InTune

Holiday Pops isn’t just at Symphony Hall this year! Thanks to your generous support, the BSO continues to pursue new ways to make its music accessible to wider audiences and reach out to communities who may not have easy access to the Hall to give them a chance to make Holiday Pops part of their seasonal celebration.

Starting on December 16, Holiday Pops will be available to stream on BSO NOW, the orchestra’s online streaming platform. The streaming version will feature a recording of a live Holiday Pops concert, available through January 15. You can visit the BSO NOW website now to purchase for yourself or your loved ones an at-home Holiday Pops experience, perfect for audiences who may be homebound, live too far away, or are still careful to attend public performances. Both the personal pass and the gifted version cost $25. Additionally, BSO Now features several symphony programs available for free, including a BSO Youth Concert and the orchestra’s STL GLD collaboration from 2021.

As part of the BSO’s efforts to spread music through the surrounding communities, Keith Lockhart will bring Holiday Pops throughout New England for four performances. The orchestra visited Worcester, MA on Friday, December 2, and the University of Connecticut on Saturday, December 3. The next performances are scheduled for the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH on Saturday, December 10, and the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, MA on Sunday, December 18. The Metropolitan Chorale will join Lockhart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra for the tour. The orchestra brings the time-honored music to audiences to whom Symphony Hall is too far to visit, or who may never have had a chance to experience the Holiday Pops before, expanding the family of music enthusiasts and future audiences.

Another special performance was offered on December 3 at 10:30am, with a Sensory-Friendly Concert. This shortened show, designed for all families with children or adults with an autism spectrum disorder or sensory sensitivities, is presented in a flexible, non-judgmental environment. Modifications include relaxed house rules, reduced volume and lighting levels, extra space for movement, available noise-reduction headphones, designated quiet room and support spaces, modified food concessions, and credentialed autism therapist volunteers on site. And of course, like each year, the orchestra will offer six shortened Kids’ Matinees throughout the season. These performances are geared toward younger children, with shorter performances and no intermissions, and also feature a post-concert visit with Santa.

Thank you so much for your support that plays the music forward to the next generation of music lovers, creates the magic of the holidays in underserved communities, and breaks the walls of the concert hall to invite more to celebrate with us.