Cincinnati Pops Orchestra Announces 2015 Season

Cincinnati Pops Orchestra with Natalie Cole
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, under the direction of Conductor John Morris Russell, announces its exciting summer season with performances at Riverbend Music Center’s Corbett Pavilion, the Taft Theatre and in parks and at community events around the Greater Cincinnati region.

Highlights include a screening of the blockbuster film Star Trek with a live orchestral score, and the returns of the popular Broadway Sing-Along and Red, White & Boom! concerts at Riverbend.

The Pops summer season kicks off Saturday, June 6 at Riverbend Music Center (Corbett Pavilion) with Broadway Sing-Along, a concert featuring the greatest hits from Broadway musicals, with the words displayed on big screen for the audience to sing along. Mr. Russell conducts the Pops, joined by vocalists Julia Murney (who previously performed with the Pops as part of “Wicked Divas” in 2009) and Doug La Brecque, as well as Cincinnati’s own Young Professional Choral Collective and the winners of the ArtsWave “Cincy Sings” competition. Tickets for this performance start at $20 and are available via the Pops Box Office.

On Thursday, June 25, the Pops performs its annual community concert at Prouty Plaza, located in Troy, OH. The concert will include a dynamic mix of music from popular orchestral classics, film and the Great American Songbook. More details will be announced at a later date. This concert is free and open to the public.

A second community concert takes place Wednesday, July 1 at Miami Whitewater Forest in Harrison, OH. Mr. Russell conducts this performance, which is also free and open to the public.

On Friday, July 3, Mr. Russell and the Pops will perform a live concert choreographed with Rozzi fireworks at Great American Ball Park immediately following the Cincinnati Reds home game versus the Milwaukee Brewers (game time is 7:10 p.m.). The performance is free to all game ticketholders. Tickets for the game can be purchased through the Cincinnati Reds ticket office.

Cincinnati’s favorite July Fourth tradition returns to Riverbend Music Center (Corbett Pavilion) as Mr. Russell and the Pops present a concert full of patriotic and American favorites. The enormously popular Red, White & Boom! celebration will this year feature folk darling Aoife O’Donovan, who enchanted audiences during her Pops debut in January for “American Originals.” The mighty voices of the May Festival Chorus, along with baritone Nmon Ford and the talented USO Show Troupe round out the cast. The concert caps off with a Rozzi’s fireworks display. Adult tickets for this performance start at $15. The Pops is grateful to Performance Sponsor Adleta Group.

On Saturday, July 18, the Pops returns to the Taft Theatre in downtown Cincinnati to perform the score live in synch with the 2009 blockbuster Star Trek (PG-13). The full-length, action-packed film by leading Hollywood master J.J. Abrams reveals the origins of Captain Kirk, Spock and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew with a thrilling orchestral score by Michael Giacchino adding drama and excitement. Conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos leads the orchestra for this performance. Tickets for this performance start at $25 and are available through the Pops Box Office.

The Pops is grateful to Performance Sponsor Adleta Group. A third community concert takes place Monday, July 20 as a favorite tradition of the Fayette County Fair. The concert takes place on the fairgrounds located in Washington Court House, OH. The performance is free to all fair ticketholders.

In addition, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will also perform with the Cincinnati Opera at Opera in the Park, a free community performance in Washington Park on Sunday, June 7. As the official Orchestra for the Cincinnati Opera, the Orchestra performs at Music Hall during Cincinnati Opera performances throughout the summer. Also the official Orchestra of the Cincinnati World Piano Competition, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will perform with the finalists in the last round of competition on Saturday, June 13 at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Corbett Auditorium. Additional summer performances by the Orchestra will also be announced at a later date.

Ticket Prices
Single tickets for these concerts go on sale to the public beginning 10 a.m. Monday, March 30. Tickets for children 17 and under are $12.50 at Riverbend (or free on the lawn June 6 & July 4) and $10 at the Taft Theatre. All Riverbend Music Center ticket prices include parking.

The Pops is grateful to its series sponsor PNC. The Summer Series Presenting Sponsor is Mercy Health. Children 17 and under are admitted free to the lawn for all Pops concerts at Riverbend’s Corbett Pavilion, thanks to the support of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.