And three weeks into the new subscription campaign for next season, sales are up 40 percent at Meyerhoff, 128 percent at Strathmore, over the same point last year (and Strathmore subscriptions aren't part of the BSO's $25-per-ticket plan offered in Baltimore).
"This is very early in the campaign to be making a final assessment, but if [sales] continue at this pace, 2008-2009 will be one of the strongest SuperPops series in recent BSO history," Jackson says.
The pops craze in this country can be traced all the way back to 1885, when the Boston Pops was formed out of the Boston Symphony Orchestra to reach a wider public with lighter classical fare. Today, most orchestras rely on some kind of pops programming to broaden their audience base and generate additional revenue.
There's yet another sign of steady progress during Everly's BSO tenure. The annual "Holiday Spectacular" that he devised, featuring the now famous tap-dancing Santas, will add still more performances next season at Meyerhoff, growing to 14 next December, up from nine the first year, and 12 in 2007.
The concept of that Christmastime extravaganza originated, like the "Pops Goes Vegas" show that wrapped up last weekend and other large-scale projects, at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, where Everly is also principal pops conductor, as well as musical adviser of the Symphonic Pops Consortium. That division of the Indianapolis Symphony generates products in association with several other organizations around the country.
"They have 20 years of experience in Indianapolis with `Yuletide Celebration' [its name there], which makes it easy to produce our big shows there first," Everly says. "They have the facilities, the time commitment and the staff."
Not that Baltimore only gets pre-packaged productions. "Many things don't arrive in the box from Indianapolis," Everly says. "One thing unique to the `Holiday Spectacular' is the dancers from the Baltimore School for the Arts, who are impeccable. They're a highlight of our community, let alone a highlight of our show, and I'm so glad to have them be a part."
Whether working on that seasonal offering or any of the other four programs he conducts here each season, Everly tries "to keep it fresh in the perception of our audience," he says. "If you are doing another Broadway evening, how do you make it different? You don't want to hear in the audience, `Grab your coat, Martha, and head for the parking lot. They're just going to do another song.'"
