The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra is trading its usual Beethoven and Brahms for Britney and Beyoncé this fall, preparing a tribute to 2000s pop icons that reimagines hits from Destiny's Child, the Spice Girls, TLC, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears with brand-new orchestral arrangements. The concert brings together three vocalists and a full symphony orchestra for a night built around the sound of millennial pop rather than the classical repertoire the ISO is traditionally known for.
A Premiere Split Between Two Names
As reported by WISH-TV, the tribute is billed as “Millennium Pop Queens.” The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's own event page, however, lists the program under a different title, “Oops...I Sang it Again!,” describing it as a chance to “Go Gaga for the epic riffs of Britney, Beyoncé, Christina, Spice Girls, and more,” according to indianapolissymphony.org. The two names appear to describe the same production, though the orchestra has not issued a public explanation for the discrepancy.
Principal Guest Conductor of Pops Enrico Lopez-Yañez leads the performance, which the orchestra's event listing for a related showing calls a world premiere, per the same indianapolissymphony.org page. Three powerhouse vocalists join the orchestra for the show, that listing notes, though the station's report separately names the singers as Cassandra Lopez-Yañez, Brooke Simpson and India Carney. India Carney, per WISH-TV, appears frequently in the ISO's “Steve Hackman's Mashup” series.
Setlist Mixes Girl-Group Hits With Y2K Pop
Concertgoers can expect to sing along to “No Scrubs” by TLC, “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne and “Get the Party Started” by Pink, the ISO's event page states. The broader lineup draws on brand-new orchestral arrangements of songs by Destiny's Child, the Spice Girls, TLC, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, WISH-TV reports. The performance is billed as full-length with one 20-minute intermission, according to the same indianapolissymphony.org listing.
Dates for the concert carry some uncertainty in the available listings. The orchestra's 2026-27 season announcement schedules the show for October 9-10, 2026, stating that “the season opens October 9–10 with Oops! I Sang It Again: From Britney to Beyoncé, the Pop Queens Are Back!” according to indianapolissymphony.org. A separate search snippet tied to the event page instead references April 20, 2026, though that date carries lower confidence and has not been independently confirmed.
Classical Roots Still Anchor the Season
The pop tribute sits alongside the ISO's core classical identity. Jun Märkl serves as the orchestra's music director and leads its Classical Series, the season announcement notes, while Jack Everly holds the title of Principal Pops Conductor for the 2026-27 Printing Partners Pops Series. Everly is also set to return for the IPL Holiday Carol of the Bells and Yuletide Celebration later in 2026, per indianapolissymphony.org.
The ISO describes its overall approach as one that presents repertoire ranging from classical-era masterworks to modern entertainment giants, aiming to provide something for everyone in Indianapolis, WISH-TV reports. That range shows up in how the orchestra rehearses, too: the ensemble typically uses four rehearsals per classical-series program but prepares Pops performances with only one or two rehearsals, according to the station.
Musicians Get to Cut Loose
Ed Parsons said the program includes orchestral treatments of the featured pop acts and that the lighter rehearsal schedule for Pops shows still allows the musicians to have fun, per WISH-TV's reporting. Enrico Lopez-Yañez is credited with writing all the orchestra parts for the program, the station adds, which the ISO event page separately corroborates by billing the show as his world premiere.
The performance is set to take place at Hilbert Circle Theatre on Monument Circle, located at 45 Monument Circle in Indianapolis, per WISH-TV. Tickets are available through indianapolissymphony.org or at the Hilbert Circle Theatre box office, the station reports. The pop tribute follows the ISO's prior blend of genres, including a previously announced “Beethoven X Beyoncé” program billed as a thrilling blend of pop's Queen and classical music for its 2025-26 season, according to an Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra search snippet.
