The 蜜柚直播 Pops Orchestra and 蜜柚直播 Public Media鈥檚 KUAT-FM are teaming up to resurrect the orchestra鈥檚 beloved Music Under the Stars Sunday night concert series.
While the orchestra, comprised mostly of moonlighting 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra players, won鈥檛 be setting up in Reid Park鈥檚 DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center bandshell anytime soon, their music will be playing on KUAT as part of the public radio station鈥檚 community concert series.
AZPM will broadcast 鈥淭he Best of the Pops鈥 on four consecutive Sunday afternoons beginning Sunday, Sept. 6, and continuing through Sept. 27.
Longtime 蜜柚直播 Pops Music Director L谩szl贸 Veres and KUAT host Andy Bade 鈥 who also serves on the Pops board of directors 鈥 curated the series, picking three concerts from the Pops 2009 spring parks series and a fourth concert from the ensemble鈥檚 2012 series.
People are also reading…
鈥淲e are playing whole concerts, all live. If you hear the mistakes, it鈥檚 all there,鈥 Veres said. 鈥淪ome of my talking will be in it, but it鈥檚 not the same. When I talk I get the audience鈥檚 reaction and you don鈥檛 get that on the (recording). It comes up as a silence. But what you hear is what you get.鈥
The Pops Orchestra last month announced it was canceling its fall Music Under the Stars series in response to COVID-19. But the ensemble is hopeful the health crisis will be under control by next spring when it plans to put on its springtime series beginning May 6, 2021, Veres said.
The orchestra also will release a new virtual performance of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, which 50 Pops musicians recently recorded from their respective spaces. The project is being edited by Pops Concertmaster Michael Fan and will be posted at and page (facebook.com/tucsonpops) in the next week or so, Veres said.
The Best of the Pops concerts will premiere at 3 p.m. Sundays and be rebroadcast on the following Thursday at 9 p.m. on KUAT-FM Classical 90.5 蜜柚直播/89.7 Northwest.
The schedule and programs:
- Sept. 6, rebroadcast Sept. 10: From the Memorial Day Concert on May 24, 2009, the program includes several patriotic Sousa marches and the composer鈥檚 鈥淪tars and Stripes Forever鈥; Broadway tunes including Richard Rodgers鈥 鈥淐arousel Waltz鈥 and Andrew Lloyd Webber鈥檚 鈥淢emory鈥 from 鈥淐ats鈥; and 鈥淎merica the Beautiful.鈥
- Sept. 13, rebroadcast Sept. 17: From the May 17, 2009, show featuring baritone Rodney Glassman. The program includes Glassman singing everything from Great American Songbook classics 鈥 鈥淭.D鈥檚 Boogie Woogie,鈥 鈥淐ome Fly With Me,鈥 鈥淲hen I fall in Love鈥 鈥 to Hollywood movie tunes from 鈥淕ladiator鈥 and classical (selections from Strauss鈥 opera 鈥淒ie Fledermaus鈥).
- Sept. 20, rebroadcast Sept. 24: From the June 7, 2009, show featuring soprano Nancy Davis Booth. The program includes 鈥淒onde Lieta Usc矛鈥 from Puccini鈥檚 鈥淟a Boheme,鈥 Great American Songbook classics including 鈥淐hattanooga Choo Choo鈥 and 鈥淲hat A Wonderful World,鈥 a Gershwin medley and an aria from Mozart鈥檚 opera 鈥淔igaro.鈥
- Sept. 27, rebroadcast Oct. 1: From the June 3, 2012, show, the program includes two works by 蜜柚直播 composer Richard Faith (鈥淟egends 鈥 An Overture鈥 and 鈥淔estivals鈥), Broadway tunes from Andrew Lloyd Weber and the Sherman Brothers, and classical selections from Robert Wagner, Johann Strauss.
The broadcasts are supported by Long Realty Companies, which have long championed the Pops Orchestra, and the orchestra鈥檚 patrons. Public donations also are being accepted.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch.
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
