Philly Pops

The Philly Pops
Orchestra
Founded1979; 45 years ago (1979)
Principal conductorDavid Charles Abell
Music directorDavid Charles Abell
Websitewww.phillypops.org

The Philly Pops is an American orchestra that is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1]

History

Founded by presenter and producer, Moe Septee, and conducted from 1979 to 2013 by two-time Grammy Award-winning pianist Peter Nero, the Philly Pops plays orchestral versions of popular jazz, swing, Broadway songs and blues. David Charles Abell took over the positions of principal conductor and music director in 2020.[2]

On October 4, 1999, the Philly Pops was designated as the official pops orchestra of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[3]

The Philly Pops will cease operations after the 2022-2023 season.[4] In 2023, former financial controller for the Philly Pops, Cheryl Lutts, was convicted of embezzling more than $280,000 from the organization, starting when she was hired in 2019.[5]

The musicians of the Philly Pops have organized into the recently formed No Name Pops to continue the musical tradition of the Philly Pops.

References

  1. ^ "About The Philly POPS". The Philly POPS: One-of-a-kind orchestra. Encore Series, Inc. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  2. ^ Dobrin, Peter (2020-07-03). "David Charles Abell takes over Philly Pops, with face masks and acrylic partitions if that's what it takes". Philadelphia Inquirer. OCLC 8621184098. Retrieved 2022-10-01.
  3. ^ A Resolution designating the Philly Pops as the official pops orchestra of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Resolution). Pennsylvania General Assembly. 5 October 1999.
  4. ^ "Philly Pops to cease operations at end of 2022-23 season". WHYY. 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  5. ^ Roebuck, Jeremy (July 25, 2023). "Former financial professional for Philly Pops and Jewish Exponent sentenced to prison for embezzling nearly $1.7M". Philadelphia Inquirer.

39°56′48″N 75°09′57″W / 39.94674°N 75.16588°W / 39.94674; -75.16588