The Philly POPS Brings Its Beloved Holiday Traditions Home For The Holidays

The Philly POPS brings Christmas home this year with a special holiday gift: the POPS' two annual Christmas performances, A Philly POPS Christmas: Spectacular Sounds of the Season and Comcast NBCUniversal I'll Be Home for Christmas: A Salute to the Military and First Responders, will be provided free, through a number of innovative distribution methods and digital production capabilities all during the month of December.

Both performances feature Music Director and Principal Conductor David Charles Abell leading the POPS with Hamilton star and POPS Christmas favorite Mandy Gonzalez and Artistic Director for Jazz Terell Stafford on trumpet, with dazzling performer and improviser Charlie Albright on piano, performing digitally.

The Seventh Annual Comcast NBCUniversal I'll Be Home For Christmas: A Salute to the Military and First Responders, the free Salute Series favorite designed to honor those who choose a life of service, expands its reach with a planned transmission by the American Forces Network. The AFN's transmission will reach approximately 500,000 servicemembers domestically and 500,000 internationally at both military bases and seafaring vessels. This Philadelphia tradition will be made available privately to members of the military, veteran communities, and the Police and Fire Departments. This year's Christmas Salute performance is dedicated to frontline healthcare workers who have helped protect the citizens of Philadelphia through the events of the past year.

"The POPS felt it was so very important to carry on our two Christmas traditions," said Frank Giordano, President and CEO, The Philly POPS. "We wanted the first responders to have their usual free annual holiday program dedicated to honoring the commitments they make each and every year. That's Christmas Salute. And this year, we hope to make it available through the American Forces Network to our overseas service community as well."

As with POPS on Independence on July 3, A Philly POPS Christmas: Spectacular Sounds of the Season will be available as a digital stream from the POPS' website from December 18, 2020 to January 1, 2021. Continuing the tradition, A Philly POPS Christmas will include virtual choir performances from The Philly POPS Festival Chorus, The Philadelphia Boys Choir, and The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Gospel Choir. And no performance would be complete without a visit from Santa Claus!

"A Philly POPS Christmas is a Philly tradition to so many families-they return year after year, after year," said Frank Giordano. "This free stream of our Christmas performance is our thanks to them for their ongoing support ... and our way of wishing them the happiest of holiday seasons."

The Seventh Annual Comcast NBCUniversal I'll Be Home for Christmas: A Salute to the Military and First Responders will be made available privately to Philadelphia police, firefighters, military, veterans, and first responders as well as globally through the AFN. Details on this performance are available at phillypops.org/xmassalute.

A Philly POPS Christmas: Spectacular Sounds of the Season will be available as a digital stream from December 18, 2020 to January 1, 2021 at phillypops.org. More details about A Philly POPS Christmas are available at phillypops.org/christmas.

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