As we told you in the Sept. 26 issue, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2024-25 season begins Saturday, Oct. 5, when Musical Director Andrew Constantine leads a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. But in short order they are launching several other series that run concurrently.

The Pops series brings the 63-member orchestra to the fans with a variety of music that’s thoroughly enjoyable to folks of all ages who might find the likes of Mahler and Shostakovich a little intimidating. But it’s also for dyed-in-the-wool classical music aficionados who don’t mind letting their hair down — or in my case, old guys who remember when they still had enough hair to let down. 

Most of these concerts are at Auer Performance Hall at Purdue University Fort Wayne. 

Queens of Soul 

Saturday, Oct. 19

The Pops season kicks off Oct. 19 at Auer Performance Hall with a show featuring bona-fide soul divas Shayna Steele, Cherise Coach, and Kelly Levesque. The three will perform lavishly orchestrated arrangements of songs that were hits by Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, and Alicia Keys. It’s not just about Black singers either: British artists Amy Winehouse and Adele are celebrated, too. 

The Philharmonic is bringing in this show from a national production company they have worked with before, Greenberg Artists. William Waldrop will be their conductor.

I know this is going to be good, because the secret weapon behind this and many other productions is what the orchestra is playing — arrangements from the legendary Jeff Tyzik, who has been writing the best charts since the ’70s. In fact, as I read his amazing bio, I realized that I saw Tyzik and heard his work with jazz flugelhorn star Chuck Mangione back in 1978, when I was but a lad.

One of Tyzik’s great admirers is conductor Caleb Young, who won’t be at this gig, but is coming soon. In a 2022 interview, Young told me all about Tyzik, saying, “Jeff is an institution. Jeff was a famous jazz trumpet player for a long time and then made his way to conducting.

“And on top of being a great conductor, he’s a brilliant arranger, and all of his arrangements are just complete showstoppers. When I lived in Dallas, I met him. I used to go to his rehearsals all the time.”

Young said of any arrangements with Tyzik’s name on them: “I just know by his reputation that they’re going to be fantastic.”

Elf in Concert

Thursday, Nov. 14

Segue! 

Young will return from Germany to conduct the Philharmonic accompanying a screening of Elf, the timeless holiday film from 2003 directed by Jon Favreau and starring Will Ferrell. The score is by John Debney, otherwise known from a huge range of TV series and films. We’ll be writing a feature about the show at Auer Performance Hall next month.

Holiday Pops

Dec. 10-14 and Dec. 19-22

Fort Wayne’s favorite annual spectacle is the pinnacle of the Pops season, Holiday Pops. As with every year, it’s actually two separate programs.

The first half of the production is a bit smaller as the Philharmonic heads to Honeywell Center in Wabash on Tuesday, Dec. 10. The orchestra then visits Warsaw Performing Arts Center at Warsaw Community High School for a free performance on Wednesday, Dec. 11. On Thursday, Dec. 12, they head to Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, followed by T. Furth Performing Arts Center at Trine University in Angola on Saturday, Dec. 14.

The second half of Holiday Pops, a four-night stand from Thursday-Sunday, Dec. 19-22, at Auer Performance Hall will be led by Constantine and feature jazz diva Ann Hampton Callaway. These shows will also feature the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Chorale and Children’s Choir and Fort Wayne Dance Collective. And there are charts by Tyzik in there, too.

We’ll be running a feature about the Holiday Pops in a couple of months.

Dancing Queen: The Music of Abba

Saturday, Feb. 1

Let’s go back to Eurovision 1974, where Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid redefined pop music. Perennial favorites Jeans ’n Classics are coming back from Ontario, Canada, with distinctive charts arranged by guitarist and mastermind Peter Brennan. Four singers and their crack band will lead the Philharmonic in those glittery, glamorous anthems from Sweden’s bygone era.

The Music of Harry Potter

Saturday, March 29

Calling muggles and wizards alike! 

Constantine will be the train conductor leading the orchestra from Platform 9¾, King’s Cross Station, taking us to Hogwarts for spell-binding suites from the eight magical films in the Harry Potter series, from 2001 to 2011. You’ll hear suites from composers John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat.

Country Hits: Songs From Nashville

Saturday, April 26

That’s Nashville, Tennessee, y’all! 

Another big show from Greenberg Artists, this one features Rick Brantley and Emily West on vocals with a four-piece band of Nashville’s most in-demand pickers fronting the orchestra. This show will feature classics made famous by Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, The Chicks, and Kacey Musgraves.

We’ll report more as time allows. Learn more and buy tickets for Philharmonic shows at fwphil.org/events/.