Review: A HOLIDAY POPS! with Melinda Doolittle and the National Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reineke Conductor at Kennedy Center

At this festive time of year, everyone has a favorite tradition. One of mine is attending YOUR National Symphony Orchestra’s (NSO) annual A Holiday Pops! concert. It is always guaranteed to showcase a top notch singer and a superb choir, while giving the audience one audible pleasure after another as Maestro Steven Reineke leads the NSO through familiar holiday favorites mixed with new and innovative orchestrations of holiday classics. This year’s edition did not disappoint!

Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall, adorned with festive wreaths and more, got the audience in the holiday mood even before the first notes of “The Star Spangled Banner were played”. Once Maestro Reineke hit the first downbeat for Deck the Halls (orchestrated by Carmen Dragon) and the NSO Holiday Choir (as prepared by Stanley J. Thurston) opened their mouths, I knew we were in for a fantastic night of music.

As always, there are so many musical highlights in this concert that it’s almost impossible to say what was a stand out. Having said that, here are a few choices.

This first one has made my list every year for obvious reasons. For the last four years Maestro Reineke has insisted that “Carol of the Bells” be apart of this concert and rightfully so. It was written by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovich and ever since the conflict in Ukraine started the song has been dedicated to its people. David Hamilton’s orchestration reminds us that the while we are prospering here in this country, others are suffering and those folks should never be forgotten about.

Another symphonic highlight that stood out for me was Matthew Jackfert’s setting of “I Saw Three Ships”. Besides the main melody, Jackfert also interpolated in “Bring A Torch Jeanette Isabella” and “Here We Go a Wassailing”. This was one of the pieces that was new to me this year and I hope it comes back in future concerts because it’s quite wonderful.

The holidays are a fun time of year to be sure, and nothing illustrated that better than the kickin Steven Reineke orchestration of “Jingle Bell Rock”. This chart is always a stand out and once again featured the great Tom Lagana with rockin solos on banjo and guitar.

David Chase’s setting of “The First Noel” sounded as good as ever as sung by the NSO Holiday Choir and accompanied by just two instruments. With Tony Nalker on piano and Lowei Lin on cello, this song proves that a minimal accompaniment is sometimes all that is needed.

A very inventive arrangement of “The Little Drummer Boy” scored as if Ravel’s “Bolero” was the chosen musical style was another new and welcomed addition. The piece entitled “Little Bolero Boy” was written by Katherine Davis and orchestrated by Robert Wendel.

Our featured vocalist was the fantastic recording artist that first made a splash on season six of American Idol. Melinda Doolittle held the audience in the palm of her hand with jazzy interpretations of such holiday classics as “Winter Wonderland” (orchestration by Tim Berens) and “Man with the Bag” (orchestration by Myles Collins).

Amid all the swing and up tempo fun that came with Doolittle’s performance, the song choices of hers that stood out for me had a more quiet tone.

The first one was a Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen song called “The Secret of Christmas” (orchestration by Adrian Mann). This was a case where we got a chance to hear NSO harpist Adriana Horne featured. This is one song I had not heard before and between Doolittle’s vocal and Horne’s harp feature, the piece sold me and the audience.

Melinda Doolittle and the NSO Holiday Choir literally left the audience speechless with their renditions of “Mary Did You Know?” and “O Holy Night” (both orchestrated by Jim Gray). I can’t say as I’ve ever heard something that heavenly and angelic sounding before.

Add to all of this musical holiday goodness the snazzy lighting of local lighting designer extraordinaire William K D’Eugenio. There was plenty of color in his light plot to create the many moods for each of the songs plus four snow machines for a stunning finale.

Maestro Steven Reineke, Melinda Doolittle, the NSO Holiday Choir, and YOUR National Symphony Orchestra once again made A Holiday Pops! a memorable tradition. Please make it ONLY about the art in 2026 and beyond and support one of the finest musical ensembles (95 seasons strong) in the world throughout the year. I promise you won’t ever be disappointed.

Running Time: Two hours with one intermission.

A Holiday Pops! with Melinda Dolittle and the National Symphony Orchestra was a two day- three performance engagement on December 12th and 13th, 2025, in the Concert Hall at The Kennedy Center which is located at 2700 F Street NW in Washington, DC.