The Cleveland Pops Orchestra’s 30th season pairs familiar popular music with theater, travel narration and space imagery. Founding conductor Carl Topilow will lead all six subscription concerts, which begin October 17 and conclude next June. Subscriptions cost $116 to $300; individual tickets are $43 to $135, and both are on sale now.
Topilow has served as founding conductor and music director since the orchestra's earliest days, according to Cleveland.com. The orchestra made its public debut on October 12, 1996, per clevelandpops.com. Most concerts are at Severance Music Center; the holiday program is the season’s exception, moving to Playhouse Square’s State Theatre.
A season of popular music, theater and screen
The subscription season opens Saturday, October 17, with “Disco & Motown: A Night to Dance,” featuring Canadian ensemble Jeans n' Classics. The program brings Motown songs and disco anthems together. The orchestra’s season announcement also lays out a lineup that ranges from Broadway and film music to a travel-themed orchestral program and a space-focused finale.
On Sunday, November 29, Topilow will lead “Jingle Bell Pops!” at the State Theatre at Playhouse Square. The holiday concert is separate from the six subscription programs and is the only performance listed outside Severance Music Center. Tickets are available through the Playhouse Square box office.
Planning for the two venues
Severance Music Center is on Case Western Reserve University's campus in University Circle, about four miles east of downtown Cleveland, according to The Cleveland Orchestra. The State Theatre at Playhouse Square hosts the November holiday concert; the other season performances are at Severance.
Broadway and film music take the January spotlight
“Stage to Screen: Broadway Movie Hits” is scheduled for Saturday, January 30, 2027. The Cleveland Pops Chorus and vocalists Connor O'Brien, Natalie Greene, Daryl Lewis and Mariama Whyte will join the orchestra for musical theater numbers that made the leap to film.
The dossier's sourcing conflicts on exactly when the orchestra's Tina Turner tribute lands: the current season announcement and the most recent Cleveland.com report both list “Tina Turner: Queen of Rock & Soul” for Saturday, March 13, 2027, while an earlier Cleveland.com article from April had scheduled the same tribute for March 27, 2027. Whichever date proves final, the concert will bring singers LaKisha Jones, Nova Payton and Armando Imagines together with Topilow and the orchestra for an evening built around the Queen of Rock and Soul's catalog.
Travel narration and familiar songs
“Rick Steves' Europe: A Symphonic Journey,” on Saturday, April 3, 2027, features the travel writer narrating remotely as Topilow and the Pops perform music accompanying a journey across the continent. The program uses narration rather than a live vocalist as its guest element.
Helen Welch will appear live with the orchestra for “The Soundtrack of Our Lives” on Friday, April 23, 2027. Its selections span jazz standards, pop music and Broadway hits. It is the fifth of the six subscription concerts.
A space-themed finale in June
The Cleveland Pops Chorus joins the orchestra for the sixth and final subscription program, “Symphony of Stars,” on Saturday, June 5, 2027. NASA photos and videos will appear on a large screen as the orchestra performs space-themed music. An astronaut will narrate Peter Nero's “Voyage into Space.”
Tickets for all six subscription concerts and the standalone holiday show can be ordered through clevelandpops.com or clevelandorchestra.com, or by calling 216-765-7677 or 216-231-1111.
