Behind the Scenes: Singing Santa

For the last five years, The Philly POPS has been honored to have the one and only Santa Claus perform in our Christmas show. This fall, he took a break from making toys to reminisce about his time singing with the POPS.

Though Santa has always enjoyed singing carols, he knew he had to get serious about his craft when the chance to audition for POPS Principal Guest Conductor David Charles Abell came up. He worked with a vocal coach and brought in the North Pole’s best piano player to prepare his audition song: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

“I chewed my fingernails for a couple of months and then I heard from David and [POPS CEO] Frank Giordano that I got the gig!,” Santa recalls.

In the years since, Santa has joined the POPS on stage to sing “Mele Kalikimaka,” “Silver Bells,” “The Wonderful World of Christmas,” “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” His tune this year is a surprise, but he says you can “expect it to swing!”

“Of all the wonderful things that I get to do and see, singing with the POPS is the best gig in town!,” Santa says. “It’s a great a diversion from all the hubbub of Christmastime.”

Though he takes a well-deserved vacation each the summer, Santa always makes a quick trip to Philadelphia for the annual Christmas in July event, when the POPS give new bicycles and helmets to children from military, police, and fire department families.

The big question though is: Are the POPS musicians on the Nice list this year?

“The POPS are on the Nice list, except for a couple of those horn players who sometimes make the Naughty list. And David Charles Abell is always on the nice list.”