The Athens Symphony is holding its annual Pops Concert. The evening will showcase the works of Duke Ellington, Victor Young and Georgia-native Johnny Mercer.
Brad Maffett is Associate Conductor of the Athens Symphony.
“Every year we do a big Pops concert, it’s at the Classic Center in the Grand Hall and what’s great about this concert is it’s a picnic,” Maffett said. “You come at 6:30 and there’s huge tables that seat 10 people, you invite 10 of you friends you bring a picnic and you enjoy the concert that starts at 8 pm.
He says this concert, like all the symphony’s offering is free.
“The tickets are free, every Athens Symphony concert is free tickets, we will never charge for a concert. You can come to the Classic Center, hang out; and again, it is kid friendly, this is the perfect one bring kids to because they can walk around during this concert. It’s very informal, but a lot of fun.”
The theme of the evening is the Great American Songbook, which Maffet says features jazz standards that everyone knows.
“There is no official Great American Songbook, it’s an opinion, but it’s all the Jazz standards everyone knows. It’s Sinatra, it’s stuff like that that you’ll really enjoy.”
While performances are free, fans cans support the Athens Symphony by becoming members or contributors. For more information, visit AthensSymphony.org. The concerts are Friday, May 3rd and Saturday, May 4th at the Classic Center. Doors open at 6:30 for picnics and the concert begins at 8 o’ clock each night.