Macon Pops with Jo Dee Messina – TONIGHT!
Today, Macon Pops will be welcoming special guest, Jo Dee Messina, to their stage! The third performance of the POPs season, this show is sure to charm audiences with equal measures of harmony, creativity, and country brilliance, featuring Messina’s new album “ME”, to be released March 18.
Entering the scene in October 2013, Macon Pops was welcomed into Macon, GA’s music community. If you haven’t been to a POPs showcase, you may be wondering, “Just how much does Macon Pops differ from the Macon Symphony Orchestra‘s Pops performance?”.
We had the opportunity to hear from POPs Executive Director, Steve Moretti, about the extensive creative process of each POPs production. “The newly formed Macon Pops is a separate entity focusing on high quality, contemporary pops programs. The one element that separates us from a majority of the orchestras around the country is, we design, produce our own shows,” Moretti commented. “Our Artistic Director and Conductor, Matt Catingub is a Grammy award winning arranger. Most symphony orchestras engage packaged programs from outside entities.”
MSO showcases it’s musicians in a pops performance along with guest artists at least one time a season; in January 2014, MSO was joined by vocalist Terry Brock for “Windborne’s The Music of the Eagles.” However, MSO and the newly formed Macon Pops are not directly competitive. Each fills a unique niche in Macon’s music community. Moretti described a clear distinction between the two entities: “Macon Pops very much supports the Macon Symphony. Macon Symphony brings an element to our culture that is needed, performing the classical repertoire. We are on the other end of the music spectrum, performing cutting edge, contemporary, and self-produced symphonic pops concerts.”
Macon’s musical history runs deep in the soul of it’s citizens, enough to wholeheartedly embrace both MSO and Macon Pops. Moretti agreed that “both organizations balance out [Macon’s] musical culture nicely,” adding that POPs and MSO “will most likely collaborate on a future project!”
The Macon Pops featuring Jo Dee Messina is a performance not to be missed! The showcase will be held in the Macon City Auditorium at 7:30 pm. Balcony seat tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the Macon Pops website, Ticketmaster, or at the door. For more information, visit www.maconpops.com.
