Welcome to Cleveland Pops’ 20th Anniversary Season! We are thrilled to be continuing our tradition of bringing the finest in symphonic pops to our loyal and enthusiastic audience. Our opening night concert features several of our wonderful Northeast Ohio jazz musicians, whose world-class talents have been recognized both locally and nationally. Arranger and trombonist Paul Ferguson, trumpeter Jack Schantz, drummer Jim Rupp, and pianist Rock Wehrmann will dazzle us with their spectacular playing. Added to the mix is the charming Barbara Knight, who will be singing some of Duke Ellington’s most popular songs. Our traditional holiday concert at the Palace Theater in Playhouse Square will feature our dynamic Cleveland Pops Chorus, under the leadership of Bill Zurkey, and the brilliant Neos Dance in excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker. A visit from Fox 8’s Todd Meany and the opportunity to adopt a dog or cat from local animal shelters will add to the festivities. Our traditional New Year’s Eve concert will high- light perennial Pops favorite, vocalist Connor O’Brien, in a program entitled My Favorite Broadway, as well as our fantastic midnight balloon drop and post-concert dancing. The concert will also include Victor Herbert’s Festival Overture, which allows the audience a chance to sing Auld Lang Syne with the orchestra, as well as Josef Strauss’ Feurerfeset Polka, accompanied by the audience playing their party horns! It’s always a gala and festive way to spend New Year’s Eve. 2016 will bring four exciting programs. Our John Williams concert will feature saxophonist Howie Smith, who will perform Escapades from Catch Me If You Can, former Cleveland Orchestra Principal Clarinetist Franklin Cohen playing Victor’s Tale from The Terminal, and the Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus in music from Amistad and Empire of the Sun. Our Rodgers and Hammerstein concert features Broadway stars Melissa Errico and Stephen Buntrock. Pianist Richard Glazier, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music will bring his unique flavor to our Salute to George Gershwin. Our final concert will be A Salute to the Armed Forces, filled with traditional patriotic fervor. We look forward to another great toe-tapping, tune-humming, and fun-loving season! Music Director and Conductor Currently in his 20th year as founding conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Carl Topilow is renowned for his versatility, whether he is holding a conductor’s baton or his trademark red clarinet. He is a multitalented virtuoso who is equally at home in classical and popular music both as conductor and instrumentalist. Carl’s pops performances blend light classical, swing, jazz, Broadway, Dixieland, and Klezmer music, and he usually finds an occasion to include a number which features him as clarinetist. He also holds conducting posts at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the National Repertory Orchestra, and with the Firelands Symphony. Topilow has appeared as guest conductor for more than 120 orchestras in 37 states and 12 foreign countries. This season he will conduct orchestras in Beaumont (TX), Columbus (OH), Fresno (CA), Magdeburg (Germany) and the Carnegie Mellon University Orchestra in Pittsburgh. Topilow has assisted in the training of talented musicians and conductors for positions in orchestras in the United States and abroad, and has supplied numerous young musicians the opportunity to perform as both orchestra members and soloists. His manner of presenting the music through musical illustrations and guides has enhanced the concert experience for audience members. In addition to his work as conductor, Topilow continues to perform as clarinetist with orchestra as well as with piano in informal recitals. Topilow’s wife Shirley is the President and CEO of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and Director of the Morgenstern Dance Studio. Daughter Jenny, a graduate of CIM, is a violinist with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. This fall daughter Emily will begin her studies at Bowling Green State University, where she 3 major in psychology and minor in music. will