HEARTLAND MARIMBA QUARTET WITH THE READING POPS ORCHESTRA – Monday, November 7, 2022 at 7:30 PM in the Schaeffer Auditorium of Kutztown University
Join with the Pops to help to celebrate the opening of the new Wells-Rapp Center for Mallet Percussion at KU. The acclaimed Heartland Marimba Quartet will be joined by the Reading Pops Orchestra to present a grand salute to the power and magic of marimba. Please visit the KU Presents! website for more information!
Sunday, July 10, 2022 – Concert in the Park, Wyomissing Stone House, 6:30 pm
Tyler Readinger, a native of Reading, will lead the RPO once again. You may recall he was a guest conductor a few years ago! Currently a doctoral student at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University, he holds a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from Indiana University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in music education from Kutztown University. Tyler is an avid conductor of film music, which will be the theme for the Concert in the Park. As is the tradition of the Pops, featured soloists will be Wyomissing students from their recent show production. Rain date is Monday, July 11. FREE!
Sponsored in part by the Wyomissing Recreation Board, Redner’s Markets, Reading Musical Foundation, Music Performance Trust Fund as administered through Local 135-211 of the American Federation of Musicians, and PA Council on the Arts.
Friday, July 8, 2022 – Reading City Park Band Shell, 7 pm Opening of the Summer Concert Series by Berks Arts!
Guest conductor Dan Neuenschwander, Director of Bands at Kutztown University, will lead the Pops with guest artist Maria Damore. Maria Damore, professional vocalist and private music teacher, was honored with the 2022 Frank Scott Award during Berks Jazz Fest for contributions to Berks County’s Jazz Heritage and jazz education. Maria is noted for her strong, clear vocals, and versatility in covering musical styles such as pop, rock, jazz, standards, Broadway show music, classical, and Greek folk music. Because of this versatility, Maria was selected to compete as a quarterfinalist in the 2018 American Traditions Vocal Competition in Savannah, Georgia.
The concert will include a variety of music: patriotic, jazz, and standards. FREE! Sponsored by Berks Arts, Reading Musical Foundation, Music Performance Trust Fund as administered through Local 135-211 of the American Federation of Musicians, PA Council on the Arts.
Sunday June 19, 2022 – Green Valley Chateau Tent, 3 pm Father’s Day/Juneteenth Remembrance
For the Father’s Day/Juneteenth celebration concert guest conductor Andrew Cusano will be leading the orchestra. Andy is the son of former Pops conductor, Paul Cusano, and Ann Cusano who plays in the bassoon section. Andy has also performed with the RPO in the percussion section over the years.
The newest US national holiday of Juneteenth commemorates the day the message of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, finally was verbally delivered in Texas, June 19, 1866, and the last enslaved people were released. Celebrations of the emancipation began that day, and grew over the years in communities across the South, eventually spreading to other parts of the country.
The Reading Pops Orchestra event will feature John Coakley, Minister of Music at West Lawn United Methodist Church, a graduate of West Chester University with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, majoring in voice.
Additionally FreshWind vocal ensemble will also be joining us. FreshWind is a group of women who, over the years, have forged a rich relationship of sisterhood and friendship through their music, their faith, and their fierce desire to live out their lives in full bloom. The women of FreshWind, some of whom have been together over multiple decades, are each uniquely talented and gifted in their own right. Still, they recognize the exponential power – and blessing – of their connectedness and have remained unyielding in their desire and commitment to continue to make music together.
As members of the former Doxa Gospel Ensemble, these women have shared their musical talents with local audiences in their hometown of Reading, PA, as well as in Memphis, Nashville, New York, Orlando, and Philadelphia, to name a few. They’ve collaborated and performed with such artists as Kirk Whalum, Jonathan Butler, Donnie McClurkin, Bobby Lyle, Yolanda Adams, Oleta Adams, Fred Hammond, and many others. They’ve also performed on the Bobby Jones Presents television show as well as on the iconic stage of New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
The women of FreshWind have built beautiful lives on a firm foundation of faith. Many of them are now living their best lives as mothers of grown children and grandmothers. This is now their season to harvest the fruits of wisdom and wit that have been cultivated over the years and release them through their music as a powerful expression of life of gratitude, grace, resilience and strength.
Freshwind Voices: Sharon Berry, Camilla Clardy, AnNette Hines, Terrisa Faulkner, Tanya Allen, Dana Smith, Beverly Whetstone, Phyllis Flowers.
This FREE concert is sponsored in part by the Reading Musical Foundation, the Music Performance Trust Fund as administered through Local 135-211 of the American Federation of Musicians, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts through Berks Arts. All are welcome!
Sunday, June 18, 2023, 3:00 PM, Chateau Tent at Green Valley – Fathers’ Day Celebration and Juneteenth Remembrance
Join Guest Conductor, Andy Cusano, and the Reading Pops Orchestra as we celebrate fathers and remember Juneteenth. Click here for a map to help you find this concert!
The US national holiday of Juneteenth commemorates the day the message of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, finally was verbally delivered in Texas, June 19, 1866, and the last enslaved people were released. Celebrations of the emancipation began that day, and grew over the years in communities across the South, eventually spreading to other parts of the country.
The Reading Pops Orchestra event will not only honor all fathers, as this concert has been a tradition since the inception of the Reading Pops Orchestra, but will also help bring awareness of the significance of Juneteenth.
Please join us for this FREE concert!
Sponsored in part by the Reading Musical Foundation, the Music Performance Trust Fund as administered through Local 135-211 of the American Federation of Musicians, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts through Berks Arts.
The Reading Pops Big Band – Saturday, September 2, 2023 – 7:30 PM – Green Valley Chateau & Tent
Green Valley Chateau Tent
160 Green Valley Rd
Sinking Spring, PA. 19608
Big thank you to the Music Performance Trust Fund for sponsoring the RPO at Phoebe on Sept. 16, 2023! Enjoy some pictures!
Sunday, April 7, 2024 – Keiko Matsui & Reading Pops Orchestra – Berks Jazz Fest – Miller Center for the Arts
We were delighted to be back at the Berks Jazz Fest to perform with Keiko Matsui again. She has been a favorite at the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest for many years, blending Eastern and classical sounds with jazz in collaboration with the Reading Pops Orchestra.
