Evening at Pops


Evening at Pops is an American concert television series produced by WGBH-TV. It is one of the longest-running programs on PBS, airing from 1970 to 2004. The program was a public television version of a variety show, featuring performances by the Boston Pops Orchestra. It was taped at Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.

Format

Most shows featured a guest star, usually a well known singer or musician, most commonly within popular music or sometimes rock, folk, jazz or other musical genres. After one or two opening numbers by the Pops, the guest would be brought onstage. Usually the guest would sing several of their own hits or songs associated with them, with accompaniment by the Pops. After concluding their set, the guest artist would leave the stage, and the Pops would play one or two closing numbers. The three men who served as Boston Pops Conductor during the show's run – Arthur Fiedler, John Williams and Keith Lockhart – appeared. Gene Galusha provided narration and announced most of the pieces played.
Evening at Symphony, a companion series produced by WGBH and featuring performances of the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa, aired on PBS from 1974 to 1979.

Evening at Pops Theme

composed a TV theme for the show in 1981. It can be heard at the beginning of the 1987 suite arrangement known as "John Williams Evening at Pops" " and the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme".
During the funding credits in the 1990s, the version of Dmitri Shostakovich's Festive Overture, Op. 96 was heard and is composed and adapted by Williams and performed by the BPO.

Demise

The long-running show ended after its 2004–2005 season because the Pops' parent organization, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, did not want to continue funding the nearly $1 million production cost of each episode.