California Pops Announces 30th Season At Flint Center

California Pops Orchestra, the country's only all-request pops orchestra, announces its 30th performance season. Conductor Kim Venaas and the 70 members of the Orchestra present five fun-loving performances at Cupertino's Flint Center, adding their signature playfulness, audience engagement, and surprise elements to the mix. The new season runs September 30, 2018 through May 19, 2019. All performances are held Sundays at 3pm, at Flint Center at De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd in Cupertino. Season subscriptions ($260-$92) and individual show tickets ($20-$55, standard ticket service fees apply), are available at Ticketmaster.com (https://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/2260227?tm_link=tm_homeA_header_search) or in person at the Flint Center box office.

"We can't believe it's already been 30 great seasons of America's best popular music!" said Venaas. "Many of our dedicated subscribers have been with us since the beginning and kids and grandkids of these wonderful folks are now coming for the fun. We're thrilled with the acoustics of the space, and are so happy to not have to turn away patrons for lack of seats."

The season opens with The Pops' 30th Celebration Premiere, Sunday, September 30. The program is drawn from 30 years of audience requests and spans all types of American popular music including Broadway, movies, big band and even includes a 50th anniversary tribute to the Beatles, a medley of Elvis Presley's biggest hits and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Maestro Venaas explains, "The Pops is an 'entertainment symphony' whose sole purpose is to present great popular music in the spirit of Arthur Fiedler and John Philip Sousa." Joining the California Pops Orchestra are their two young stage singers, Carly Honfi and Matthew Hall, who have entranced Pops crowds with the songs of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and countless Broadway and film performers from the 1930's to today. Venaas says, "Not only can they do it all, big show tunes, torch songs and romantic ballads but they also are up for absolutely anything" including in previous seasons playing concert segments as live radio shows of the 30's. One such radio segment will be performed this show, a tongue-in-cheek vintage-style soap opera the Pops is calling "Soap Gets in Your Eyes" performed to the Jerome Kern Broadway classic "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".

December 2 it's musical Yule logs and eggnogs with the audience favorite - Holiday With The Pops - get into a warm and toasty holiday mood with the annual Christmas show full of Sleigh Bells, toy trumpets, reindeer and good cheer, featuring holiday hits from Broadway, TV and Hollywood, as well as traditional Christmas favorites and a carol-sing-along. Children are often delighted to be included in the Pops fun, especially during the holidays. The warm and friendly feeling that's present in every Pops concert makes the holiday show feel like you're celebrating with a thousand of your closest Pops friends.

Broadway Hits in Concert arrives February 10, 2019: Tony Award Winners spanning 80 years of the Best of Broadway including songs from "classic" shows by Gershwin, Porter and Berlin through the Lerner and Lowe, Rodgers and Hart (and Hammerstein!) blockbusters to the more recent hits from that sparkling stretch of Broadway between 42nd and 53rd streets. Singers Carly Honfi and Matthew Hall will be joined on stage by world renowned pianist Frederick Hodges who astounds audiences with his improvisational fireworks in the style of George Gershwin. Hodges performs both with the full symphony orchestra and in a solo segment that delights the audience and the orchestra. Maestro Venaas says, "I never know what Frederick is going to do during that segment so I just go out into the audience and sit there, mouth agape along with everyone else as Frederick does the most amazing stuff. One time it was the whole musical score to the Wizard of Oz. Another time it was a tour de force medley from Show Boat." Venaas has an audience participation soundtrack planned for this show taking advantage of Hodges vast experience doing completely improvised live piano accompaniment of Silent Films around the country.

March 24th brings Swingtime at the Pops with the California Pops Orchestra joining forces with the Black Tie Jazz Band in this popular revival of the Big Band sound, including blockbuster tunes from famous Big Band composers and band leaders such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Harry James and more. The excitement inherent in big band music is augmented by combining the big band sound with a full entertainment symphony, creating a rare and thrilling experience for listeners.

Hooray For Hollywood concludes the season on May 19, celebrating the best music from the Silver Screen. Whether it's classics from the 30's, war movies from the 40's, goofball comedies of the 50's or the parade of blockbusters including Harry Potter, Disney, Star Wars or James Bond, the Pops has it all for you. Each of the pieces on this show, as usual, is chosen from hundreds of audience requests

For more information, visit www.calpops.org.

The Pops (est. in 1989) is celebrating its 30th season conducted by Mr. Kim Venaas. Their high quality popular music repertoire & music library holds 10,000 selections from Broadway musicals, television, Hollywood movies, jazz, popular song, comic novelties, and big band. Many pieces are the original orchestrations used by film and radio recording studio orchestras.

The Pops includes many of the Bay Area's leading musicians with training from very distinguished conservatories and jazz institutes including Oberlin, Julliard and the Eastman School of Music. The Pops also draws from those exceptional musicians in business and teaching with a diverse amalgamation of scientists, educators, engineers, marketing, technology leaders and other highly creative individuals. This diversity in background plus a single-minded purpose makes the Pops a delight to play with and a never-ending source of ideas, inspiration and humor.

Adding to the fun experience the Pops performers introduce instruments not typically used by symphonies- for instance...flugelhorns, Alp horns, slide trumpets, a full saxophone section, an assortment of harmonicas plus unique percussion (thunder sheets, slide whistles, bird calls, taxi and car horns, congas, whips, theramins, accordions, marching machines and other colorful instruments). For more information, visit www.calpops.org.

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