brassmouth

Hello everyone. I was just wondering what the difference is between a symphony orchestra and a pops orchestra. Do they look for different things during the auditions? I know pops orchestras play more modern and light-hearted music but beyond that I'm clueless. Thanks.

robertwhite

Most symphony orchestras have a Pops series during their season, as well as a classical series, a family series, etc., but it's the members of the symphony itself who play. A couple, like Cincinnatti and Boston, are called the "Such-and-such Pops" when they are doing pops concerts, but they're really the "Such-and-such Symphony Orchestra".

You will occasionally see pops excerpts appearing on auditions, mainly just to see if the player has some comfort playing in a big band or commercial-type idiom. Boston, for example, included a part from "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" on a trumpet audition several years ago, and I think I remember Vancouver including Bobby Hackett's "String of Pearls" solo on their 3rd/Assoc. list.

The only "free-standing" pops groups I can think of are the New York Pops, Cleveland Pops, and the Boston Pops Esplanade. These are all "gig" groups, in that they are not full-time jobs and are staffed mostly with professionals from those cities who do a variety of other gigs, too. (Boston is confusing, but the Boston Pops Esplanade and the Boston Pops are two different groups, as far as I know).

As far as what an orchestra plays on their pops shows, it can vary widely. The basic idea is to venture outside of the classical repertoire in the hopes of attracting a varied audience.

Here in Charlotte for example, we just did two shows with Glen Campbell. We did a short 1st half of John Williams "Cowboys Overture", the theme from "Rawhide" , a big band medley, a dixieland medley, and the theme from "Peter Gunn" (no, the musicians don't have a say in the programming ). Then Glen came out for the second half with his rhythm section and we backed him up on a dozen or so of his biggest hits.

We've done similar formats recently with Pink Martini, Burt Bacharach, Al Jarreau, etc. I imagine most groups these days are structuring their pops concerts in a similar fashion. Alternatively, you'll sometimes see entire programs of, say John Williams music, the orchestra backing up a silent film, or any of a million other "themes".

Anyway to wrap up this overly long post - a symphonic trumpet player today is expected to have a degree of versatility. There's usually not a lot of advanced lead time to look at pops books, so good reading is essential. Pops shows see range and endurance demands that one doesn't usually encounter in the standard rep. Suffice to say that a young player should not cheat him/herself out of opportunities to play many other types of music. Such skills are very useful to symphonic players these days!

cornetguy

I really don't like the what pops have evolved into since Fiedler's death. They used to be a place where "lighter classics>" were played. (you know Peer Gynt Suites, Strauss Waltzes, Rossini and Von Suppe Overtures...) as well as the show tunes and stuff. Now it seems that they are mostly if not all the other stuff.

I liked the format the Fiedler did, 3 parts. The first part was the light classics, the second part was usually a concerto but occasionally other things, (Incredible Flautist was premired in this part) At one time Fiedler and the Pops performed more Mozart piano concertos then the BSO. The third parts was the novelties, showtunes, pop tunes, movie music, etc. That to me was more balanced and if the purpose of pops besides making money is increasing audience, this seems a better way to get the audience into the hall for the classical concerts.

robertwhite

I think the Boston Pops still follows that format to some extent. Anyone out there who plays with them that can tell us?

I play in a smaller ICSOM group, so it's a different story altogether. Although I have to say, I don't see how we make much money off of our pops concerts. I'm sure Glen Campbell wasn't exactly cheap, and we did not have anything close to a full house on either night. Thanks marketing dept!


There are some notable pops conductors though who seem to know how to put together a really spectacular program. Erich Kunzel, of course - but another one is Jack Everly. He's currently the pops director in Indianapolis (and probably some other places, but I'm not sure). He conducts really well, but also is a great arranger and has real artistic appreciation for the music he presents -whether it's Swing era big-band stuff, MGM musical stuff, broadway, whatever.

Anyway, the real point I wanted to make about Pops is that a trumpeter - much moreso than a flutist, violinist, etc. - has to be able to play convincingly in a variety of idioms to make a pops concert sound good.

Tootsall

Now that is a fun piece! We've had the Curnow arrangement for band in the folder this season: performed it once and are going to be doing it again as part of a "Western Theme" concert at the Charlie Russell museum in Great Falls, MT. on June 3 (providing all of the stars line up and the moon is in ascension).

I don't know that I can remember ever seeing the movie, however. I've heard the story (used to clue the audience in as to what's going on) but that's it.

Manny Laureano

The focus on glitz and moodlighting is what has me despairing about the Boston Pops of today vs. the concerts of old.

I remember a few years ago tuning in to the Pops for old time sake and I was in for quite a shock. It seemed as though the focus was very much more towards getting the right lighting and camera angles rather in the beauty of the music. the performance was fine, it was just the myriad distractions that whomever is directing the programs was creating that got me down.

With us, Doc is pretty straightforward. There is lighting but not colors, so much. It's clearly about Doc playing with the orchestra, the soloists he brings, and lots of contact with the audience. It's rather a shame that after all these years nobody ever decided to invest in putting these shows on TV. The American public on a national level has lost out on seeing an icon of popular culture on a regular basis. He's conducted a great variety of classic repertoire and newer stuff but still in the classical genre.

I think Pops serves several purposes. With me, it inspired me to listen to classical music. For people that listen to classical music a lot, it's just fun to hear your favorites and some lighter stuff to relax with.

ML

robertwhite

I have to say, though, that playing with Burt Bacharach was a lot of fun! He's not a very nice guy, but he wrote some great tunes!

Alex Yates

When I was playing with one of the orchestras in south GA, our entire season was funded by the sell-out pops concerts with DON McLEAN.....you know...."American Pie"? That one concert series was filled to the rafters every night compared to all of the other "legit" programming that barely got the house half-full. I admit to being a cornball and actually enjoying softly singing along with Mr. McLean, but at the same time, I was depressed that "the good stuff" didn't come close to drawing interest or audiences.

I grew up with the BP on PBS and they were just like any other concert - no lights, glitz or glam - and I really enjoyed them. I also listened to their LPs a lot. Like Manny said, they are what got me interested in classical music to begin with and the only classical music that my parents would indulge.

I would have to say my biggest early orchestra influence would have been Disney's "Fantasia". As a little girl, "Rite of Spring" was already one of my favorite pieces....and still is.

Jhorn229h

Is the Boston Pops considered the finest pops orchestra today?

J

Manny Laureano

I don't think they're better than a few other orchestras that do that sort of thing but what they have is an edge in several areas:

Dealing with the pressure of frequent broadcasts (there's a lot to be said for being able to cope with that sort of thing on a regular basis)

The longest tradition of that kind of show (they invented it, basically)


So, it depends what "best" means to you. Do they play the repertoire better than anyone else? Do they have a greater abilty to make their audience enjoy the music more than another orhcestra?

When you ask a question like that there are many ways to interpret what you ask.