L谩szl贸 Veres is back at the podium this weekend to lead his twin ensembles 鈥 the professional 蜜柚直播 Pops Orchestra and the volunteer 蜜柚直播 Symphonic Winds 鈥 in their annual springtime concerts in the parks.
The Pops, whose ranks come largely from moonlighting 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra musicians, plays Sunday nights at Reid Park鈥檚 DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center, East 22nd Street and South Country Club Road. The Winds, a multigenerational group of pretty terrific musicians, plays Saturdays in Veres鈥 namesake amphitheater at Udall Park, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road. Concerts begin at 7 p.m. and admission is free, although donations are accepted.
This is the Pops鈥 65th season and one of the last for Veres, who announced last spring that he is auditioning conductors to replace him. The process, which could take two years, includes hosting conducting candidates to perform parts of the Pops concerts throughout the season.
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蜜柚直播 Symphonic Winds Music in the Park Concert Series will be held Saturdays beginning May 11 through June 1:
- May 11 鈥 鈥淔rom Broadway With Love鈥 featuring vocalist Jack Neubeck, who has performed on Broadway more than 2,500 times;
- May 18 鈥 鈥淭he Virtuoso Clarinet鈥 with guest soloist Jackie Glazer, a professor of clarinet at the University of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Fred Fox School of Music, performing music of von Weber;
- May 25 鈥 鈥淎n Evening with John Philip Sousa鈥 with banjo player Rob Wright returning by popular demand
- June 1 鈥 The group鈥檚 annual rite of summer concert 鈥淪tars of the Future,鈥 highlighting talented high school tuba players Thomas Gerald and Phoenix Heinz and other gifted young musicians performing classic band literature; light classical selections, marches, show tunes and novelty pieces.
蜜柚直播 Pops Orchestra鈥檚 Music Under the Stars is Sundays beginning May 12 through June 16:
- May 12 鈥 Mother鈥檚 Day Concert featuring the 蜜柚直播 蜜柚直播 Boys Chorus and Irish Dancers Liam Boyd and Meghan Crownhart. The program includes selections from 鈥淧hantom of the Opera鈥 and 鈥淢y Yiddishe Momme鈥 to commemorate mothers
- May 19 鈥 The 蜜柚直播 Balalaika Orchestra joins the Pops for 鈥淔antasy on Jewish Theme鈥 while the orchestra performs 鈥淭he 蜜柚直播 March,鈥 which M. Wolfram composed for the orchestra. Other works include Copland鈥檚 鈥淔anfare for the Common Man鈥 and a guest appearance at the podium by Enrique 鈥淗ank鈥 Feldman.
- May 26 鈥 Memorial Day Concert featuring banjo player Rob Wright
- June 2 鈥 Guitarist Ryan Chen will perform Rodrigo鈥檚 poignant Concierto de Aranjuez on a program that includes selections from 鈥淐armen,鈥 鈥淢ary Poppins鈥 and 鈥淗air.鈥 Guest conductor Jonathan Merrill will lead the orchestra for part of the concert.
- June 9 鈥 Pueblo High School鈥檚 exciting Mariachi Aztlan will perform several numbers including 鈥淟a Virgen de la Macarena鈥 while the orchestra will perform the overture from the 鈥淏arber of Seville,鈥 selections from 鈥淲est Side Story鈥 and 鈥淢an of La Mancha.鈥 Toru Tagawa will be at the podium for a portion of this concert.
- June 16 鈥 Father鈥檚 Day Concert featuring 鈥淵oung Conductors鈥 鈥 selected from the audience by Veres 鈥 taking turns at the podium. The program includes selections from 鈥淛urassic Park鈥 and 鈥淭he Producers鈥 and the powerful 鈥1812 Overture.鈥