Peter Nero and the Philly Pops 2007-08 season features Broadway, Motown, Latin jazz, and other favorites
04/19/2007

Special guests include Broadway's Lisa Vroman, Rachel York, and Doug LaBrecque; Motown vocal quartet Spectrum; Latin-American flutist
Nestor Torres; and Broadway and TV star Lucie Arnaz

EXTRA SUNDAY SERIES ADDED!

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops 2007-08 season brings audiences the sounds of Broadway, Motown, Latin jazz, and other favorites. In December, Holiday POPS! returns with the heart-warming sounds of the season. Peter and The POPS' varied and ever-popular programs often pack the house. To accommodate the growing demand for tickets, a second Sunday series has been added to each subscription program. (Please see calendar below for concert dates and times.)

The 2007-08 season opens with The POPS' signature show, Broadway Showstoppers. This year's theme is Best of the Tony Awards, and the program features selections from an array of Tony-winning shows. Special guests Lisa Vroman (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables), Rachel York (Camelot, The Scarlet Pimpernel), and Doug LaBrecque (The Phantom of the Opera, Showboat), sing the best that Broadway has to offer (September 30, October 3, 5-7, 2007).

Motown Magic shines a spotlight on one of the most important and influential popular music styles. Motown, with its soulful sounds and inspired arrangements, had a tremendous cultural impact that is still felt today. The unique harmonies of the Motown era created an entirely new style of music that is still adored worldwide. Special guests Spectrum join Peter Nero and the Philly Pops in this tribute to Motown's finest artists. With their smooth voices, incredibly wide vocal ranges, and slick choreography, this male quartet transports audiences right back to one of music's most magical periods (November 4, 7, 9-11, 2007).

Holiday POPS! returns in December for a total of 10 performances. From beloved seasonal classics to glorious gospel music, this show is the quintessential holiday treat. This year, two premier dancers from the famed Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow add elegance and grace to the concerts. Vocal powerhouse Lisa Howard (from last season's Broadway Showstoppers), The POPS Festival Chorus, and the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Gospel Choir are also featured. More matinee performances this season make Holiday POPS! a superb way for the whole family to celebrate this delightful time of year (December 9, 12, 14-16, 19, 21-23, 2007).

Virtuoso jazz flutist and Latin Grammy Award-winner Nestor Torres returns by popular demand for !Viva Latino! Mr. Torres has been captivating audiences with his distinctive mix of Latin, jazz, classical, and pop sounds for more than two decades. His intuitive sense of melody and rhythm has made him a fixture in the Latin jazz universe. In February, he reunites with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops for one of the hottest concerts of the season (February 3, 6, 8-10, 2008).

We Love Lucie features singer and actress Lucie Arnaz, daughter of TV's favorite couple, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. A charismatic and electric performer, Ms. Arnaz celebrates her 40th year as an entertainer with a special show that incorporates marvelous Broadway music along with fond anecdotes of what life was like growing up with her famous parents (March 2, 5, 7-9, 2008).

Audience members choose the program for the season's final series, The POPular Vote. The polls will be open throughout the season and after every POPS performance. After the votes are tallied, Peter Nero will close the season with a program featuring the remarkable talent in our own backyard - members of the Philly Pops orchestra and Voices of The Pops - in a one-of-a-kind concert based on the popular vote (May 4, 7, 9-11, 2008).

PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS 2007-2008 SEASON
Subscriptions - on sale now
Subscription prices: $99-$470

How to order subscriptions
By phone: 215.893.1955
By fax: 215.893.1833
Online: www.phillypops.org
By mail or in person: Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, c/o Ticket Philadelphia, 1420 Locust Street, Suite 320, Philadelphia, PA 19012

Single tickets - on sale in September, except Holiday POPS! (on sale in July)
Single ticket prices: $26-$100

How to order single tickets
By phone: 215.893.1999
Online: www.phillypops.org
In person: The Kimmel Center Box Office, Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19102

On January 27, 2007, Peter Nero performed on the Academy of Music 150th Anniversary Concert, joining rock icon Rod Stewart from the piano on "They Can't Take That Away from Me." Maestro Nero was a guest soloist on Mr. Stewart's second of four Great American Songbook recordings, As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Vol. 2.

A two-time Grammy Award-winner, Mr. Nero has built an impressive career as a conductor, arranger, composer, and master pianist. "If he weren't such a superb musician, Peter Nero might be easy to dismiss as a mere great entertainer," notes Peter Dobrin, music critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. For his ability to pick just the right material, Mr. Nero most recently was dubbed "Dr. Feelgood." Named "the epitome of the Pops Conductor/Performer" by the Washington Post, Mr. Nero won the Grammy Award for "Best New Artist" in 1961, another in 1962, and since that time has garnered 10 additional nominations and released 67 albums. Mr. Nero's recent guest performances include engagements with the Toledo Symphony, the National Arts Centre Symphony in Ottawa, the Charlotte Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Baltimore Symphony, among others. He has made numerous television appearances on national networks as well as PBS. He is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and in 1999 received the Pennsylvania Distinguished Arts Award. One of America's premier pops orchestras, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops was founded in 1979 under the musical leadership of Mr. Nero, whose unique talents and innovative programming blending all musical genres have made their concerts widely popular in the pops world. POPS concerts run the gamut from great classics to jazz improvisation, big band to Broadway hits, ragtime to rock 'n' roll. Mr. Nero's participation as piano soloist has been received with boundless enthusiasm and acclaim. Guest artists - both established stars as well as outstanding new vocalists from Broadway and the concert stage - join The POPS each season. The Voices of The POPS, the resident vocal group, has become a member of the Philly Pops family as well.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is the Official Pops Orchestra of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a significant part of Philadelphia's cultural scene. The POPS has produced continuously growing and loyal audiences and performs to regularly sold-out crowds as a resident company of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

On July 4, 2006, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed a free outdoor concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Their concert on the Parkway the previous Independence Day, featuring Sir Elton John, Patti LaBelle, and Bryan Adams, reached over a half million people. Other notables who have joined them for past city celebrations include James Earl Jones, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Ray Charles, Boyz II Men, and Dionne Warwick.

During the 2003-04 season, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops celebrated its 25th anniversary. One of the most significant events of that year was the signing of a three-CD contract with DRG Records, making them one of only a few orchestras in the country with such a deal. Peter and The POPS had the honor of performing at the opening of the National Constitution Center in 2003, and participating in National Public Radio's nation-wide radio broadcast on July 4, 2002. Another highlight took place in April 2002, when Astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn made a guest appearance in a special performance of Peter's original composition Voyage into Space. Peter and The POPS were featured on ABC-TV's "Independence Day 2001," a live, star-studded national broadcast, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Garth Brooks.

More information about Peter Nero and the Philly Pops can be found at www.phillypops.org.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops 2007-08 season PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS
BROADWAY SHOWSTOPPERS: BEST OF THE TONY AWARDS
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

September 30 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon
October 3 at 8:00 p.m. - Wednesday evening
October 5 at 8:00 p.m. - Friday evening
October 6 at 3:00 p.m. - Saturday afternoon
October 7 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon


Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
Peter Nero, conductor and pianist
Lisa Vroman, vocalist
Rachel York, vocalist
Doug LaBrecque, vocalist

Single tickets: $26-$100, 215.893.1999 or www.phillypops.org



PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS
MOTOWN MAGIC
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

November 4 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon
November 7 at 8:00 p.m. - Wednesday evening
November 9 at 8:00 p.m. - Friday evening
November 10 at 3:00 p.m. - Saturday afternoon
November 11 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
Peter Nero, conductor and pianist
Spectrum

Single tickets: $26-$100, 215.893.1999 or www.phillypops.org

PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS
HOLIDAY POPS!
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

December 9 at 1:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon
December 12 at 8:00 p.m. - Wednesday evening
December 14 at 8:00 p.m. - Friday evening
December 15 at 2:00 p.m. - Saturday afternoon
December 16 at 7:00 p.m. - Sunday evening
December 19 at 8:00 p.m. - Wednesday evening
December 21 at 2:00 p.m. - Friday afternoon
December 22 at 2:00 p.m. - Saturday afternoon
December 23 at 2:30 p.m. - Sunday afternoon
December 23 at 7:00 p.m. - Sunday evening

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
Peter Nero, conductor and pianist
Lisa Howard, vocalist
The POPS Festival Chorus (Jeff Kern, director)
The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas Gospel Choir (Waltier Blocker, director)
With special guests from the Bolshoi Ballet:
Olga Pavlova, dancer
Yevgeni Anfinogenov, dancer

Single tickets: $26-$100, 215.893.1999 or www.phillypops.org

PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS
�VIVA LATINO!
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

February 3 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon
February 6 at 8:00 p.m. - Wednesday evening
February 8 at 8:00 p.m. - Friday evening
February 9 at 3:00 p.m. - Saturday afternoon
February 10 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
Peter Nero, conductor and pianist
Nestor Torres, flute

Single tickets: $26-$100, 215.893.1999 or www.phillypops.org

PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS
WE LOVE LUCIE
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

March 2 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon
March 5 at 8:00 p.m. - Wednesday evening
March 7 at 8:00 p.m. - Friday evening
March 8 at 3:00 p.m. - Saturady afternoon
March 9 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
Peter Nero, conductor and pianist
Lucie Arnaz, special guest

Single tickets: $26-$100, 215.893.1999 or www.phillypops.org

PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS
THE POPULAR VOTE
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
May 4 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon
May 7 at 8:00 p.m. - Wednesday evening
May 9 at 8:00 p.m. - Friday evening
May 10 at 3:00 p.m. - Saturday afternoon
May 11 at 3:00 p.m. - Sunday afternoon

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
Peter Nero, conductor and pianist
The Voices of The POPS

Single tickets: $26-$100, 215.893.1999 or www.phillypops.org

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