Jingle All the Way
If You Go
Holiday Pops
Music Hall
1241 Elm St.
Friday, Dec. 9, 11 a.m. and 7: 30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 9, 2 and 7: 30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 9, 2 and 7 p.m.
Free live stream premieres Saturday, Dec. 10
at 7:30 p.m.
Click for tickets and information.
A man in red suit really makes the holidays special. We aren’t talking about Santa, we’re talking about John Morris Russell!
As the conductor of the Cincinnati Pop Orchestra, Russell brings the magic and music of the season to life with the annual Holiday Pops extravaganza. This year, the Pops welcomes The Annie Moses Band, along with singer Bernard Holcomb, the Winton Woods High School Varsity Ensemble, the School for the Creative and Performing Arts Chorale, the Sycamore High School Select Ensemble, and The Studio for Dance.
What's your favorite holiday tune?*
IMPOSSIBLE! Perhaps it's best to say, “Whatever holiday song I’m singing / whistling / conducting at the moment,” but there are a few standouts: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”—in both versions, the original (and darker) version from “Meet me in St. Louis”—as well as the more popular version with lyrics tweaked by Frank Sinatra.
Also, Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.” The line, “there’s a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy, when they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie” really resonates with our family traditions.
And, you gotta include Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song” and “Silent Night” (It always gets me choked up)!
What song always gets you ready for a holiday party?
“Winter Wonderland” for sure—there are SO many versions out there; my fave is an outrageous rockabilly version I found at a truck stop CD rack. Also “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway—it just makes you feel good.
How do you keep the Holiday Pops show fun each year?
I design Holiday Pops the way we all celebrate the holidays—with that special blend of tradition and reimagining familiar favorites.
We always have a chorus (or two) as well as special soloists and ensembles and, of course, Cincinnati’s award-winning Studio for Dance, but the repertoire cuts a wide swath of musical styles—jazz, bluegrass, rock, gospel, soul, and, of course, the grand orchestrations at the heart of the Pops experience. As Mel Torme said, it’s for “kids from one to ninety-two.”
Have you survived Whamageddon?*
I’m saving that one for the “Midnight Show” next season!
Sinatra or Crosby?
Tough call—Though Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” with Bing is just about as iconic as it gets, Frank’s “Jingle Bells” takes that old ditty to a whole new level!