A Word from Our Founders Founding Conductor and Music Director 1996 was Cleveland’s Bicentennial year, and the Cleveland Indians had the best record in Major League Baseball for the second consecutive season. 1996 was also a Leap Year…and we decided to “leap” into the first concert season of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra! October 12, 1996, the Cleveland Pops Orchestra made its debut to over 8,000 patrons at the Cleveland State University’s Convocation Center! The headline from the concert review by Plain Dealer music critic Donald Rosenberg read “Pops Sparkling Debut worth the Long Wait.” We moved to the Ohio Theater for our second season, and then on to Severance Hall for our third season, where we have played ever since. We have enjoyed performing in this world renowned Holiday Concert at the Palace Theater on the Sunday after Thanksgiving has become an annual event. Our wonderful and loyal musicians, many of whom have been with us from the outset, have enjoyed the journey, and they look forward to each and every performance. Throughout our 20 years, we have successfully attracted sponsors, subscribers, patrons, guest artists, a dedicated Board of Directors and a long tenured staff. The music we recorded for the Drew Carey Show was heard on countless episodes, and we were seen and heard on national network television for the Smucker’s 6