms. Peters.

Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops will celebrate the music of one of the great innovators of the American Songbook, George Gershwin. The Gershwin Spectacular program will include a performance of Rhapsody in Blue featuring pianist Michael Chertock and Promenade: Walking the Dog featuring Pops principal clarinetist Thomas Martin. The second installment of the three-part Pops program will feature music from the classic Gene Kelly/Leslie Caron film An American in Paris. This “Symphonic Night at the Movies” will feature footage from the film alongside George Gershwin’s unforgettable orchestral score. After a short intermission, the third set will feature members of the Boston Conservatory Theater Division in such Gershwin classics as I Got Rhythm, Somebody Loves Me, and Embraceable You. People of all ages are welcome to a George Gershwin matinee Family Concert at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 12. The Family Concert will feature a performance by the winner of the BSO Youth Concerto Competition, and children 18 and under receive a 50% ticket discount.

Ann Hampton Callaway, one of this country’s great interpreters of the American Songbook, brings her captivating sound to Symphony Hall to pay tribute to the adored Barbra Streisand on May 15 and 16.  The evening fires off with a “Bright Lights Big City” set including Boston Pops renditions of Harlem by Duke Ellington, music from On the Town byLeonard Bernstein, as well as a rendition of Bernard Herrmann’s score to Taxi Driver with Michael Monaghan on alto sax. These bustling urban pieces set the stage for Ms. Callaway, who brings her jazzy style to Massachusetts Avenue for a full second half of Streisand hits including “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “Cry Me a River,” and “I’ve Dreamed of You,” which Callaway wrote for Streisand to sing at her wedding to James Brolin. The lyrics of the acclaimed Alan and Marilyn Bergman take center stage, especially when Alan Bergman makes a special cameo performance on these dates to share stories about the years of collaboration he and his wife have shared with Ms. Streisand, as well as to sing some cherished tunes.

Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops celebrate Boston’s favorite hometown heroes during the third week of Pops concerts with tunes such as Take Me out to the Ballgame, Sweet Caroline, and John Williams’s Fanfare for Fenway, recently recorded by the Boston Pops as a special tribute to the 100th Anniversary of Fenway Park. Fans will hear the music of baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and more in these Olympic- and Boston sports-themed concerts. From the energetic Opening Fanfare of Also Sprach Zarathustra to the more modern Heavy Action (better known as the theme song to Monday Night Football), the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus will share the popular hits of competitive sports with the audiences who know best. Keep your head up for surprise cameos by local sports celebrities from the Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, New England Patriots. A special Red Sox Night held in celebration of Fenway’s 100th Anniversary will take place on May 24th, with additional guests to be announced.

Multi-talented cultural icon Steve Martin will make his long-overdue Boston Pops debut on May 29 and 30 with the roving bluegrass troupe The Steep Canyon Rangers. After a Keith Lockhart-led performance of Ferde Grofé’s sweeping Grand Canyon Suite in the first half of the performance, Steve Martin will then take the reins to present an Evening of Comedy and Bluegrass with Maestro Lockhart, the Boston Pops, and help from his trusty banjo. These concerts mark the first time Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers have performed with an orchestra. The May 29th concert will also feature up to four instrumental and vocal grand prize-winners of the annual Young Artists Competition at the Boston Pops presented by Fidelity Investments®.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston’s corporate community celebrate the 31st annual “Presidents at Pops” on Thursday, May 31, at Symphony Hall. Joining conductors Keith Lockhart and John Williams will be special guest artists Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers in an Evening of Comedy & Bluegrass. This concert will feature a performance of music from Mr. Williams’s score of The Reivers, with narration by former longtime Wyoming Senator Alan K. Simpson. Peter Palandjian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, is event chairman for the third consecutive year. The BSO's largest fundraising event, “Presidents at Pops” is designed for Boston business leaders and their guests, and celebrates the unique partnership between the BSO and the corporate community. Combined with its sister event, “A Company Christmas at Pops,” “Presidents at Pops” has helped to raise more than $44 million since its inception in 1982.  “Presidents at Pops” raised $1 million last year, which was $100,000 over target. Funds raised through this event help support the BSO’s Youth and Community Outreach programs throughout the year. Ticket packages are available starting at $5,500. For more information, please contact Mary Thomson, Director of Corporate Initiatives, at 617-638-9278. Additional details about this gala fundraiser will be announced at a later date.

he orchestra welcomes Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams to the podium, June 1 and 2, for Film Night, a favorite program for Symphony Hall audiences each year. Mr. Williams, the highly acclaimed composer and conductor behind blockbuster films such as Jaws, Star Wars, and Harry Potter, celebrates his 80th birthday in 2012. Including a performance of music from Mr. Williams’s score of The Reivers, with narration by former Senator Alan K. Simpson, these programs will showcase some of the most memorable music of all time, and film footage will be featured alongside many of the Hollywood scores. Mr. Williams will lead a salute to the Hollywood westerns including music from How the West Was Won, Dances with Wolves, and The Cowboys. The performance will feature music from the composer’s new Academy Award-nominated scores to the films War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin.  Mr. Williams will also lead his recently composed Fanfare for Fenway, a tribute to Fenway Park’s 100th Anniversary, and a special video tribute to women Olympians will be set to the maestro’s Olympic Spirit.

Husband-and-wife team and Broadway stars Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie join the Boston Pops on June 5, 6, and 8 for a tribute to American songwriter Cole Porter. This two-part program will feature the Pops performing music from Porter and his contemporaries, including Richard Rodger’s Overture to Babes in Arms and Carousel Waltz, Jerome Kern’s Pick Yourself Up from Swing Time, and a selection of Gershwin love songs, such as Love Walked In, Someone to Watch Over Me, and The Man I Love. Ms. Mazzie and Mr. Danieley join the Orchestra after intermission for a selection of tunes from Porter himself, including Another Opening, Another Show, It’s De-Lovely, Anything Goes, and So In Love. Celebrated young clarinetist Narek Arutyunian will be featured with the Pops on the 61st annual Armenian Night on June 8.

Charles Floyd and the Boston Pops Gospel Choir, his all-volunteer chorus, celebrate the 20th annual Gospel Night on June 9, an evening of spirit-raising traditional and contemporary American gospel music. To celebrate this milestone of one of the most popular programs every season, the Boston Pops Gospel Choir will also be joined by American Idol’s Melinda Doolittle and gospel singer Crystal Aikin, the first-season winner of BET’s Sunday’s Best. Boston Pops cellist Owen Young will also perform a new Concerto for Cello and Orchestra written by the multi-talented Maestro Floyd.