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The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in Light music and Popular music music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart.
Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), the Boston Pops primarily consists of musicians from the BSO, although generally not all of the first-chair players.BSO Opening Night Program Guide, 2011, pp. 18-19; Boston Pops Holiday Program Guide 2011, p. 15. The orchestra performs a spring season of popular music and a Christmas music in December. For the Pops, the seating on the floor of Symphony Hall is reconfigured from auditorium seating to banquet and cafe seating. The Pops also plays an annual concert at the Hatch Memorial Shell on the Esplanade every Fourth of July. Their performances of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" and Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever" are famous for howitzer cannons firing and fireworks exploding during the former and the unfurling of the American flag that occurs near the end of the latter. Identified with its longtime director Arthur Fiedler, the orchestra has recorded extensively, made frequent tours, and appeared often on television.
The Boston Pops had seventeen conductors before 1930, when Arthur Fiedler began a fifty-year tenure as the first American-born conductor to lead the orchestra. Under Fiedler's direction, the orchestra's popularity spread far beyond Boston through recordings, radio and television. Unhappy with the reputation of classical music as being solely for affluent concertgoers, Fiedler made efforts to bring classical music to a wider audience. He instituted a series of free concerts at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade, a public park beside the Charles River. Fiedler insisted that the Pops Orchestra play popular music as well as well-known classical pieces, opening up a new niche of popular symphonic music. Of the many musical pieces created for the orchestra, the Pops' most identifiable works were the colorful novelty numbers composed by Fiedler's close friend Leroy Anderson, including "Sleigh Ride", "The Typewriter", "The Syncopated Clock" and several others. Fiedler also initiated the annual Holiday Pops concerts in December.
Under Fiedler's direction, the Boston Pops has sold more commercial recordings than any other orchestra in the world, with total sales of albums, singles, tapes, and cassettes exceeding $50 million. The orchestra's first recordings were made in July 1935 for RCA Victor, including the first complete recording of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The Pops made their first high-fidelity recording on June 20, 1947, of Gaîté Parisienne (based on the music of Jacques Offenbach), and recorded the same music seven years later in stereophonic sound, their first venture in multitrack recording.
Fiedler is also credited with having begun the annual tradition of the Fourth of July Pops concert and fireworks display on the Esplanade, one of the best-attended Independence Day celebrations in the country with estimated crowds of 200,000–500,000 people. Also during Fiedler's tenure, the Pops and local public television station WGBH-TV developed a series of weekly televised broadcasts, Evening at Pops, recorded during the Pops' regular season in Symphony Hall.
Some shows have holiday–oriented themes, such as Christmas shows featuring performers such as Jonathan Meath, who appeared as Santa with the Boston Pops for ten shows during 2008–2009.
After Fiedler's death in 1979, he was succeeded as conductor of the Boston Pops by the noted film composer John Williams. Williams continued the Pops' tradition of bringing classical music to a wide audience, initiating the annual "Pops-on-the-Heights" concerts at Boston College and adding his own library of well-known film scores (including Star Wars and Indiana Jones) to the orchestra's repertoire. During his time with the Pops, Williams performed with Sammy Davis Jr. as one of the artists for one of the Evening at Pops specials that aired in 1988. In 1991, the orchestra played Bill Monroe's Uncle Pen and other bluegrass music classics with Ricky Skaggs and the Kentucky Thunder.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: In 1992, Williams conducted a memorable performance of the Pops featuring Broadway Icon John Raitt and his daughter Grammy winner Bonnie Raitt along with members of her Band.
Keith Lockhart assumed the post of principal Pops conductor in 1995. Lockhart continues to conduct the Boston Pops today. Williams is Laureate Conductor of the Pops and conducts the Pops at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood.
Opening Night was Wednesday, May 7 at 8 pm, and the orchestra opened with "The Very Best of the Boston Pops with Jason Alexander", conducted by Keith Lockhart.
"The Very Best of the Boston Pops" was conducted by Lockhart and performed on select nights throughout the season, giving audiences both a chance to see what the orchestra was capable of performing (given the various selections from their vast library of compositions) as well as the opportunity to select which dates worked best for them. These performances were given on Thursday, May 8, Friday, May 9, Tuesday, May 27th (Arthur Fiedler Night 2014), and Friday, June 13.
During the 2018 Pops Spring season, the orchestra worked with both Leslie Odom Jr. and Andy Grammer (who was the Opening Night headliner) for the second time after successful Fourth of July performances, as well as Sutton Foster again, who performed "A Broadway Celebration" with the orchestra. Some highlights of the season were the return of Laureate Conductor and legendary film composer John Williams for his annual "Film Night" appearances, in addition to an Opening Night salute to Leonard Bernstein for the occasion of Bernstein's centennial later that year. In addition to celebrating Bernstein's centennial, the orchestra presented concert versions of both On The Town and " West Side Story In Concert". They "Danced to the Movies", and were joined by tenor Alfie Boe who "Rocked the Pops" with them. The Pops were joined by Ashley Brown, Josh Strickland, Alton Fitzgerald White and Merle Dandridge to perform beloved songs from 9 Tony Award-winning and Academy Award-winning scores to "Disney's Broadway Hits". The orchestra also performed "The Best of the Boston Pops" Concerts, a series that hadn't been featured since 2013. The Pops performed their annual "Gospel Night" with the Boston Pops Gospel Choir and guest star Melinda Doolittle under the direction of Charles Floyd. The orchestra also welcomed back Leslie Odom Jr. with special guests Renée Elise Goldsberry and Phillipa Soo for "An Evening with Leslie Odom Jr".
Bernadette Peters was the Opening Night headliner, with the Pops performing a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, the world premiere of "From The Earth to the Moon and Beyond", a piece by composer James Beckel. May 9 was the annual Presidents At Pops fundraising gala held every year.
The orchestra performed the score to in its entirety, live to picture on May 10 and 11 (both the 3om matinee and the 8 pm concert), and 14.
Opening Night 2021 was Wednesday, May 5 at 8 pm and featured "An Evening with Penn & Teller", to be repeated on Thursday, May 6 at 8 pm.
The Boston-based group Guster joined the orchestra on Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8 at 8 pm to continue their orchestral performances.
was shown Wednesday, May 12 at 8 pm, Thursday, May 13 at 8 pm, Saturday, May 15 at 3 pm and Saturday, May 22nd at 3 pm.
" Songs of America with Jon Meacham" was the program for Tuesday, May 18 at 8 pm (also Arthur Fiedler Night 2021) and Wednesday, May 19 at 8 pm. The Pops were joined by Meacham and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, under the direction of James Burton for the first two of their four appearances that spring.
" Ragtime In Concert" was the next performance, for Thursday, May 20 at 8 pm, and Friday, May 21st at 8 pm.
"The Wonderful World of Alan Menken's Music" was the program for Wednesday, May 26 at 8 pm, Thursday May 27 at 8 pm, and Saturday, May 29 at 2 pm. The Pops were joined by Broadway theatre actors Sierra Boggess, Telly Leung and Alton Fitzgerald White for these performances.
"Celebrating 25 with Keith!" was presented as special performances on Tuesday, June 1, Wednesday, June 2 and Thursday, June 3 all at 8 pm. The Pops special guests for the event were Megan Hilty and Jason Danieley.
"Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton" was performed on Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5, both at 8 pm. The Pops were conducted by Ted Sperling and were supposed to be joined by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus under the direction of James Burton, for the last two of their four appearances that spring.
"Star Wars: The Story in Music" was performed on Wednesday, June 9 at 8 pm.
"An Evening with Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman & The Boston Pops" was Thursday, June 10 and Friday, June 11, both at 8 pm. The Pops were joined by Palmer and Gaiman as special guests.
"Gospel Night" was Saturday, June 12 at 8 pm. The Pops were conducted by Charles Floyd, and Smokie Norful was the special guest.
The program was broadcast on WRCB (99.5 FM Boston) on the radio from 1974 to 2016, and Bloomberg Radio from 2017 to present-day (2022), and was presented on television nationally (as "Pops Goes The Fourth") from 1993, 1995-2002 on A&E Network, 2002-2016 on CBS, and 2017-present-day (2022) on Bloomberg; locally from 1984 and 1987 on WGBH-TV; 1988 as part of the Evening at Pops series on PBS; 1993-2001 on WCVB-TV Channel 5; 2002-2016 on WBZ-TV (Channel 4); 2017-present-day (2022) on WHDH (TV) (Channel 7) in Boston and the greater-Boston metro area.
For the 2002 Fireworks Spectacular, the orchestra performed with Maureen McGovern, who paid tribute to the centennial of legendary and iconic Broadway theatre composer Richard Rodgers by performing "My Favorite Things" (from The Sound of Music), and Barry Manilow, who paid tribute to and acknowledged the September 11 attacks when performing his 1976 hit "Weekend in New England."
For the 2005 Fireworks Spectacular, the orchestra performed with Big and Rich (who performed their hit "Love Train"), Gretchen Wilson, and Cowboy Troy (who performed with Big and Rich for a new rendition of the Declaration of Independence), and highlighted their newest CD America by performing "The Star-Spangled Banner", "Armed Forces Salute", "This Is My Country", "The Gettysburg Address" (narrated by then-WBZ-TV news anchor Jack Williams), "Doodletown Fifers" (performed with the Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums), "God Bless America", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", the "Main Title" (from Revenge of the Sith), Tchaikovsky's famous "1812 Overture", and Sousa's classic march, "The Stars and Stripes Forever".
For the 2006 Fireworks Spectacular, the orchestra performed with Aerosmith, who performed "Dream On" and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". American Idol contestant Ayla Brown performed the national anthem.
For the 2008 Fireworks Spectacular, the orchestra performed with Rascal Flatts, who performed "Life Is A Highway" and "Every Day".
For the 2009 Fireworks Spectacular, the orchestra performed with Neil Diamond, who performed "Sweet Caroline", "Forever in Blue Jeans", "Cracklin' Rosie", and "America".
During the 2010 Fireworks Spectacular, the orchestra celebrated its 125th season and the Hatch Shell celebrated its 100th anniversary. The orchestra performed with Toby Keith, who performed "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" and "American Soldier". They also performed with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, soprano Renese King (who sang "We the People" (the theme song for Visions of America), and they performed "The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers", with Lisa Hughes, Jack Williams, and local actors Jeremiah Kissel and Will LeBow. The Pops specifically commissioned the piece by Peter Boyer and Lynn Ahrens to be used during their 125th season.
For the 2014 Fireworks Spectacular, the orchestra performed with actors Julia Udine and Ben Jacoby from the 2014 U.S. touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera, and The Beach Boys, who performed "Fun, Fun, Fun", "Good Vibrations", and "Surfin' USA".
For the 2015 Fireworks Spectacular, Lockhart and the Pops performed with Michael Cavanaugh who sang some of Billy Joel's classic songs, the Boston-based band Sons of Serendip, the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps (who performed the entirety of their 2015 Field Show, Animal Farm; based on George Orwell's 1945 novella Animal Farm) and members of the USO's Show Troupe.
For the 2016 Fireworks Spectacular, Lockhart and the Pops performed with pop stars Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas (both performing on their joint world tour the Future Now Tour), and Grammy- and CMA-winning country music stars Little Big Town who performed the national anthem. The 2016 Fireworks Spectacular also marked David Mugar's final Fireworks Spectacular show, which he produced for over 40 years.
For the 2017 Fireworks Spectacular, Lockhart and the Pops performed with actor Leslie Odom Jr. (of fame), 1990s pop singer Melissa Etheridge, and pop singer Andy Grammer, in addition to the United States Army Field Band's Concert Band and Soldiers' Chorus.
For the 2018 Fireworks Spectacular, the orchestra worked with Rachel Platten, Rhiannon Giddens, the Indigo Girls, actresses Rita Moreno and Natalie Cortez (who was about to open in the ensemble in the world premiere of Moulin Rouge!, which debuted in Boston in October 2018 and later debuted on Broadway in 2019), and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus under the direction of James Burton. In addition to Bloomberg nationwide, the show was carried by independent station WHDH (channel 7) locally over-the-air, and online at Boston.com, BostonGlobe.com, bso.org (the Boston Symphony Orchestra's website), and on the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular app.
For the 2019 Fireworks Spectacular, Lockhart and the Pops paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of Woodstock by performing both a medley of the Theme and "Pinball Wizard" from The Who's Tommy and a medley of "Aquarius" and "The Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In)" from Hair. Lockhart and the Pops also performed with Queen Latifah, folk legend Arlo Guthrie (who paid tribute to his father Woody Guthrie by performing "This Land Is Your Land"), poet Amanda Gorman, two acts from America's Got Talent, The Texas Tenors and Amanda Mena, and the United States Navy Band's Sea Chanters Chorus.
The 2020 Fireworks Spectacular was canceled on May 8, 2020, due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. In its place, the Pops decided to present "A Boston Pops Salute to Our Heroes" on July 4, with the only option for broadcasting it being on television, radio and digital media.
The 2021 Fireworks Spectacular was announced on June 11, 2021. Due to the fact it typically takes 10 weeks to plan, it was decided to split the show into two portions. The musical portion would take place at Tanglewood and broadcast live on-air and internet stream while the fireworks would take place on the Boston Common. The guest artists were Mavis Staples and Jon Batiste (headliners), the Six-String Soldiers of the United States Army Field Band, the Singing Sergeants of the United States Air Force Band.
The 2022 Fireworks Spectacular was announced on May 26, 2022, with the announcements that the event would be returning in full to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Hatch Shell after a 2-year absence in addition to the selection of guest artists being announced at a later date. Additionally, the orchestra also announced a slew of tributes, a world premiere and a show of solidarity with Ukraine, by performing its State Anthem. The guest artists were announced on June 13, 2022, and were revealed to be Chaka Khan (as the headliner), Broadway actress Heather Headley, and The Voice (American TV Series) season one winner Javier Colon. The Tanglewood Festival Chorus (under the direction of James Burton) and the Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums Corps. would be joining the Pops as well. The orchestra performed moving tributes to the late Stephen Sondheim (as he died in November of 2021) ("A Comedy Tonight" from both the musical and film of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, "Our Time" from Merrily We Roll Along and "Children Will Listen" from Into The Woods), and Judy Garland (to celebrate her centennial), and world premiered a new work, "Those Heroes Who Healed The Nation" by Julius P. Williams.
The 2023 Fireworks Spectacular was announced on May 26, 2023. En Vogue will headline the Boston July 4 fireworks celebration, joining Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at the Hatch Shell. The award-winning R&B group behind popular 80's hits like “Free Your Mind” and “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” is the marquee entertainment at this year’s Fourth of July celebration. Also taking the Hatch Shell stage are Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez (“In the Heights”), country duo LoCash, and a trio of Broadway performers — Alton Fitzgerald White, Elizabeth Stanley and Andrea Jones-Sojola — who participated in the Pops’ concert presentation of “Ragtime: The Symphonic Concert.”
Once Fiedler died in 1979, John Williams continued the tradition as conductor from 1980 until 1993. After two years of guest conductors while the BSO were interviewing their next permanent conductor, Keith Lockhart led his first Holiday Pops concert in December 1995. In addition to performing approximately between 40 and 42 each December, the Pops also began performing on New Year's Eve during Lockhart's tenure.
The Holiday Pops 2014 season ran from Wednesday, December 3, 2014, through Wednesday, December 24, 2014, with a movie shown Friday and Saturday, December 26–27, 2014, and the New Year's Eve concert happening on Wednesday, December 31, 2014.
2014 was the year that the Pops began showing popular Christmas movies after their 40- or 42-concert season was over. The first movie chosen was Home Alone. The score, written by the laureate conductor Williams, was performed live by the orchestra, accompanying the film. The New Year's Eve concert was performed by the Boston Pops Swing Orchestra, led by bandleader Bo Winiker.
2015 was a significant year, because John Oliver, longtime conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus had retired at the end of the Tanglewood season that summer.
The Holiday Pops 2016 season ran from Wednesday, November 30, 2016, through Saturday, December 24, 2016, with a movie shown Friday and Saturday, December 30–31, 2016, and the New Year's Eve concert happening on Saturday, December 31, 2016.
The second movie chosen was Back to the Future. The score, written by Alan Silvestri, was once again performed live by the orchestra, in sync with the film. The New Year's Eve concert was performed by the Boston Pops Swing Orchestra, once again led by bandleader Bo Winiker.
2016 was a significant year, because it was the first time in the history of the series of "Holiday Pops" concerts that the Tanglewood Festival Chorus performed without a conductor.
2017 was a significant year, because the BSO had chosen to replace John Oliver as the conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and he would begin conducting the chorus that year.
The Holiday Pops 2017 season ran from Tuesday, December 5, 2017, through Sunday, December 24, 2017, with the New Year's Eve concert happening on Sunday, December 31, 2017. There was no movie chosen for that year.
The New Year's Eve concert was performed by the Boston Pops Swing Orchestra.
The Holiday Pops 2018 season ran from Thursday, December 6, 2018, through Monday, December 24, 2018, with a movie shown Saturday and Sunday, December 29–30, 2018, and the New Year's Eve concert happening on Monday, December 31, 2018.
The third movie chosen was Home Alone once again. Billed as Home Alone In Concert, the score, written by Williams, was once more performed live by the orchestra, accompanying the film. The New Year's Eve concert was performed by the Boston Pops Swing Orchestra and special guest Seth MacFarlane.
The Holiday Pops 2019 season ran from Wednesday, December 4, 2019, through Tuesday, December 24, 2019, with a movie shown Saturday and Sunday, December 28–29, 2019, and the New Year's Eve concert happening on Tuesday, December 31, 2019.
The fourth movie chosen was Bugs Bunny At The Symphony. The score, written by Carl Stalling, was performed live by the orchestra, accompanying the film. The New Year's Eve concert was performed by the Boston Pops Swing Orchestra and special guest The Hot Sardines.
The Pops introduced a Sensory friendly concert for the first time on Saturday, December 7, 2019. The concert was designed and aimed at all families with children or adults diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or sensory sensitivities.
Tracy Silva, a mother of two from Taunton, Massachusetts, and van driver for special needs children, won the inaugural POPSearch contest in 2004.
Frances Botelho-Hoeg, an elementary school principal from Kingston, Massachusetts, was knocked out in the second round of the inaugural POPSearch, but returned in 2005 to sweep the competition.
The POPSearch 2007 grand champion Maria Perry won $5,000 and performed with the Boston Pops on July 3 and 4 in the annual July 4 Extravaganza seen by a live audience of almost a half-million people on the Charles River Esplanade and several million more on WBZ-TV.
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