Holiday Pops Comes To Newark With Conductor Keith Lockhart And Special Guest, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy

Keith Lockhart brings the Holiday Pops-one of New England's greatest Christmastime traditions-to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark on Sunday, December 15, at 4 p.m. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy joins the Boston Pops for the performance, narrating A Visit from St. Nicholas ("'Twas the Night Before Christmas") with the orchestra (approximately 5:15 p.m.) Members of the press are invited to attend the performance.

In addition to a special stage appearance by Santa Claus, the concert will feature the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in familiar favorites, including the March and Trepak from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker; the orchestra's signature musical rendition of "Sleigh Ride"; a festive sing-along featuring holiday classics like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"; excerpts from the Gian Carlo Menotti Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors with The Metropolitan Chorale, led by Lisa Graham; and a performance of The Polar Express, an arrangement based on the children's classic by Chris Van Allsburg featuring musical excerpts from the score of the 2004 feature film of the same name with narration by Patrick Shea.

Continuing a longstanding tradition to share the magic of the holiday season with cities throughout New England and the Northeast, conductor Keith Lockhart takes the Holiday Pops concerts on the road this November and December, performing at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI (11/30); Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, NY (12/1); Hanover Theater in Worcester, MA (12/6); Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts in Storrs, CT (12/14); New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ (12/15); SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH (12/21); and Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, MA (12/22).

The 2019 Holiday Pops season will take place December 4-31 in world-renowned Symphony Hall, beautifully decorated-as it is each year-to evoke the holiday season. This season features 44 performances, including eight family-friendly Kids Matinees, the first-ever sensory-friendly Holiday Pops performance, and a New Year's Eve celebration featuring The Hot Sardines-an eight-piece outfit co-led by singer Elizabeth Bougerol and pianist Evan Palazzo that performs jazz covers and originals that channel New York speakeasies, Parisian cabarets, and New Orleans jazz halls. This year's Holiday Pops season also features three showings of 30th Anniversary Edition of Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, accompanied by the orchestra and conducted by George Daugherty, December 28 and 29.