In recognition of the extraordinary sacrifices healthcare providers are making to keep us safe and healthy, the Grand Rapids Symphony is offering two free tickets per healthcare worker to a 2020 D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops concert.
“At this difficult time, healthcare providers are our heroes, making valiant sacrifices to protect our health and welfare and keep the community safe from the spread of COVID-19,” said Mary Tuuk, President and CEO of the Grand Rapids Symphony. “The Grand Rapids Symphony is a community supported orchestra, and it’s our duty and privilege to support our community in return.”
“Music not only is one of our greatest pleasures, it’s one of our greatest sources of comfort in trying times,” Tuuk said. “When we need it, we can count on music to nourish our soul and lift our spirits.”
Beginning Monday, March 16, Grand Rapids Symphony staff has been working remotely, and the office will be physically closed through Friday, April 10. However, we will have the ability to answer ticket inquiries and requests by phone on a limited basis and will get back to callers as quickly as possible. Please call GRS Patron Services at 616-454-9451, ext. 4 to claim your tickets. Visit PicnicPops.org for more information about the D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops at Cannonsburg.
The rock band Chicago never dominated pop culture like Elvis or Madonna. Its musicians never became household names like John, Paul, George and Ringo. The group from the Windy City never filled arena after arena the way Bruce Springsteen, Prince or the Rolling Stones did.
Yet Chicago, over a 50-year career, has become, according to Billboard, “the greatest of all time” American band in singles chart success as well as the greatest of all time American band in album chart success.
The music of Chicago, one of the longest-running, most successful rock groups of all time, is coming to the Grand Rapids Symphony’s D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops for the second week of the 2017 Picnic Pops.
Brass Transit from Toronto joins the Grand Rapids Pops for The Musical Legacy of Chicago at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, July 20-21 at Cannonsburg Ski Area, 6800 Cannonsburg Rd NE. Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt will be on the podium for concerts underwritten by Gerald. R. Ford International Airport, Mercy Health, Vredevoogd Heating and Cooling, and Witness Inspection as Benefactor Sponsors.
Lawn seats begin at $19 for adults, $16 for seniors and students, $5 for ages 2 to 18, and free for children under age 2. Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 during business hours or (616) 885-1241 or go online to PicnicPops.org
Grand Rapids Symphony performs at the Picnic Pops. Photo by Terry Johnston
Chicago, the self-described “rock and roll band with horns,” This rock and roll group, according to Billboard, led the U.S. singles chart during the 1970s and has sold over 40 million units in America.
With songs such as Beginnings, Saturday in the Park, andYou’re the Inspiration, Chicago has sold more than 100 million records worldwide over a five-decade career that began in 1967.
Their 1969 debut album, Chicago Transit Authority, was a double album, rare for a band’s first release. But within a year, the band sold over 1 million copies, earning a platinum disc, an impressive beginning for the group that would go on to record 25 or 6 to 4,Feelin’ Stronger Every Day and the ballad, If You Leave Me Now, which held the No. 1 spot on the U.S. charts for two weeks in 1976, winning the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.
Brass Transit, organized nearly 10 years ago specifically to play the music of Chicago, features eight accomplished, award-winning musicians from Toronto, Ontario. Founder Tony Carlucci, musical director and trumpet player, launched the group to do something for himself. He explained, “My favorite band of all time is Chicago, and I decided to put something together to just have some fun.”
The plan was to stay local and play at nightclubs from time to time. After the son of one of the band members posted a video of their performance on YouTube, Brass Transit took off. Carlucci said, “The ball was thrown in my court and I decided to run with it.” Hear Brass Transit on YouTube.
Today, Brass Transit has been successful enough that several members of the group have filled in as occasional subs with Chicago itself. This tribute band does not simply play songs; they embody the music and bring the notes to life on stage.
In addition to all of the songs above, Brass Transit joins the Grand Rapids Pops for such Chicago hits as Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is, Make Me Smile, Old Days andHard To Say I’m Sorry.
In an October 2014 review on Icon Fetch, Tony Peter, after attending a concert, wrote, “I’ve seen Chicago 25 years ago, and they were nowhere near this good. Brass Transit led a high-energy, hit-filled evening that, with or without orchestra, is a must see.”
This incredibly talented band will appear at Cannonsburg for the first time on July 20-21 at 7:30 p.m., bringing D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops fans back to some of the most memorable times of their lives in concerts underwritten by Grand Wealth Management, Mercantile Bank and Ranir as Patron Sponsors.
Coming next week, the Grand Rapids Pops’ three-concert, all classic pop/rock series rolls on with the music of Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Carole King and Pat Benatar in Women Rock on July 27-28 at 7:30 p.m.
In August, join the Grand Rapids Symphony for the audience favorite Classical Fireworks show on Thursday, Aug. 3 with Music Director Marcelo Lehninger making his debut at Cannonsburg. Capping off the D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops is the marvelous mariachi sound of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán on Saturday, August 5. Both special-event shows begin at 8 p.m.
About Cannonsburg Ski Area
Gates at Cannonsburg Ski Area open at 5:45 p.m. each night for picnicking and pre-concert entertainment, including free, kid-friendly activities such as face painting, crafts, and a musical instrument petting zoo.
Pack your own picnic baskets and coolers or purchase food from the grill at the Cannonsburg concession stand. Alcoholic beverages are permitted on the grounds, and parking is free for concertgoers.
Tickets
Single Tickets
Single tickets for lawn seats in advance to The Musical Legacy of Chicago are $19 for adults, $16 for college students and seniors, or $5 for ages 2-18. Single tickets for general admission chair seating are $30. Single tickets for an individual, reserved table seats are $51 or $408 for an entire table for eight.
MySymphony360 members can attend for $15. U.S. Military on active or reserve duty or in the National Guard may purchase up to two tickets for $15 each. All children younger than age 2 are admitted for free.
All single tickets for all concerts are $5 more on the day of the show.
Flexpass Packages
The Flexpass 6-Pack offers six lawn tickets that can be used in any combination, on any concert night, for The Musical Legacy of Chicago and Women Rock on July 27-28. Flexpasses are $96 for adults and $84 for seniors. Flexpasses cannot be used for the special events in August.
Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more people by calling (616) 454-9451 ext. 192.
Tickets can be purchased through the GRS box office by calling (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 weekdays or (616) 885-1241 evenings; or in person at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100; or online at GRSymphony.org.
Tickets also may be purchased through Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787, or at Ticketmaster outlets at select D&W Fresh Markets, Family Fare stores and Walmart. Tickets purchased at these locations will include a Ticketmaster service fee.
In 1815, Napoleon met his Waterloo with a spectacular defeat that ended his reign as Emperor of France. In 1974, four Swedish singers met their “Waterloo” with spectacular success, winning the Eurovision Song Contest, launching a career in music that would inspire a Broadway musical, a major Hollywood movie, and sell millions of records.
Arrival from Sweden joins the Grand Rapids Pops with songs such as “Mama Mia,” “Dancing Queen,” “Gimme Gimme,” “Take a Chance On Me,” and many more to open the season at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, July 13-14, at Cannonsburg ski area, 6800 Cannonsburg Rd NE. Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt will be on the podium for both concerts underwritten by Kennari Consulting, Price Heneveld LLP and TerryTown RV as Benefactor Sponsors.
Season tickets offering substantial discounts as well as single tickets for all concerts in the D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops are on sale. Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 during business hours or (616) 885-1241 evenings or go online to PicnicPops.org
ABBA, named after the first names members of the group, Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, was the first non- English speaking musical group to achieve major success across the English-speaking world from New Zealand to the United Kingdom and from South Africa to the United States.
From 1972 to 1982, ABBA sold over 500 million records, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. After 10 years of international success, the band dissolved. Except for a TV appearance in 1986, the four musicians did not appear together publicly again until they were reunited at the Swedish premiere of the movie Mamma Mia! starring Meryl Streep, in July 2008.
Arrival from Sweden, the most popular ABBA tribute group, has toured more than 48 nations and appeared with dozens of symphony orchestras since 1995.
Over the past 10 years in the United States, ARRIVAL has sold out eight shows in the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Denver, an arena where other world-famous artists including Elvis Presley, the Beatles, U2, and many more have appeared. Arrival last was in Grand Rapids in February 2012 at the Van Singel Fine Arts Center.
Named for ABBA’s fourth studio album, “Arrival,” as well as ABBA’s No. 1 best-selling album in Europe and Australia, Arrival from Sweden is the only tribute group given a previously unreleased ABBA song, “Just A Notion,” composed by Ulvaeus and Andersson. Arrival also has permission from ABBA’s original designer to wear exact copies of ABBA’s original stage costumes.
ARRIVAL from Sweden not only resembles ABBA in appearance, the group truly embodies the sound and personality of the Swedish pop band, making audiences feel as though ABBA itself is on stage. In fact fans often say, “It was like a real ABBA concert!”
New experiences and new sounds, including a tribute to the rock group Queen, are part of the 2016 D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops season.
But old standbys, including one of West Michigan’s best fireworks shows of the summer, also returns in July for the Grand Rapids Symphony’s 22nd annual summer series that welcomes the music of the Beach Boys back to the great outdoors of Cannonsburg Ski Area.
Today, your Grand Rapids Symphony unveils the three-concert season of shows happening on Thursday and Friday evenings. Two more special-event, one-night-only shows in early August will be announced soon.
Single tickets plus series tickets and flexpasses, offering substantial discounts, over single-ticket prices, all are on sale. Save up to 28 percent with a 3-Concert Series subscription or save up to 17 percent with a 6-ticket Flexpass. Go online to the Grand Rapids Symphony’s website for more information.
The Classical Fireworks will be lead by Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt, July 14 & 15.
The 2016 D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops opens July 14-15 with Classical Fireworks at 8 p.m. Principal Pops Conductor Bob Bernhardt will be on the podium for the show he describes as “classics go to the movies.”
“Wagner, Beethoven and Grieg were great film composers – and didn’t know it,” said Bernhardt who made his Picnic Pops debut last summer at Cannonsburg.
Popular orchestral favorites from movies, such as Richard Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, which is heard in films including Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, and What’s Opera, Doc, are part of the show.
“It’s almost all music not originally for film but for the concert stage,” Bernhardt said.
Two exceptions include music from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, which were composed for film. Next season, the Grand Rapids Symphony will screen both films in their entirety, accompanied by live music, during the 2016-17 season indoors in DeVos Performance Hall.
Tchaikovsky’s stirring 1812 Overture, heard in many films but featured prominently in the 2006 film V for Vendetta, closes each night’s Picnic Pops concert with a pyrotechnic display.
Benefactor sponsors include TerryTown RV, Kennari Consulting and Chemical Bank for the concerts including the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, featured prominently in The King’s Speech, in the climactic scene in which King George VI addresses the nation on radio that the United Kingdom is at war with Nazi Germany.
“Every concert needs moments of reflection,” said Bernhardt, who returns for his second D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops season with the Grand Rapids Symphony.
The 2016 D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops continues July 21-22 at 7:30 p.m. with We will Rock You! The Music of Queen.
Special guests Jeans ‘n Classics return to Grand Rapids for such hit music as Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites the Dust, You’re My Best Friend, and We Are the Champions led by associate conductor John Varineau.
The Canadian rock group appeared previously with the Grand Rapids Symphony in a tribute to the music of Elton John in 2010 and in a salute to songs from the James Bond series of films in 2009. Led by guitarist and arranger Peter Brennan, Jeans ‘n Classics is back with a new show with songs made famous by the glam rock band of the 1970s and 1980s. Benefactor sponsors are Mercy Health – St. Mary’s and Universal Forest Products.
The three-concert season ends July 28-29 at 7:30 p.m. with The Music of the Beach Boys featuring the veteran surf rock band
Papa Doo Run Run performs in the Music of the Beach Boys, July 28 & 29.
, which was at Cannonsburg in July 2011 for the Grand Rapids Pops summer season.
Launched in the 1960s in Cupertino, California, Papa Doo Run Run toured behind Jan & Dean and spent 15 years as the celebrity house band at Disneyland. The group earned a Top 40 hit with their cover of Be True to Your School, plus a Gold Record and Grammy Award nomination for the 1985 recording, California Project. Several members of the group have toured and recorded with Brian Wilson and with other incarnations of the Beach Boys. Miller Johnson and Mary Free Bed are benefactor sponsors for Papa Doo Run run’s return to West Michigan.
Gates at Cannonsburg Ski Area open at 5:45 p.m. each night for picnicking and pre-concert entertainment, including free, kid-friendly activities such as face painting, crafts, and a musical instrument petting zoo.
Pack your own picnic baskets and coolers or purchase food from the grill at the Cannonsburg concession stand. Alcoholic beverages are permitted on the grounds, and parking is free for concertgoers.
Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk is the public relations director for the Grand Rapids Symphony. To check out the current season and the 2016 Picnic Pops, visit grsymhony.org.
