Why she loves Glendale Pops

Though most of my musical life has been spent in the realms of classical, sacred, and folk music, with a lot of attention to children’s choral music, I now count myself an avid Glendale Pops fan. I’ll give you three reasons I love Glendale Pops.

Glendale Pops is a program of Glendale Arts at the beautiful and iconic Alex. Glendale Arts has been a terrific partner with the Glendale Unified School District and the Glendale Educational Foundation, not to mention all the other civic and business organizations it supports. I love the Pops for the same reason I love Glendale Arts, because of a shared commitment to our city.

Glendale Pops is composed of some of L.A.’s finest musicians, many of whom play in the ranks of the L.A. Philharmonic, major studios and professional ensembles across the Southland. Those of us who’ve seen the players up close have seen how much fun they have making music with director Matt Catingub. I love the Pops because they’re so good and so fun.

I love Glendale Pops because Catingub is a true prince, as well as being a gifted arranger, conductor, singer, emcee, and community builder. It was his idea to draw from Glendale’s youth for the holiday concert, and I’m already excited about the prospects for engaging our students next December. I was also excited about attending last night and hearing Dave Koz and Monica Mancini.

Joylene Wagner

Glendale

Editor’s note: The writer is member of the boards of Glendale Arts and Glendale Unified School District.