Boston Pops

Boston Pops

First week in May through middle of July

Henry Lee Higginson, who established the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881 to provide culture-hungry Bostonians with classical music, nonetheless believed that in the summer, "concerts of a lighter kind of music" should be presented. On July 11, 1885, his idea became a reality when the audience enjoyed refreshments along with light classics at the first Promenade Concert, held at the Boston Music Hall. It wasn't long before people began to refer fondly to these summer music concerts as "the Pops," a name which became official in 1900. That same year, the Pops moved into the newly built Symphony Hall, which has been its home ever since.
World-class acoustics and the accommodation of cabaret-style seating have made Symphony Hall the perfect indoor venue for the Boston Pops for over one hundred years. Arthur Fiedler led the orchestra into a new era when he was appointed conductor in 1930. Under Fiedler's direction, the Pops gained a wider audience and national recognition via radio broadcasts (instituted in 1952) and public television presentations (beginning in 1970). In the mid-1970s, two new Pops traditions were established: "Boston's Fourth of July" on the Charles River Esplanade, and Christmas Pops concerts. Composer John Williams, best known for his film scores, was named conductor of the Pops in 1980 after Fiedler's death. He was succeeded in 1995 by Keith Lockhart, former associate conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
Throughout its history the Boston Pops has tailored its programs around American music and musicians, medleys of popular songs, and familiar movements of favorite classical works, and it has featured such artists as Leontyne Price, Itzhak Perlman, Mandy Patinkin, Joel Grey, Doc Severinsen, and Cleo Laine.
Outside of its official concert season at Symphony Hall, where it performs Tuesday through Sunday evenings in spring and summer, the Pops also tours the United States and makes studio recordings, further cementing its reputation as "America's Orchestra."

CONTACTS:
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Symphany Hall
301 Massachusetts Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
617-266-1492
www.bso.org

SOURCES:
MusFestAmer-1990, p. 209

Celebration days:
2011: May 1 - Jul 15
2012: May 6 - Jul 15
2013: May 5 - Jul 15
2014: May 4 - Jul 15
2015: May 3 - Jul 15