Preview: Cleveland Pops Orchestra Armed Forces Salute @ Severance Hall 5/21/10

The Cleveland Pops Orchestra is going Hollywood to celebrate its 10th annual “Armed Forces Salute,” which takes place Fri 5/21 at Severance Hall.

Along with a slew of patriotic songs, the 60-plus member orchestra will be performing musical scores from epic Hollywood war movies, while clips of feature films “The Patriot,” “Gettysburg,” “Victory at Sea,” “Apollo 13,” “The Bridge Over the River Kwai,” “Midway,” “Patton” and more will be shown. This year’s show also features special guests The Mutual Gifts Gospel Choir.

“People always walk out of this show feeling very proud and appreciative of the freedom that we have and appreciative also of what the armed forces does for us,” said Cleveland Pops Orchestra Conductor and Music Director Carl Topilow. “It’s just a really special evening where we honor the people who defend our freedom. I think audiences have come to really value this concert a lot.”

While this year’s “Armed Forces Salute” is centered around Hollywood, many aspects of the concert have remained in place during its decade-long run. This includes the salute to veterans in the audience and their respective armed forces, as well as the sing-along patriotic music such as “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “God Bless America.” As far as interchanging elements, there have been plenty over the years ranging from visiting military bands (Fort Meade, Fort McPherson and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) to a special 2005 appearance by an authentic Civil War band celebrating the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

Currently in its 14th year, Cleveland Pops Orchestra performs roughly a dozen shows annually, including six Severance Hall dates and other performances around the Northeast Ohio area.

“We bring great symphonic music that you might say is lighter nature or more focusing on Hollywood, jazz, Broadway and lite classics,” Topilow said. “It’s just sort of a different genre of music that we play.”

If there is anything odd about the “Armed Forces Salute” it’s the timing of the event, which comes exactly a week before Memorial Day weekend. Topilow explains that the hallowed Severance Hall’s limited availability is the reason behind the booking date. More so, the conductor feels the Cleveland Pops Orchestra’s appearance in Severance Hall serves the purpose of upping the ante for everyone involved.

“Absolutely, there’s no doubt about it, Severance Hall is really one of the best acoustical spaces in the world,” Topilow said. “It’s a very flattering hall to play in and it’s just a beautiful venue with great sounds. Considering this is a symphonic orchestra, we should be playing in the best symphonic space available.”

The Cleveland Pops Orchestra’s 10th annual Armed Forces Salute takes place at 8PM Fri 5/21 at Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., University Circle. Tickets are $28 to $72. For more information, call 216-231-1111 or visit http://www.clevelandpops.com/concerts.htm.

Free-lance writer John Benson spends most of his time writing for various papers throughout Northeast Ohio.

When he's not writing about music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his two boys in basketball, football and baseball or watching movies with his lovely wife, Maria. John also occasionally writes for CoolCleveland.com