November 25, 2009 at 6:45 pm by Phyllis Boros
For several years now, two distinguished orchestras have offered holiday concerts in Bridgeport on the same night — about a mile apart.
On the second Saturday of every December, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra would perform at the vast Arena at Harbor Yard while the venerable Greater Bridgeport Symphony offered its event at 1,452-seat Klein.
That apparently will not be the case this year, as arena officials say they “do not have any information” regarding a Boston Pops tour stop in Bridgeport. Last year’s visit marked the Boston Pops’ seventh consecutive holiday appearance at the arena.
The Pops appearances, in any case, never bothered the GBS staff or adversely affected box office receipts.
”It’s just how the scheduling works out,” Jena Maric, the GBS’ executive director, pointed out last year. The second Saturday of December was the only date that accommodated a majority of GBS musicians and staff, she explained. Maric added that the GBS has a loyal following and the holiday concert traditionally sells out.
“They’re really two different experiences,” she said, noting that the GBS concert is “rather intimate,” whereas the arena concert is a large holiday spectacle.
This year’s GBS concert, on Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. at the Klein, will feature Manhattan-based guest conductor Mark Shapiro, a former student of GBS Music Director Gustav Meier. The featured soloist will be Metropolitan Opera star Harolyn Blackwell. Tickets, which range from $24 to $58, may be reserved by calling the GBS offices at 203-576-0263.
Phyllis A.S. Boros/arts writer
