After 15 years, the Marietta Pops Orchestra has performed just about every genre of music imaginable, except one— hymns. So to shake things up a bit, founding conductor and Music Director Dr. Paul Hill decided to put together a program of pieces that are “about as Americana as you can get” for the group’s annual spring concert.
“We have tried to cover as much variety as possible, but we have not explored a genre that has typically been covered primarily by churches: hymns,” Hill said. “Most of them were written by early Americans at times when they were enduring incredible hardships. They are true pieces of American art and need to be broken out of the confines of church and shared with the public. Yes, it's a risk for us to try something different, but great sailing ships aren't meant to stay in the safety of a harbor. They are built to sail into adventurous waters. That's what we're doing with this concert — venturing into an area that has been ignored and needs to be explored.”
Hill also had another reason for expanding the community orchestra’s musical horizons.
“I have also discovered that finding new arrangements of our usual spring fare was getting harder and harder,” he said. “After 15 years of performing our typical spring music, we are finding ourselves repeating more titles than we want, so to break this cycle, we decided to just explore a different genre. It's a risk we're prepared to take to stay fresh.”
The 41-member ensemble will present “An Evening of Inspirational Music — Celebrating Great Hymns” April 5 at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church Marietta, 148 Church St. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door or online at https://mariettapopsorchestra.org/.
“In some ways, this really is a departure for us, and in other ways, it is right up our alley,” Hill said. “I have worked really hard to find exciting pieces to present to our audience and have covered just about every category I can think of, and now we're venturing into a completely new area.”
Though the 90-minute family-friendly concert consists of hymns and takes place at a church, Hill said the group isn’t presenting a worship service.
“What we are doing, however, is that we're exposing you to some of the most exciting and beautiful orchestral arrangements you'll ever experience,” he said. “(And) we present it in the location that allows us — without charge — to rehearse and perform. First Baptist Church Marietta has widely opened its doors to us for almost 15 years.”
As for deciding on which hymns to include in the concert, Hill said he compiled a list of suggested titles from past audience members, patrons and orchestra members, as well as his own preferences from his 45-plus years as a church musician.
“From those lists, I sought out the very best orchestrated versions of those hymns,” said Hill, now retired from church music. “Most people know hymns from their church life, where they may be played on an organ and/or piano and are sung. For this concert, I have sought out the best symphonically orchestrated hymns to perform.”
Besides the spring performance, the orchestra also will present its annual holiday concert Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church Marietta.
“In that concert, we hit all the fun holiday classics, from ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ to the classic ‘A Christmas Festival’ or ‘Sleigh Bells,’” Hill said. “The list of Christmas and holiday music that we perform is a long one and getting longer every year.”
This month marks a milestone for the orchestra, as it celebrates its 15th anniversary.
“Our first rehearsal was on April 12, 2010,” Hill said. “We started with about 50 members, and that number has pretty much remained consistent through the years. Of our current membership, 15 years later, we have about 20 members who started with us way back then.”
(Hymns) are true pieces of American art and need to be broken out of the confines of church.