Pops Orchestra Starts Season With ‘Musical Voyage’

Bring the lawn chair and blanket because the Cypress Pops Orchestra will begin its 11th summer concert series Saturday with “A Musical Voyage,” featuring film and Broadway show tunes along with some classical numbers.

The concerts, held on the Civic Center Green between the branch library and City Hall, can draw as many as 3,000 people.

The 55-member orchestra, some as young as 10 and others in their 60s, has been a popular source of family entertainment in North County for more than a decade.

The musicians include professionals, students from USC and Cal State Long Beach, and community members. Many of them have been with the orchestra for more than a decade. Auditions are held every year, and the musicians are paid to rehearse and perform.

Conductor and founder John Hall, 57, says he wants to make music accessible to all, even though financially the orchestra has had its share of tough times. He and his wife, Marie, who serves as the operations manager, work out of their home.

“The orchestra is important because we are a cultural outreach outlet for the communities,” Hall said. “We are offering a free concert outlet to people that most likely would not be able to afford it.”

All shows are free, but years ago the orchestra had to cancel a show because of a lack of finances. Things have changed, according to Hall, and the organization is now in much better financial shape.

“I think we’re pretty much staying in the black,” he said.

The orchestra is funded by the city, corporate and private donations and fund-raising, although Hall says one-third of the $75,000 budget this year comes from patrons. Two distinct organizations support the orchestra: a 15-member board of directors which makes policy decisions, and a 15-member support guild in charge of fund-raising.

Hall, a former instructor who has taught at Cypress College, Cerritos College and Cal State Long Beach, is a graduate of trombone and conducting from the Juilliard School in New York. He also conducted and played in Europe before coming to Orange County in 1976.

Two years ago, the orchestra recorded a CD, “Live on the Green,” and it plans another before the end of the year based on this summer’s work. A holiday CD is also being considered.

The rest of their summer series will be July 8, “American Classics”; Aug. 12, “A Pops Bonanza”; and Sept. 9, “The Festival of Pops,” which will feature the 100-member Southern California Mormon Choir and a 25-member children’s chorus.

Information: (714) 828-4276.

Ana Beatriz Cholo can be reached at (714) 966-5890.