Holiday Pops 2022
Program
- Friday, December 2, at 8pm
- Saturday, December 3, at 7:30pm
- Saturday, December 10, at 7:30pm
- Sunday, December 18, at 3pm
THE WILLIAM H. AND MARGARET A. CONGLETON MEMORIAL CONCERT
JAMES BURTON conducting
with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, James Burton, conductor
HOLIDAY POPS SEASON SPONSORED BY FIDELITY INVESTMENTS
On Christmas Night
Burton
Christmas Canticles
O’Loughlin
Ma’oz Tzur (Rock of Ages)
arr. Binder/Jacobson
Drey Dreydeleh
Ellstein/Oysher-Jacobson/Hollenbeck
Fantasia on Greensleeves (What Child Is This?)
Vaughan Williams
Dance of the Tumblers, from The Snow Maiden
Rimsky-Korsakov
Two Ukrainian Carols
Dobryy vechir tobi (Good Evening to You)
Trad.-Elliott
Carol of the Bells
Trad.-Leontovych/Wilhousky/Courage
Noche de Posadas (The Night of Las Posadas) (world premiere)
Rodríguez
Text and images by Tomie dePaola | Additional text by Arturo Rodríguez
Melinda Lopez, narrator (12/2 & 3)
Karina Beleno Carney, narrator (12/10 & 18)
INTERMISSION
The Twelve Days of Christmas
arr. Chase
God Rest Ye, Merry Kings
arr. Mathes
’Twas the Night Before Christmas
Text by Clement C. Moore
Narrated version (A Visit from St. Nicholas): Reisman | Artwork by Jan Brett
Vocal version: Darby-Simeone
Sleigh Ride
Instrumental version: Anderson
Vocal version: Anderson/Parish-Goldberg/Burton
Frosty All the Way!
arr. Sebesky
A Merry Little Sing-Along
arr. Reisman
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
- Let It Snow! Let it Snow! Let It Snow!
- The Christmas Song
- Winter Wonderland
- Jingle Bells
Photo and video of these performances are allowed for personal use only, including posting on social media; we may ask you to refrain from taking photos or videos if it interferes with the performance or other attendees’ enjoyment of it.
The Boston Pops welcomes:
- 12/2 at 8pm: The Berkshire Tour Company, Walker Tours, Order of the Eastern Stargazers, Tillinger’s Concierge, Jennifer DeLuca, Mr. Jared Wolfgang, Suffolk University Alumni Association, Wheaton College – Marshall Center, Ms. Jean Shea Budrow, and Krystal Petrie
- 12/3 at 7:30pm: Bentley University Advancement, Groupe Voyages Quebec, Dexter Southfield, MIT Activities Committee, and Congressman Richard Neal
- 12/10 at 7:30pm: The Boston Consulting Group, Curriculum Associates, DEME, Northeast Unlimited Tours
- 12/18 at 3pm: Ms. Margaret Blanche, Mr. Bart Boncaldo, Thomas and Jean-Marie DiPietro Household, First Choice Tours, Mr. Eli Florence, Ms. Janice L. Krohn, Forrest and R. Claudette Manning Household
Program Notes
Artists
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Keith Lockhart
Keith Lockhart is the second longest-tenured conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra since its founding in 1885. He took over as conductor in 1995, following John Williams’s thirteen-year tenure from 1980 to 1993. Keith Lockhart, who occupies the Julian and Eunice Cohen Boston Pops Conductor chair, has conducted more than 2,000 Boston Pops concerts and annual Boston Pops appearances at Tanglewood, as well as 45 national tours and four international tours to Japan and Korea. The annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular conducted by Mr. Lockhart draws a live audience of over half a million to the Charles River Esplanade and millions more who view it on television or live webcast. He has led eight albums on RCA Victor/BMG Classics; recent releases on Boston Pops Recordings include A Boston Pops Christmas–Live from Symphony Hall, The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers, and Lights, Camera…Music! Six Decades of John Williams. The list of nearly 300 guest artists with whom Keith Lockhart has collaborated represents performers from virtually every corner of the entertainment world. Following his eight-year tenure as principal conductor, he is now chief guest conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in London; he is also artistic director of the Brevard Music Center summer institute and festival in North Carolina. Prior to his BBC appointment, he spent eleven years as music director of the Utah Symphony. He has appeared as a guest conductor with virtually every major symphonic ensemble in North America and many in Asia and Europe. Before coming to Boston, he was the associate conductor of both the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops orchestras, as well as music director of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.
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James Burton
James Burton was appointed Conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and to the newly created position of BSO Choral Director, in February 2017. Born in London, Mr. Burton holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Conservatory. He began his training at the Choir of Westminster Abbey and continued at St. John’s College, Cambridge. He has conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Hallé, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, Royal Northern Sinfonia, BBC Concert Orchestra, and Manchester Camerata. In September 2020 he was appointed Director of Orchestral Activities at Boston University’s School of Music. Mr. Burton made his BSO subscription-series debut in October 2018, conducting the TFC in Maija Einfelde’s Lux Aeterna. He made his Boston Pops debut in December 2017, returning to the podium for concerts each Holiday Pops season since. He also led the Pops at Tanglewood in a June 2019 concert celebrating the music of Queen with singer Marc Martel. Mr. Burton’s opera credits include performances at English National Opera, English Touring Opera, Garsington, and the Prague Summer Nights Festival, and he has served on the music staff of the Metropolitan Opera and Opéra de Paris. As choral director of the Hallé Orchestra (2002–2009), he was music director of the Hallé Choir and founding conductor of the Hallé Youth Choir, winning the 2009 Gramophone Choral Award. He was music director of the Schola Cantorum of Oxford from 2002 to 2017. James Burton’s composition portfolio includes works performed by leading choral groups including The Sixteen, the BBC Singers, and the King’s Singers. His 35-minute The Lost Words was commissioned by the BSO and performed at Tanglewood in 2019.
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Tanglewood Festival Chorus
This season at Symphony Hall, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra for works by Bernstein, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Wagner. Originally formed under the joint sponsorship of Boston University and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the all-volunteer Tanglewood Festival Chorus was established in 1970 by its founding conductor, the late John Oliver. Mr. Oliver stepped down from his leadership position with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus at the end of the 2015 Tanglewood season. In February 2017, following appearances as guest chorus conductor at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, James Burton was named the new Conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, also being appointed to the newly created position of BSO Choral Director. Though first established for performances at the BSO’s summer home, the Tanglewood Festival Chorus was soon playing a major role in the BSO’s subscription season as well as in BSO concerts at Carnegie Hall; the ensemble now performs year-round with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops. It has made dozens of recordings with the BSO and Boston Pops with Seiji Ozawa, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Leonard Bernstein, Sir Colin Davis, Keith Lockhart, and John Williams. The TFC had the honor of singing at Sen. Edward Kennedy’s funeral; has performed with the Boston Pops for the Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics; and can also be heard on several movie soundtracks.
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Karina Beleno Carney
Karina Beleno Carney (she/ella) is delighted to join the Holiday Pops family this year! A Massachusetts-based actor, Karina has appeared this year in Central Square Theater's Young Nerds of Color, Apollinaire Theater's Don't Eat the Mangos, and Huntington Theatre’s Breaking Ground Festival of New Work in Rough Magic. A first-generation Colombian American and mother of three, Karina is thrilled to bring the Latine children’s book The Night of Las Posadas to life with the Boston Pops. As always, she is eminently grateful to Elena, Felicidad, Esben, and Sebastián for their support and encouragement.
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Melinda Lopez
Melinda Lopez is an award-winning playwright and performer and is the recipient of the 2019 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre, recognizing her 20-year career. Her plays include Mala (at Arts Emerson, Guthrie Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, on PBS, and on Audible in both Spanish and English), Yerma (adaptation, Huntington Theatre), Back the Night, Becoming Cuba, Orchids to Octopi, and Sonia Flew (Huntington Theatre, Steppenwolf, National Theatre Festival of Cuba, and more), and Black Beans Project, her digital play (via Zoom), which won the Elliot Norton Award for Best New Play. Melinda also performs on stage, including Our Town at Huntington Theatre, and in film—she’s that fan in Fever Pitch. Melinda was mentioned by President Obama in his speech to the Cuban and American people in 2016, and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh declared October 29, 2016, “Melinda Lopez Day in the City of Boston.” Melinda is currently artist-in-residence at the Huntington Theatre Company and a professor at Northeastern University.
Boston Pops Major Corporate Sponsors, 2022-23 Season
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Lead Season Sponsor -
Supporting Season Sponsor -
Official Airline -
Official Hotel
The Boston Pops and Symphony Hall major corporate sponsorships reflect the increasing importance of alliance between business and the arts. The Boston Pops is honored to be associated with the following companies and gratefully acknowledges their partnership. For information regarding BSO, Boston Pops, and/or Tanglewood sponsorship opportunities, contact Joan Jolley, Director of Corporate Partnerships, at (617) 638-9279 or jjolley@bso.org.