KSO going ‘pops’ for its final concerts of the 30th Summer Series — join in Aug. 31, Sept. 1

Staff report

The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra will tap into sweet memories of the past as it offers “pops” favorites in its outdoor concerts at Devou Park and Tower Park on August 31 and September 1. These are the closing concerts of the 30th Summer Series.

The free, family-friendly Summer Series is a traditional NKY favorite, so bring your chair or your blanket and join in for great listening — and sweet memories.

The concerts return indoors at Greaves Concert Hall in November.

In the late 1930s through the 1970s, the Boston Pops under Arthur Fielder began playing and recording light classics and novelty numbers which fostered a universal popularity for symphonic gatherings called “Pops” concerts (Erich Kunzel soon followed and took this format to its zenith locally with the Cincinnati Pops.).

The short, peppy standards, sometimes zany sounding pieces all had something in common — the fine composers/arrangers who wrote them. The lead “pops” writers of this era were Leroy Anderson, Richard Hayman and Henry Mancini.

The KSO taps into a
treasure trove of these
3-4 minute selections
that have entertained
American audiences in
parks and on stages for
nearly 80 years.
Anderson’s “Waltzing
Cat,” “Typewriter,”
“Syncopated Clock” and “Bugler’s Holiday” allow the orchestra to musically animate everyday items with wit and charm. Hayman’s “Pops Hoe-Down” and arrangements of “Little Brown Jug” and “When the Saints go Marching In” succeed in getting everyone’s toes tapping. Mancini’s film scores have
allowed snippets like “Moon River,” Theme to “The
Pink Panther” and others to become beloved standards.

In addition Mancini also teamed-up with tenor Lucianno Pavarotti to arrange Neopolitan songs for his recordings. Pedro Barboso, will sing “Chitarra Romana” and “Rondine al Nido.”

So, pack up the family for a old-fashioned “pops” concert on the lawn in Devou and Tower Parks.

Join the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra

• 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, August 31 in Devou Park in Covington,
and

• 7:30 p.m. Sunday, September 1 at Tower Park
in Fort Thomas.

The TANK park and ride shuttle from Covington Catholic departs on the half hour starting at 6 p.m. ($1 each way). Concessions are available in Devou Park. Food trucks will be on-site in Tower Park.

Bring blankets, picnics or lawn chairs.

For more information, registration and directions, visit the KSO at www.kyso.org or call (859) 431-6216.

The concert and parking are free,
though a $5 (per person) donation to the KSO is suggested.

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