Jackson Lewis proudly supports the
Jackson Lewis is honored to support the Cleveland Pops Orchestra in its mission to perform the highest quality symphonic pops music, enhancing the richness and vibrancy of Northeast Ohio living.
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Welcome back to the 27th season of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra! We are delighted that you can join us., For our 2023-24 season Maestro Carl Topilow has again put together a great series of performances of Pops, Broadway, popular, holiday and light classical music.
From modest beginnings in 1996, the Pops has grown to today’s series of multiple concerts at Severance Music Center, Playhouse Square, and other venues. Indeed, our Orchestra has grown to be one of the most recognized Pops orchestras in the nation and a beloved part of the music scene in the Cleveland area. As increasingly recognized around the country, the arts scene in Cleveland is amazingly vibrant – truly one of the best arts and cultural cities in the US. We are proud to be an important part of it.
We have an outstanding group of musicians performing under our Conductor and Music Director, Carl Topilow. In addition, we support the development of future musicians through our annual Gordon and Jean L. Petitt Memorial Scholarship Competition for high school students, The Orchestra has also teamed up with The Music Settlement to establish the Cleveland Pops Youth Orchestra, which gives talented young performers the chance to play pops music under professional conducting. We believe the Cleveland Pops Youth Orchestra to be the first pops youth orchestra in the country.
The Pops also operates its Actual Music program in our area schools, under the leadership of President Shirley Morgenstern bringing music education to hundreds of children annually. Music education is very important for our community, and we are pleased to be a part of engaging the next generation in popular symphonic music.
James M. Stone | Principal Chairman of the Board, Cleveland Pops Orchestra
Park Center Plaza I, Suite 400 6100 Oak Tree Boulevard Cleveland, OH 44131
James.Stone@jacksonlewis.com
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The key ingredient has been the support of the Greater Cleveland community. Our audience, including subscribers and individual ticket purchasers, are our life blood, but ticket sales provide only a portion of our budget. As an independent, 501(c) (3) organization, the Cleveland Pops Orchestra is dependent on the generosity of individuals, corporations, government funding of the arts, and foundations. We appreciate all who support the Pops, including our wonderful Board of Directors, our sponsors, donors, and our benefit honorees and patrons, as well as the Ohio Arts Council, the Cleveland and Kulas foundations, and the Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, to name just a few. Thanks for keeping the Pops “sound” in the in our ever-brightening future.
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Carl Topilow, Conductor and Music Director
Shirley Morgenstern, President and CEO
James M. Stone – Chairman
Ann Marie Hawkins – Vice Chair
Michael A. Shemo* – Secretary
Russell H. Grindon – Treasurer
Donald Messinger – Immediate Past Chairman
Sondra M. Boyd
Austin Carr
Jared Chaney**
Susan Delaney
Edward H. Gabelman, M.D.
Edward H. Luecke
Ryan T. Marrie
Lisa H. Michel
R. Justin Mistovich, M.D
Lydia U. Parker, M.D.
Thomas J. Scanlon* (d)
Andrew Smith
Randall L. Solomon
Adrienne L. Stemen
Salvatore (Sam) J. Totino
Keith M. Warner, M.D., FACS
Robert B. Weltman
Evelyn Wright
*Past Chairman
**Lifetime Board Member
Art Falco • Marshall Griffith • Louis Lane (d) • Carl “Doc” Severinsen
Associate Board Members
Jasmin Grindon, President
Austin Corthell
Emily Topilow
Staff Members
Carl Topilow, Director & Conductor
Shirley Morgenstern, President & CEO
William Zurkey, Chorus Director
Loren Toplitz, Executive Assistant to the President & Orchestra
Personnel Manager
Ronald C. Vojacek, Director of Development
Ebbie Cox, Director of Patron Services & Group Sales
Sabrina Plumb DeCastra, Director of Digital Marketing
Benjamin Malkevitch, Music Librarian
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra is poised once again to bring you the finest in symphonic pops! Whether it’s the music of John Williams, the Beatles, Disney, jazz, light classics, or rock, the Cleveland Pops stands for lively and entertaining concerts.
Our thanks go to our patrons, donors, orchestra members, board, and staff for their support of the orchestra. Our brand of music is indeed special, and what better place to perform than in beautiful Severance Music Center and for our holiday concert at the Connor Palace Theater in Playhouse Square.
We have lineup of guest performers who I know you are going to enjoy, and playing with the Pops in our wonderful venues is something to which they always look forward.
The energy of live performance can never be duplicated by electronics. The excitement of playing for a live audience is unequaled, and no two performances are ever the same. It’s the human element, the moment that can never be duplicated, that ensures that evenings with the Pops are to be treasured and savored.
So, sit back, tap your toes, hum, along, and dance in the aisles as we create the magical evenings that we so enjoy creating.
Shirley Morgenstern President and CEO
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra
In the blink of an eye, our delightful summer outdoor concerts are done, and we whisk into the fall for our exciting Cleveland Pops Orchestra concerts! The anticipation of the downbeat for our opening night concert under the direction of Maestro Carl Topilow is something we look forward to at the start of every new season. You can be assured the programs will be fresh, lively, entertaining, and enjoyable, and the Pops always makes you feel part of the experience! Our audience, a combination of former patrons and new attendees, will be thrilled by the sound of the music loved by all, the best of symphonic pops music - the Beatles, Gershwin, Rock, Broadway, Movies, Jazz and more.
We are also happy to continue our school education program, Actual Music, our Cleveland Pops Youth Orchestra, and our annual Gordon and Jean L. Petitt Young Artists Competition, whose prizes include both a solo appearance with the orchestra and a cash prize. A big “Thank You” to all of you – your attendance and donations make all these programs possible.
My door is always open for suggestions and ideas. Please email me at shirleymorgenstern@clevelandpops.com or stop by our new offices for a chat.
Enjoy the show,
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra is grateful to the following funders who have made the 2023-2024 season possible:
$50,000 & Above
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
Ohio Arts Council
Ohio Department of Development
SBA-Shutter Venue
Operators Grant
Ohio Real Title
$20,000 - $49,000
The George Gund Foundation
John P Murphy Foundation
Jackson Lewis LLP Foundation
$10,000 - $19,999
Calfee, Halter & Griswold, LLP
The Cleveland Foundation
Glenmede
Hawkins & Company
Merrill Lynch
Northeast Surgical Wound Care
Parker Skin & Aesthetic Clinic
Swagelok Foundation
Thompson Hine LLP
Weltman, Weinberg & Resi Company LPA
Margaret W. Wong & Associates, LLC
Wolf Investors
$5,0000 - $9,999
Sam J. Frankino Foundation
$2000 - $4,999
Bascom Little Fund
$1,000 - $1,999
The Cleveland State School of Law
Jefferson Fund of Akron
Community Foundation
Dynamics Online
Sam & Esther Friedman
Family Foundation
The Ohio Broach & Machine
People’s Bank Foundation
Progressive Insurance
Olympus Partners
Kehoe Brothers
RDM Foundation
Self-Funded Plans Inc.
Thank you to our Sponsor Partners for Supporting our 2023-2024 Concert Season:
Presenting Season Sponsor: Don & Sally Messinger
A Night in Hollywood
Sponsored by: James and Winifred Stone
A Mediterranean Cruise
Sponsored by: John P. Murphy and Kulas Foundations
Holiday Cheer
Sponsored by: Northeast Surgical Wound Care, Inc.
Champagne & Shamrocks
Sponsored by: Ohio Real Title
Broadway Rocks
Sponsored by: Jackson Lewis
Founding conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Carl Topilow’s eclectic programs have been acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. He enjoys a dual career as both conductor and clarinetist, often finding an occasion to perform a selection with the Pops on one of his brightly colored clarinets.
Carl is also conductor of the Firelands Symphony Orchestra, based in Sandusky, Ohio. After 42 years as conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra, a summer festival in Breckenridge, CO, he is continuing an active role with the orchestra as Conductor Laureate. He was named Faculty Emeritus after 37 years as Conductor and Director of the Orchestral Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music and has served as principal pops conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and Mansfield Symphony Orchestra.
Topilow has performed as guest conductor with 132 different orchestras in 37 states and 12 foreign countries. In addition to concerts this season with the Ohio Valley Symphony and Florida Lakes Symphony, he will be giving master classes at Bob Jones University, University of North Carolina-Charlotte and at the Collegiate Orchestra Conductors Association National Convention and hosting his second conducting workshop in Cleveland.
Topilow’s wife Shirley is President and CEO of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. Their daughter Emily is a marketing associate with the Cleveland Clinic, and their daughter Jenny is a violinist with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
Carl’s new book, The Orchestral Conductor’s Career Handbook, published by Rowman and Littlefield, is now available through CarlTopilow.com and Rowman.com
Each year, talented young performers from Northeast Ohio compete to receive performance opportunities with The Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and resources to help them continue their musical education. The competition is open to young instrumentalists, vocalists and dancers.
For information or to contribute to this scholarship, visit: ClevelandPops.com/Education-Outreach/Scholarship
Julia Schilz, violin
Elizabeth Huang, violin
Alex Zhu, violin
Kate Klika, vocalist
Célina Bethoux, violin
Phoenix Avalon, violin
J.R. Heckman, vocalist
Hannah Kulawiak, vocalist
Sean Yongjoo Lim, violin
Jieming Tang, violin
Lewis Zou, piano
Maria Beltavski, violin
Jiana Peng, piano
Kaley Ann Voorhees, vocalist
Sophia Madorsky, vocalist
James Thompson, violin
Alexis Floyd, vocalist
Sarah Arnold, violin
Chad Hoopes, violin
Meredith Kochan, vocalist
Caroline Goulding, violin
Jerry Lang, II, piano
Yihao Wu, piano
Annie Marie Sivertson, vocalist
Shantelle Jackson, dancer
Antonio Brown, dancer
Lisa Moore, vocalist
Riley Richard, saxophone
Robbie Spackey, saxophone
Gina DiBello, violin
Kelly Pekar, vocalist
Nicholas DiEugenio, violin
Moshi Tang, violin
Calista Zajac, vocalist
2021 First Prize Winner Daniel Colaner, piano 2022 Co-Winner Alexandra Newman, vocalist 2022 Co-Winner Lindsey Ross, vocalist
Turn a night of music into a truly memorable event. Dine at our chefinspired Table 45 Restaurant and Bar before the concert. Relax in our luxurious guestrooms and suites. At InterContinental Cleveland, we provide a comfortable, world-class experience.
To reserve your room, call 855.765.8709 ask for the Cleveland Pops rate.
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Experience the Elegance of the InterContinental Life.
iccleveland.com OFFICIAL HOTEL SPONSOR : CLEVELAND POPS ORCHESTRA
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra Chorus’ debut performance took place at Severance on Friday, November 2, 2012. Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer critic, in attendance at the debut concert, wrote, “The chorus will appear regularly with the orchestra, and for this Pops audiences can be truly grateful.”Originally created to partner with Carl Topilow and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, the chorus has performed not only the greatest of Broadway, but significant choral and orchestral literature as well. In addition to performing with the Pops Orchestra regularly, the chorus has also performed with the Cleveland Winds, the Cleveland Philharmonic, the West Shore Chorale, and with Andrea Bocelli and the Pops Orchestra at Rocket Mortgage Field House. This is a diverse group of individuals from all over the Cleveland area with one commonality; they all love to sing and share the joy of singing with others.
William G. Zurkey is beginning his eleventh season as the director of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra Chorus. In addition to his work with the Pops Chorus, he is an Adjunct Professor of Music Education at Cleveland State University School of Music.
A past president of the Ohio Choral Directors Association, Mr. Zurkey was inducted into the 2018 National High School Hall of Fame and was named Bowling Green State University 2013 College of Musical Arts Distinguished Graduate and the 2013 Regional Mr. Holland’s Opus Award. The Avon Lake High School Chorale, under his direction, performed at nine OMEA state conventions and district and regional conventions of MKMEA, and ACDA. Mr. Zurkey has also directed choirs at the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music Outreach Program and as an adjunct Faculty of Music Education at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.
Your $1,000+ gift supports a Pops Musician and enhances your Pops Season with meaningful access and opportunity, including:
Access to Concert Donor Hospitality
Exclusive Invitation to Annual Musical Chairs Luncheon
Special Access to Private Rehearsals and Performances
Concierge Ticketing Assistance for Pops Concerts and Subscriptions
Pre-Performance Meet the Maestro and other special events!
Do you know, or have, a favorite Pops musician or instrument? Through our Musical Chair Society Sponsorship, you can honor that musician or instrument, while supporting your beloved Cleveland Pops Orchestra!
BECK CENTER FOR
SEPTEMBER 22 – OCTOBER 22
In this tight drama, a cat-and-mouse-game between the young reporter and the terrorist leads to a shocking conclusion!
Recommended for ages 16+
DECEMBER 1 – 30
Family-friendly musical about family! This production features different styles of music and the most colorful costume piece! Perfect for all ages, this show is sure to be a hit with you and yours.
FEBRUARY 9 – FEBRUARY 25
Collaboration with Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program. A spooky and hilariously story about the lives of six teenagers cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster.
APRIL 5 – MAY 5
Written in 1979, first produced in 1982, reveals the story of generations of jitney drivers and how they impacted their communities.
MAY 31 - JUNE 30
This Tony Award-winner picks up fifteen years after Nora Helmer slammed the door on her stifling domestic life, but now a knock comes at that same door. Funny, probing, and a sharp contemporary.
JULY 12 - AUGUST 11
A Tony and Grammy Award-winner, this nostalgic yet fresh musical tells the story of the early life and career of Carole King, using songs that she wrote including such timeless hits as “You’ve Got a Friend.”
ENTERTAIN. ENRICH. EDUCATE.
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra offers a broad range of experiences from concerts and community events to educational programs and a scholarship opportunity.
- ENTERTAIN -
Through our concert series at Severance Music Center, our highly anticipated annual family holiday show at Connor Palace, and our community engagement events, The Cleveland Pops attracts a wide and diverse audience
- 62,000+ individuals entertained each year
- 15-18 concerts & community events
- ENRICH -
The Cleveland Pops programs and performances throughout the region promote a love and understanding of music that make a lasting impression on the minds and hearts of thousands
- EDUCATE -
The Pops creates music learning experiences for children from their pre-school stage through high school
A program designed to engage children in the world of music & dance The program provides education, participation, listening & visual stimulation for the students.
GORDON & JEAN L. PETITT SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION
Open to vocalists, dancers and instrumentalists up to the age of 18, with prizes including a cash reward and the opportunity to perform on stage at Severance Music Center with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra.
Established in collaboration with The Music Settlement, this program was created to nurture & train young musicians The program promotes critical thinking, selfconfidence & leadership skills through music
D P O P S T R A
Join the Pops Legacy Society
Pops Legacy Society members are securing the future of The Cleveland Pops Orchestra
We are honored by the generosity of our Legacy Society members who, through their estate plans will continue to support The Cleveland Pops Orchestra’s mainstage productions and education and engagement efforts that touch people of all ages and backgrounds, past their own lifetimes.
We invite you to join this esteemed group of individuals who have demonstrated their deep commitment to ensuing our region continues to be a okace where people want to live and work, that attracts and keeps top talent, businesses and investment.
For more information about creating your Cleveland Pops Orchestra Legacy, contact Ronald C. Vojacek Director of Development, at (216) 765-7677, rvojacek@clevelandpops.com or visit ClevelandPops.com.
Please let us recognize your commitment.
We are honored to acknowledge members of our Pops Legacy Society in our programs and as our honored guests at special events.
All programs and artists are subject to change without notice
Announcing the Cleveland Pops Orchestra 2023/2024 Season!
Call to purchase tickets:
216 765 7677
Ask about our Subscription Packages!
A Night in Hollywood
Sat , 10/21/23 - 8pm - Severance
Music from your favorite blockbuster movies including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Titanic and more.
Holiday Cheer!
Sun., 11/26/23 - 2pm - Connor Palace
Making spirits bright with this annual concert featuring the Pops Chorus, Dancing Santas, adoptable shelter pets and more holiday magic!
A Mediterranean Cruise Sat., 11/18/23 - 8pm - Severance
A stay-cation with the Pops! Enjoy the enchanting sounds of France, Italy, Spain, and Greece with French songstress Gay Marshall.
New Years Eve: Concert & Party Sun., 12/31/23 - 9pm - Severance
A Tribute to the Beatles Sat., 2/3/24 - 8pm - Severance
Celebrating 60 years of the Beatles! Hear music from the early days through the solo years performed by the Pops and Classical Mystery Tour, four musicians who sound and look just like the Beatles.
Broadway Rocks
Fri , 4/12/24 - 8pm - Severance
Shining the spotlight on musical theatre as Broadway vocalists perform selections from shows including Wicked, The Book of Mormon, Hairspray, Rent, The Wiz and more.
End 2023 with song and dance. After the concert, enjoy a cash bar as you dance the night (and year!) away and count down to the midnight balloon drop.
Champagne & Shamrocks Fri., 3/1/24 - 8pm - Severance
Kick off March with the songs and dances of Ireland featuring Cleveland’s own Murphy’s Irish Dancers and vocalist Connor Bogart O’Brien.
A Tribute to our Armed Forces Sat., 6/1/24 - 8pm - Severance
Saluting our heroes with stirring patriotic music and a special tribute to NASA featuring videos from space flights, furnished by NASA Glenn in Cleveland.
Your Cleveland Pops Orchestra delivers orchestral performances unlike any other, which entertain audiences of all ages. The orchestra enriches the community through its performances and through music education.
Maltz Performing Arts Center Sunday DEC. 10, 2023 Saturday DEC. 9, 2023
PlayhouseSquare Sunday March 3, 2024 Saturday March 2, 2024
MIMI OHIO
PlayhouseSquare Sunday June 2, 2024 Saturday June 1, 2024
MIMI OHIO
