Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

The PNC Pops subscription series is the PSO’s core “popular” music series, consisting of seven concert weekends featuring music from Broadway, Hollywood films, and the Great American Songbook, and the ever-popular annual Highmark Holiday Pops holiday tradition. A further variety of programs have been presented as part of this series including Cirque de la Symphonie and Rock and Roll music of The Beatles. Guest artists and conductors such as Burt Bacharach, Bernadette Peters, Bill Conti, Bebe Neuwirth, Erich Kunzel, and Marvin Hamlisch have made thrilling appearances with the PSO in the years that PNC has been the title sponsor. More recently, artists such as Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ann Hampton Calloway, Star Trek veteran George Takei, Chris Botti, The Chieftains, and film composer Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings) have graced the Heinz Hall stage at PNC Pops concerts. All programs feature the artistry of PSO musicians performing with these artists.

The PSO has a rich history of performing music across a wide variety of genres. Starting with “Promenade” concerts at the Civic Arena in the 1960s and the first official “Pittsburgh Symphony Pops” concerts in the early 1970s at Heinz Hall, the PSO began experimenting with music outside standard classical repertoire and welcomed new audiences in the process. Marvin Hamlisch, Principal Pops Conductor from 1995-2012, ushered in a new vision focused on the very same types of music that are still performed today.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's Learning & Community Engagement department programs are segmented into three general categories: education, community engagement, and wellness. Programs range from large-scale full orchestra concerts that serve thousands with a purpose of educating, exposing the audience to classical music, or celebrating/honoring a certain constituency; to smaller, more intimate programs that provide deeper engagement. Education programs fill the gaps in the ever-shrinking music education programs in schools. In some cases such as free Schooltime Concerts for over 25,000 local pre-K, 2nd, 4th, and 6th graders and Coach and Play programs in local schools, the programs help teachers achieve specific educational goals that support the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. Wellness programs focus on children, veterans, and special needs individuals at three key locations, the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and the Allegheny Valley School. The PSO's annual Sensory-Friendly Concert provides a welcoming environment to hundreds of families whose members may have autism or other sensory sensitivities. The Symphony also celebrates veterans and active duty military with a free performance at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall each year.

Finally, the PSO recently re-imagined its Community Engagement programs to focus on three geographic neighborhoods: Pittsburgh’s North Side, Hill District, and Wilkinsburg communities. These programs partner the PSO with community residents, artists and organizations to create programming that engages community members in ways that grow collaborations and support for programming in these neighborhoods. In total, the Pittsburgh Symphony dedicates nearly $3 million in resources to Learning & Community Engagement programs and the vast majority are provided free of charge.

PSO360 is a unique concert format that reaches a different and diverse audience while offering an immersive concert experience that is up close and interactive with the audience sitting on the Heinz Hall stage with the musicians of the PSO and guest artists. PSO360 performances take place Saturday evenings on the Heinz Hall stage. These performances are bookended by BNY Mellon Grand Classics performances on Friday and Sunday featuring the same guest artists. During the PSO360 performances, brief commentary, insight, and perspective on the line or theme of the program is shared with the audience, creating a more personal, meaningful and multifaceted concert experience. Audience members experience the performance and inner-workings of a concert up close and personal.

As has been the case in recent years, the PSO continues to present a large number of shows featuring popular programming both with and without the PSO. Popular Programming consists of a diverse lineup of popular artists, comedians, family programming, jazz, and other varieties of shows. While these programs are booked throughout the year, many of them take place in the summer as PSO has re-branded its summer offerings as Summer with the Symphony, a series that has now become an integral revenue driver for the organization.