Betsy's View

Boston Pops Remembers Nona Gainsforth this Independence Day Weekend

On Saturday, July 3rd, The Boston Pops organization paid tribute to Nona Gainsforth, The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra’s 30-year veteran French Horn player. Diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2005, Nona passed away on June 11th. In her three decades with the Boston Pops, Nona’s extended family reached far and wide, having worked with musicians from across the globe. Colleague and friend Gary Ofenloch said, “Nona was loved by everyone. She was a great player, and a great mother, and she is deeply missed by all.”

A Look Back at Utah Symphony’s 2009-10 Season and a Look Ahead to 2010-11

This season I was fortunate to be able to attend Utah Symphony performances in Salt Lake City and one of my favorites was Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony. I saw a number of guest conductors and artists present wonderful performances by Mozart, Dvořák, Rachmaninoff and Smetana, and I was particularly moved by Mahler’s 2nd Symphony in the Salt Lake Tabernacle led by Keith Lockhart. The 2009-10 season was remarkable, and the 2010-11 season promises even more!

Boston Pops 125 Salutes American Heroes Part 2: Armed Forces, Arthur Fiedler, Arlo Guthrie, Brian Stokes Mitchell

How does the Pops celebrate its 125th Season? Class, Tradition and Honor. I haven’t been to any better Pops performances. What a way to celebrate the Pops’ 125th Anniversary! The season isn’t finished yet, and the big finale of the summer is always the Pops on the Esplanade for the 4th of July. Fantastic performances!

Boston Pops 125 Salutes American Heroes and Honors Kennedy Brothers Part 1: De Niro, Freeman and Harris

If you didn’t get a chance to attend the Boston Pops this past week, you missed one heck of a concert! I seem to have a lot of musical firsts, and this Pops concert program was by far my favorite ever. Keith Lockhart and the Pops put together a program that included Hollywood’s and Boston’s elite, 9/11 Rescue workers and local artists, and the programs were so phenomenal that I had to attend twice!

John Williams Brings Magic to Symphony Hall in Celebration of The Boston Pops’ 125th Anniversary

No single word can describe John Williams or the impact he has had on our lives for the past 40+ years. The Boston Pops celebrates its 125th anniversary and pulls out the big guns, and who bigger can you celebrate with than John Williams? And next week, Symphony Hall welcomes acclaimed actors Robert DeNiro, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman to help present the Stars and Stripes program!

Keith Lockhart Leads Utah Symphony with an Inspiring Walton and Smetana

Keith Lockhart returned to Salt Lake City this month to conduct two weeks of performances with the Utah Symphony that include works by Walton, Smetana, Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff. Cellist Julie Albers performed Walton’s Cello Concerto flawlessly, and Smetana’s Má Vlast inspired me. The Utah Symphony musicians played their hearts out and it was a pleasure to see Maestro Lockhart lead the symphony through this amazing work.

2009 Boston Holiday Pops Spreads Good Cheer!

I love the Boston Pops and I always look forward to seeing Maestro Keith Lockhart at the podium. The Pops Holiday concert was filled with songs for everyone, including a creative and smile inducing 12 Days of Christmas! The Boston Pops has a way of spreading good cheer, whether they are performing 35 concerts for the holidays or performing in front of a half a million revelers during the Independence Day celebrations. The Boston Pops is all about making people feel alive and happy, and when you celebrate with the Pops, there is never a shortage of smiles.

The Boston Pops, Neil Diamond and Craig Ferguson Celebrate July 4th ‘09 Boston Style!

If I’m passionate about anything, it’s about celebrating the Fourth of July in Boston!
Thanks to philanthropist David Mugar and Boston 4 Productions, there’s no place I’d rather be on the Fourth than on the Boston Esplanade watching The Boston Pops and Grammy Award-winning guest artists, and trying to find a 2 x 2 foot piece [...]

Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart Believes in Emotionally Compelling Music

Interview with Maestro Keith Lockhart

Keith Lockhart is one of the finest conductors of our generation.
Fifteen years ago, Keith Lockhart became the 20th conductor of the Boston Pops. Boston welcomed him with open arms and warm hearts and reveled in his celebrity status. It seemed that not a day went by without hearing about the [...]

Boston Celebrates the 4th (Dress Rehearsal) with The Boston Pops, Neil Diamond and Craig Ferguson

On Friday afternoon, the day wasn’t looking very good with all the thunderstorms and grey skies.  But by the time 8pm rolled around, the skies were clear and it was a beautiful un-muggy 75 degrees outside at the Hatch Shell in Boston. 
Despite the gloomy weather, Bostonians and visitors packed onto the grass in front of [...]

Buzz Aldrin, The Boston Pops and MIT Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Lunar Landing

On Thursday, June 11, 2009, former NASA astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin, The Boston Pops and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) came together to celebrate the upcoming 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing.
On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon.  In the image below, [...]