UMass Amherst Pops Gala
SOLD OUT (4/3/06). To be placed on the waiting list for tickets, please call the Box Office at (413) 545-2511.
Now in its third year, the UMass Amherst Pops Gala has become a highlight of the academic year.
Chancellor and Mrs. John V. Lombardi will be present as the UMass Amherst Pops Orchestra, with Maestro Lanfranco Marcelletti, Jr. on the podium, perform light classics, Mozart, jazz, jitterbug, swing and more. Grammy award-winner Professor Jeffrey Holmes will lead the Studio Orchestra, a jazz orchestra, while Professor Billbob Brown directs the UMass Amherst Dancers. An Ella Fitzgerald Medley will be sung by soloist Dawning Holmes, and winners of the UMass Amherst Concerto Competition--Hidehiro Domeki, trombone; Daniel Pate, marimba and Lindsay Thomas, soprano—will perform.
Guests are seated at tables and the evening is punctuated by two intermissions when light food and beverages are served.
Reservations are necessary; last year’s Pops Gala was sold out in advance.
The UMass Amherst Department of Music & Dance is making an unusual offer. At the Pops Gala a lucky individual will have the opportunity to experience the joy and excitement of conducting the UMass Amherst Pops Orchestra in a thrilling piece of music--Stars and Stripes Forever. That conductor will be photographed with the Chancellor; have his/her name on the printed concert program; and receive a recording of the performance, a baton commemorating the event, and a complimentary bottle of champagne for his/her table. He or she will also rehearse with the UMass Pops Orchestra prior to the night of the Pops Gala. Conductors at the two previous Galas were Senator Stanley Rosenberg and Associate Provost and Director of the Center for Teaching, Mary Deane Sorcinelli. To apply for the “conductor’s job," individuals need only participate in the Pops Auction. Funds from the highest bidder go directly to scholarships for Music & Dance Department students. The bidding begins at $500; the final bid will be accepted on May 1. To place a bid or to ask questions, call 413-545-0018.
