Pops Sells Its Soul - April 18th, 8pm

Saturday, April 18th
Lowell Lecture Hall, Harvard University
$8, $6 students/seniors

Pops is in trouble when two Faustian members sell the orchestra’s soul to the devil! Who knew Pops had a soul? So begins a spiral through the circles of Hell, encountering Orpheus in the Underworld, the Phantom of the Opera, and certain Airy Gypsies of Zigeunerweisen. In the wasteland of the inferno the orchestra is forced to spend a searing Night on Bald Mountain with Mussorgsky, and even perform the primal steps of Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre. A short film starring two Harvard celebrities will chronicle the attempts to recapture the devil’s prize, accompanied by soul music — in the loosest sense of the term.

But what could the devil possibly want with Pops’ soul? Reserve your hell-side seat with tickets from any Pops member, the Harvard Box Office, or by emailing pops@hcs.harvard.edu

Dear Class of 2013,

Congratulations! By virtue of your enrollment at Harvard College, you have been selected from among tens of thousands of applicants to audition for the 2009-2010 Harvard Pops Orchestra! As a member of the Pops, you will have the honor of performing with the nation’s oldest college pops orchestra. (And if you Google "pops orchestra," we are the fifth hit. We think that’s pretty cool.)

What is the Harvard Pops Orchestra, exactly? We’re not your average college orchestra, nor are we a normal pops orchestra. We are a student-run, full symphony orchestra that performs at least four times a year, with a professional conductor, maestro Allen Feinstein ‘86. But a “typical” Pops performance is a large theatrical event, complete with actors, film, murder, lighting, bad puns, costumes, and of course, music.

Every concert has a theme and a story. Last year, we confronted an evil loan shark (played by euphonium virtuouso Adam Frey), revealed the secrets of a tropical island with Minnesota Jones (ya know, Indiana's little brother?), and helped a few princesses find true love, despite curses flying everywhere. But since Pops really has to be seen to be believed, you might want to check out one of our recordings. We have DVD’s of our AMAZING tenth anniversary concert in held Sanders in 2007, Pops Goes Back to the Future, in which Sanders became our time machine as we hopscotched through the decades. Along the way, we played John Adams's Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, music from Star Wars and Back to the Future, as well as a Piece for Two Time-Traveling Orchestras where Pops played with its past self. We also have CD’s of our original radio play, Pops Rides the Waves.

The Pops orchestra rehearses on Monday afternoons from 4:00 to 6:30. Most Pops members also perform with other campus ensembles, including HRO, BachSoc, MSO, the Band, the Holden choirs, a cappella groups, and student theater, hence the small time commitment. Other members join Pops in addition to non-musical commitments like sports or having a life. We are a casual group with a professional sound, so we expect our members to come to all rehearsals, but we do have plenty of joking around and a regular snack-time.

Due to the unique nature of our concerts and repertoire, the Pops orchestra offers not only opportunities for student leadership but also for student arrangers, composers, playwrights, and even conductors. At each concert, the plot, script, and often as much as half of the music is written specially for Pops, in a level of collaboration between students and professionals unheard of in other college orchestras.

Stay tuned for our 09-10 audition schedule!
(See our auditions page for details.)

We look forward to meeting you! Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Sincerely,
Andi Peterson and Josh Green,
Co-presidents

Website Updates!

Slowly but surely, we're getting things up-to-date around here! Also, we're working on a few new features: some performance excerpts and a members' page.