Holiday Pops

The Columbus Symphony Orchestra brings its Holiday Pops concert to the Ohio Theatre on Friday, December 4, from 8 PM to 10:30 PM. If you can't make the Friday night, there are two matinees the following weekend: Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6, both at 3 PM.

This is the holiday edition of the symphony's Pops series, which is led by Music Director Rossen Milanov. For the live orchestral arrangements, Principal Pops Conductor Stuart Chafetz takes the podium. The program is built around the holiday songs and carols most people know by heart, and it's a big production: the orchestra is joined by the Columbus Symphony Chorus, directed by Stephen Caracciolo, and the Columbus Children's Choir, with artistic director Jeanne Wohlgamuth. Two vocalists from Troupe Vertigo, Scarlett Strallen and Ganchimeg Oyunchimeg, also join in.

To get a sense of the range the Pops series usually covers, it helps to look at the rest of the season. The repertoire runs from British songwriters like Andrew Lloyd Webber, Elton John, and Paul McCartney to hits from Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Elvis Presley, and Diana Ross, with James Bond film scores mixed in. Holiday Pops takes that same orchestral approach and applies it to the season's carols, with the chorus and children's choir filling out the sound.

There's a community side to this one, too. In partnership with NBC4, the orchestra is collecting toys for the FireFighters 4 Kids toy drive; you can drop off donations at the Galbreath Pavilion concessions area. The concerts are at the Ohio Theatre, 39 E State Street, Columbus, 43215: Friday, December 4, 8 PM to 10:30 PM, and Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6, at 3 PM.