ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Marietta Pops Orchestra
really brings the swing
Local pops orchestra brings popular music to town,
providing a space for amateur musicians along the way
FACTBOOK 2020 153
By Katy Ruth Camp
krcamp@mdjonline.com
You don’t have to be flown
to the moon — or even outside
of Marietta – to hear live
performances of your favorite
standards, jazz, movie themes
and light music.
The Marietta Pops Orchestra,
established nearly 10 years
ago by First Baptist Church
Marietta Director/Minister
of Worship Arts Paul Hill,
gathers local amateur musicians
together throughout the
year to perform all of that and
more, right here in Marietta.
The group practices at the
church and even performs
in its sanctuary at least once
a year. Hill said the church
leaders are kind enough to
provide the space free of
cost to the group, saving the
nonprofit thousands of dollars
a year in space rentals, chairs
and other miscellaneous costs.
The MPO also performs
at the Earl and Rachel Smith
Strand Theatre, the Jennie T.
Anderson Theatre, and has
occasionally performed on the
outdoor bandstand at Glover
Park in the Marietta Square.
Hill said they discontinued
that as bad weather keeps
many of the instruments, such
as violins, from being able to
be appropriately played.
Ticket sales go toward paying
the cost of the non-church
venues, as well as toward
professional musicians who
might be needed to fill out
the orchestra. Hill said he ran
the ship the best he could for
many years, but then Strand
Organist Ron Carter and
Cobb Superior Court Senior
Judge Adele Grubbs began a
board of directors to help with
ticket sales and relieve Hill of
some of his many duties.
“Marietta is an arts-rich area
with so much support for the
arts and so much to offer in
theater, musicals and artists
and many people don’t want to
have to fight the traffic, parking
and high costs of going to
see a performance in the city
(Atlanta),” he said. “To say that
the city has a pops orchestra is
a big deal — not many smaller
cities can say that.”
The MPO will perform
two holiday concerts in
2019, the first being on Saturday,
Dec. 4 at the church
and the following Saturday,
Dec. 11, at the Jennie T. Anderson
Theatre.
For more information and
to purchase tickets, visit mariettapopsorchestra.
org.
link