Eder, whose new CD "Now" just hit stores, will perform such tunes as “By Myself,” “Me and My Shadow,” “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart” and “Over the Rainbow.” The May 11 festivities will include a complimentary pre-concert reception, complete with chilled champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Performances of the Garland celebration continue May 12 and 13.
Hooray for Hollywood and a Tribute to Audrey Hepburn will be presented May 25-26 and 28. Boston Pops Laureate Conductor John Williams will return for these evenings.
On May 31 and June 1 Michael Feinstein will join Lockhart and the Boston Pops for Michael Feinstein and the American Songbook. Feinstein will offer tunes from the Frank Sinatra Songbook.
A series of concerts will pay tribute to American icons, showcasing such innovators of the American Songbook as Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and George Gershwin. These concerts will launch with a performance featuring virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Ellis Hall June 3 and 4.
Broadway and the American Songbook, which will be offered June 16-17, will welcome New York Pops conductor Steven Reineke to the Symphony Hall podium. He will be joined by Broadway's Stephanie J. Block and Julia Murney, who will perform selections from the American Songbook. Audiences can expect such tunes as “Defying Gravity” and “The Wizard and I,” both from the musical Wicked. On June 23-24 concertgoers can enjoy Keith Lockhart Celebrates American Icons, which will explore the musical legacies of Richard Rodgers and George Gershwin. The two-part program will first feature such Richard Rodgers classics as “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” and “The Sound of Music,” before switching the focus to George and Ira Gershwin’s prolific careers with “An American in Paris” and “I Got Rhythm.” Canadian soprano Kathleen Brett and actor/vocalist Ron Raines will be featured.
The Boston Pops also has a full summer schedule with three concerts during the 2011 Tanglewood Season as well as performances in Hyannis, Nantucket, and on the Charles River Esplanade for the annual July 4 celebration.
At Tanglewood conductor John Williams will lead a concert featuring James Taylor July 1. Maestro Williams will also lead the orchestra during the annual Film Night Aug. 20. This concert features Morgan Freeman as a guest narrator and special guest Gil Shaham on violin. Also at Tanglewood, Lockhart will conduct the Pops in A Tribute to Cole Porter July 17, with Broadway vocalists Kelli O’Hara and Jason Danieley. O’Hara and Danieley rejoin the Pops Aug. 6 at the Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center in Bethel Woods, NY, and on Aug. 7 on the Town Green in Hyannis for additional performances of the Cole Porter set. These performances will be led by conductor Robert Bernhardt. Lockhart also leads the Pops under the sun on Jetties Beach in Nantucket, MA, with guest performer Carly Simon Aug. 13.
Tickets for the 2011 Boston Pops season at Symphony Hall, priced $21-$121, go on sale at 8 AM at www.bostonpops.org and 10 AM at (617) 266-1200 on March 21.
