‘Pops Holiday Stories’ will feature holiday music related to stories, with a live reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.’
The South Jersey Pops orchestra is trying something a little new this season at its annual holiday shows.
Instead of letting just the music do the talking, the orchestra will perform to a live reading of the classic poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” as the centerpiece to a show the orchestra has dubbed “Pops Holiday Stories.”
“Pops Holiday Stories” is set to take audiences through musical pieces from several well-known holiday tales such as “The Nutcracker,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” Leroy Anderson’s “A Christmas Festival” and the film “The Polar Express.”
Originally founded in 1969 as the Burlington County Pops, the South Jersey Pops Orchestra is a 60-member, all-volunteer orchestra featuring musicians of all skill levels from Burlington and neighboring counties.
South Jersey Pops President Christian Stebbins said the goal of this year’s concert is to bring about the feelings of holidays past when audience members might have first read one of the many classic stories traditionally associated with the holiday season.
“Holiday shows are always a lot of fun and there’s a lot of great music that’s central to the holiday season,” Stebbins said. “There’s just so much to chose from, so we really wanted to focus in on the storytelling aspect of music and holiday music that tells a story.”
Stebbins said he’s especially proud of the live reading and musical accompaniment the orchestra has prepared for “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
While he described previous years’ shows as more of an assortment of traditional holiday songs, the theme of this year’s show presents a more unique experience.
“We put a lot of time into this particular piece, and it’s really intended to take in themes from a lot of different holiday music and movies and tie them together to help tell the story,” Stebbins said.
This year’s show will conducted by Emma Gibbins, an oboist and music teacher in Waterford, and Rachel Smith, a flutist and music teacher in Medford.
Each woman helped conduct portions of last year’s holiday show, and with the departure earlier this year of Pops music director Robert Schiavinato, the two women are ready to lead the group again.
This year, the South Jersey Pops orchestra is set to perform two concerts, with one in Mt. Laurel at Lenape High School on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. and one in Marlton at Marlton United Methodist Church on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.
Doors will open 30 minutes before each performance, with tickets set at $10 for adults and children under 13 admitted for free.
Tickets for the Lenape show are available in advance or at the door. However, seating is limited for the Marlton show, so those tickets are only available in advance.
“It’s a great way to get adults and kids into the holiday spirits, and it’s a very inexpensive way to spend your afternoon or evening,” Stebbins said.
To purchase tickets, visit www.southjerseypops.org.
