Boston Pops And Keith Lockhart Announce Details Of 2023 Holiday Pops Season

One of New England's most popular Christmastime traditions, the 2023 Holiday Pops season, under the direction of Keith Lockhart, offers 39 evening and matinee concerts, December 1–24, at Symphony Hall, festively decorated for the season.

Programs will feature the Boston Pops Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus (led by James Burton) in holiday favorites, alongside new and exciting arrangements of seasonal classics—as well as a highly anticipated visit by Santa Claus. As with past seasons, patrons on the orchestra level can order food and drink from their cafe-style tables. This season marks the 50th anniversary of Holiday Pops, a beloved annual tradition initiated by conductor Arthur Fiedler with a three-concert series called "A Pops Christmas Party" at Symphony Hall in 1973. For more information on the history of Holiday Pops, click here.

 

Sharing the joy of Holiday Pops with cities throughout New England, the 50th anniversary Holiday Pops season will take Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra on the road for performances in Worcester, Mass. (Dec. 2); Storrs, Conn. (Dec. 8); Manchester, N.H. (Dec. 10), Providence, R.I. (Dec. 16), and Lowell, Mass. (Dec. 17).  

 

Highlights of the season include—  

 

• Boston Pops holiday favorites: the annual presentation of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," David Chase's perennially popular arrangement of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride," and a festive sing-along  

• Seven Kids' Matinees on Dec. 2, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, and 24: shorter programs with no intermissions designed for younger children, including a family-friendly food selection with special holiday treats, and an opportunity for photos with Santa Claus  

• A Holiday Pops Sensory-Friendly Concert on Saturday, December 2, at 10:30 a.m.: designed for people of any age with an autism spectrum disorder or sensory sensitivity and their families, with relaxed house rules, reduced volume and lighting levels, extra space for movement, available noise-reduction headphones, designated quiet rooms and support spaces, and modified food concessions. Tickets for the sensory-friendly concert are offered at the reduced rate of $30. 

• Food and Beverage services: Audience members may order food and beverages to their tables while watching the performances. 

• A Company Celebration at Pops: Broadway star and former SNL cast member Ana Gasteyer is the vocal soloist for the corporate Holiday Pops fundraiser on Wednesday, December 13. Click here for a photo and bio of Ana.

This year's Kids' Matinees and the Sensory-Friendly Concert (Dec. 2) both feature the Holiday Pops Singers, an eight-member vocal ensemble made up of some of the best professional vocalists from the Greater Boston Area.

Beginning September 12 at 10 a.m., tickets for Symphony Hall shows may be purchased through BSO | 2023 Holiday Pops, by calling 888-266-1200, or by visiting the Symphony Hall Box Office. Tickets for Holiday Pops performances at other venues are available on each venue's website.  

 

Anyone attending a concert is required to have a ticket, regardless of age. For 11 a.m. Kids' Matinees, children under the age of two may receive a free ticket. These free tickets must be requested in advance, at the time of purchase of adult tickets, by calling 617-266-1200. All ages are welcome at the 3 p.m. concerts, but all children require a full-priced ticket. Children under age four are not permitted at our evening performances. 

 

Accessible seats and other accommodations are available for all patrons. Accommodations can be made by calling 617-638-9431 or emailing access@bso.org. For more information, visit bso.org/accessibility. 

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