Posted by Ken Sturgeon on July 04, 1999 at 23:16:39:
In Reply to: Boston Pops?? posted by Todd Morgan on July 04, 1999 at 21:55:13:
The orchestra you heared was the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Boston has two pops orchestras. The Boston Pops is essentially the Boston Symphony minus most of the principle players. In this case, the single instrument spots(bass trombone, tuba) are needed to perform in the pops as well as the symphony. The summer home for the Boston Symphony is in western Massachussetts at Tanglewood. While they are out there, there is of course a need for an orchestra in the city of Boston and this is where the Pops Esplanade orchestra comes in. They are made up mostly of the finest freelancers in the Boston area and play quite regularly if not always with that orchestra. Gary Ofenloch has been there for many years but is also the principle tubist with the Utah Symphony. The Esplanade orchestra is a fine group, but there is a distinct difference between the "Pops" and the "Pops Esplanade" orchestras. When you listen to recordings, the orchestra member pops is who you hear and Chester Schmitz is almost always playing. I hope this helps.
Happy listening!