After an extraordinarily successful series of Christmas performances, a groundswell of public support, improved ticket sales for upcoming spring shows and a series of meaningful conversations on new funding opportunities, the POPS sees a path forward in the New Year.
The Philly POPS is rethinking a plan to wind down announced in mid-November. “We made a difficult decision in November that I’m happy to say we can now put into review. We are not out of the woods yet. We must raise $2 million by the end of our season in July to cover our obligations and secure our future as a Philadelphia institution. This fundraising effort is ambitious and there are no guarantees, but the holiday season delivered us something we didn’t have before: hope for a path forward.” said Frank
A Philly POPS Christmas: Spectacular Sounds of the Season remains the centerpiece of the holidays for almost 20,000 guests of all ages. Ardent POPS Musicians and special guests Mandy Gonzalez and Jordan Donica performed to sold out houses. 6ABC televised excerpts on Christmas morning to an enthusiastic home audience. In addition, Christmas Salute—the ninth annual benefit concert presented the first night of the run as a thank you honoring the service community—was sent to an audience of 500,000 troops overseas, as is now the annual tradition. The Christmas shows were the turning point. “We heard from so many patrons and partners over the holiday run. Everyone wanted to help; everyone asked how they could” said Giordano.
The new campaign will ask every POPS enthusiast to make a choice:
DONATE
- Visit PhillyPOPS.org/SAVETHEPOPS to support The POPS today.
COME SEE THE POPS
- There are some great shows coming up! From Soul to Broadway and singer-songwriters to Star Wars, the POPS has something for everyone!
- Buy tickets at PhillyPOPS.org
“It’s wonderful news that we can look at a plan to keep our programs going. We have a unique role in our city’s concerts of celebration, in the School District with our POPSinSchools programs, and with our Salute Series. Our musicians gave spectacular performances in December. The enthusiastic audiences we saw then should plan to come back quickly to see the program of their choice!” said Karen Corbin, Chief Operating Officer, the Philly POPS.
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About The Philly POPS
The Philly POPS, the largest standalone pops orchestra in the United States, delights audiences with the inspired performance of American popular music. The POPS celebrates this distinctive musical heritage through an expanding repertoire of innovative concert performances and a robust set of educational and engagement initiatives.
As the official POPS orchestra of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia’s partner in civic celebration, The Philly POPS serves a consistently growing audience of over 900,000 annually. Music Director and Principal Conductor David Charles Abell and the Philly POPS orchestra keep listeners tapping their toes to an impressive repertoire of songs from American traditional music up through to today’s chart-toppers.
In addition to Subscription Series performances at The Kimmel Cultural Campus, The Philly POPS presents innovative programming with contemporary artists at the Met Philadelphia in The Philly POPS at the Met Philadelphia series.
Outside the concert hall, free Salute Series performances – including Memorial Salute, July 3 POPS on Independence, July 4 POPS on the Parkway and the I’ll Be Home for Christmas: A Salute to the Military and First Responders concert – celebrate the American tradition of service around important national holidays. POPS in Schools enhances music education for 3,000 Philadelphia School District students; and POPS Outside brings POPS music to local communities. The Philly POPS performs as a founding resident company of The Kimmel Cultural Campus, as the Principal Orchestra of the Met Philadelphia, and at venues throughout the mid-Atlantic region.