Author: Catherine

Ho Ho Ho! Holiday Pops 2025 info from Cape Ann Symphony:

The Cape Ann Symphony’s Annual Holiday Pops Concert kicks off the holiday season on Saturday, November 29 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; Saturday, November 29 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, November 30 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. For tickets and information about this popular Cape Ann Holiday tradition, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

This musical celebration of the holiday season led by CAS Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa features a program of holiday favorites for orchestra and chorus. 

“The Holiday Pops Concerts are full of the sounds, joy and magic of the season. The orchestra and I will be joined by the incredible singers of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus, and that is always such a treat. Brittany Betts directs the chorus, and she and the singers are not to be missed. Last year all 3 concerts sold out. I hope everyone reserves their tickets early!  The musicians, singers, Brittany and I look forward to sharing this festive music with our incredible audiences!”

The 32-singers of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus led by conductor Brittany Betts, and accompanied by Georgetown resident pianist Priscilla Walter, have been working hard to prepare for the Holiday Pops since the end of September. They will perform six pieces at the annual Holiday Pops Concert. Each of the 32 singers had to audition to make the roster of the CAS Chorus. The singers hail from all over the North Shore – Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Beverly, Essex, West Newbury, and Ipswich. 

“It really is a blast to work with singers who genuinely enjoy one another and the pursuit of making beautiful, fun and meaningful music to help bring light, hope, peace and joy to our community,” says Ms. Betts, ” I hope to see you there – with your voices and warm hearts ready to share in the community spirit of the season to last a whole year long.”

The Holiday Pops 2025 concert program includes Anderson’s Christmas Festival; Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Selections from Tchaikovsky’s  Nutcracker and Festive Sounds of Hannukah arranged by Holcomb. The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus joins the orchestra to perform Christmas on Broadway, arranged by John Higgins; Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!, arranged by Mark Hayes; Kim Andre Arnesen’s I Will Light Candles This Christmas; Bashana Haba’ ah, arranged by John Leavitt; and two songs written by John Williams and Leslie Bricusse from the hit holiday movie Home Alone. 

CAS Choral Director Brittany Betts offers insight on the Chorus selections in the program,”We will begin with 2 upbeat pieces: the hit opener from last season, Christmas on Broadway, and a fun jazz arrangement of the classic Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!. We will slow it down for us all to consider the current situation in our world’s landscape and our responses of bringing light and hope into it all with two beautiful pieces from the Christian and Jewish traditions: I Will Light Candles This Christmas and  Bashana Haba’ ah. Finally, we will close our set with two pieces from Home Alone by John Williams and Leslie Bricusse – the contemplative Somewhere in My Memory and the rousing Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas. The concert ends with the CAS Annual Holiday Sing-Along. “Of course,’ adds Betts, “the singers will also be helping to lead the beloved sing-along! Don’t forget to join in the fun and turn on your blinking tie or necklace, put on your colorful scarf and fun Christmas hat or go all out and show off your favorite ugly sweater or your snow man suit.”  

The Cape Ann Symphony launched The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus under the directions of Wendy Bettsat the 2005 Holiday Pops Concert. . The group has performed with the Cape Ann Symphony at Holiday Pops Concertsin 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. In August 2024 Brittany Betts took over leadership of the CAS Chorus when her mother Wendy Betts retired as the longtime Choral Director for the CAS Chorus and made her debut in the 2024 Holiday Pops Concert. 

Brittany Betts brings with her a different approach to the choral world having primarily worked as a trumpeter,  djembefola (someone who skillfully plays the djembe, a West African drum) collaborator, worship leader, jazz singer and composer. She performs with the David Whitney Orchestra, Riverside Renaissance Swing Band, Cantemus Chamber Chorus and the vocal trio, ONE. In 2023-2024, she served as Artist-in-Residence at First Church Congregational in Swampscott, composing sung liturgies and songs for their Advent and Lenten services. Ms. Betts traveled the country and abroad as a Glocal (local and global combined) Musician Educator and Worship Coordinator with the Global Mission Unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for 10 years. During that time she also served on the music staff of Visible Music College in Memphis, TN where she taught voice, music theory, rock bands, the World Music Ensemble and a guided improvisation class.

Founded in Gloucester in 1951, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Frequently invited to guest conduct, Maestro Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Maestro Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Initiative.

Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.

The Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops Concerts are Saturday, November 29 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; Saturday, November 29  at 7:30 pm and Sunday, November 30 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA . Single ticket prices are $55 for adults, $50 for senior citizens age 65 and above, $20 for Students of any age with a valid student id; $5 for youth 12 years old and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org.