After the show, Alves’ children would excitedly run up to him, saying “Dad, Santa Claus knew my name,’” he recalled. When his children were young and sitting in the concert hall during Holiday Pops performances, Alves would instruct Santa Claus to greet the children by name as he walked between rows. “And, of course, many people may or may not know this, but the real Santa actually comes to Symphony Hall not like the mall Santas and all that.” “Santa Claus is a personal friend of mine, of course, since I work here,” Alves said cheekily. ![]() Santa Claus and Keith Lockhart onstage at the 2022 Holiday Pops. Alves is the director of artistic planning for the Boston Pops, but his connection to the orchestra and its holiday concerts holds a deeper meaning. The concert series is a longstanding tradition and a “must” for Dennis Alves and his family. “The ambiance of Symphony Hall is warmly enhanced by festive decorations and the program selections offer something for everyone.” “For many families, attending Holiday Pops together is a much anticipated and beloved annual ritual,” reads a 2010 brochure printed for the 125th anniversary of the Boston Pops. ‘Oh, twins!’”įootage of the 1973 concert shows dozens of smartly dressed children sitting patiently next to their adult guardians. “And I'd look out in the hall and there would be mom, dad, child, child. “The first thing that I became aware of when we were playing Christmas and holiday concerts was that parents would bring their children,” Wolfe recalled. In the early years of Holiday Pops, Wolfe observed that the December concert series attracted a different audience. (Courtesy Robert Torres/Boston Symphony Orchestra) Holiday Pops is music for joy's sake.” Larry Wolfe, standing second from right, onstage during the 2019 Holiday Pops Company Celebration. “During symphony, it’s music for art's sake. “When we play Holiday Pops, it's the joy of the season,” he said. “Just in three minutes of music, it just gives you a sense of place and time - of warmth,” Wolfe said of Anderson’s classic, “and I never cease to enjoy it.”Įvery year, Symphony Hall sees hundreds of concerts, but Wolfe said there is something especially magical about the half-a-century-old tradition of the December shows. ![]() Wolfe has performed and heard hundreds of holiday songs over the years, but two tunes stay with him: Handel’s “Messiah,” the dramatic piece that kicks off with an explosive “Hallelujah!,” and Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” which was commissioned for the BSO by Fiedler. The program for "A Pops Christmas Party" performed in 1973. Instead, the Boston Pops chose to put on a special New Year’s Eve show with the BSO. ![]() There was no Holiday Pops performance in 1974, according to BSO archivist Sarah Funke Donovan. Now, decades later, Wolfe is in his 53rd season with the BSO and will soon play Holiday Pops for the 49th time. “I was not pressured into lessons music chose me as much as I chose it.” “I just played to play because I loved to play,” the Hingham native said, remembering his introduction to classical music. After undergoing some minor surgeries, Wolfe could no longer play trombone and eventually found his way to bass Wolfe, who joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra when he was 21 in 1970 - the youngest member at the time - started playing music in elementary school when a teacher handed him a trombone. Holiday Pops was first introduced on Decemunder the name “A Pops Christmas Party” and later, in 1985, “Christmas at Pops.” The series became known as “Holiday Pops” in 1995 to acknowledge the different ways people celebrate during the season.ĭouble bassist Larry Wolfe has witnessed the holiday concert series in all its versions. ![]() Since then, Santa Claus has regularly made his way down from the North Pole for this cherished holiday show. This was the scene at the first-ever Holiday Pops concert series 50 years ago.
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