IN CONCERT
What: Broadway & Bernstein
Where: Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St.
When: Saturday, 8 p.m..; Sunday, 2 p.m.
Tickets: $33-$83 at the Royal McPherson box office, by phone at 250-386-6121, or online at rmts.bc.ca.
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New York native Sean O鈥橪oughlin 鈥� the new principal pops conductor for the Victoria Symphony 鈥� has a resum茅 bursting with blue-ribbon credentials. That鈥檚 good news for fans heading to Broadway & Bernstein, which launches the symphony鈥檚 2018-19 pops season at the Royal Theatre on Saturday and Sunday.
O鈥橪oughlin, 46, takes over from Brian Jackson, who retired in 2012 after 17 seasons as principal pops conductor with the Victoria Symphony. The upstart conductor, who has served as guest conductor with the Victoria Symphony in the past, earned the post through his vast experience.
O鈥橪oughlin studied at the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, the New England Conservatory in Boston and Syracuse University in New York, and has led performances with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Chicago Symphony and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
He has also written for and performed with Adele, Josh Groban, Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge, Diana Krall and Itzhak Perlman, among dozens of others.
Among the lofty accomplishments, however, are several left-field inclusions 鈥� the most interesting being O鈥橪oughlin鈥檚 spot in the U.S. Specialty Sports Association Hall of Fame.
鈥淚 always tell people I鈥檓 an athlete trapped in a musician鈥檚 body,鈥� O鈥橪oughlin, on the phone from his home in Los Angeles, said with a laugh.
He played competitive softball in his early 20s, with the storied Parsons/McKenna team in Syracuse, which was inducted into the USSSA Hall of Fame in 2011. 鈥淚鈥檝e got a plaque, and I don鈥檛 care what it is for 鈥� I鈥檓 going to take it with me to my grave. When people laugh at me, I say: 鈥榃here is your Hall of Fame plaque?鈥� 鈥�
His skills on the ballfield came in handy, years later, when he was touring as the orchestra conductor for singer Josh Groban. During a crew party in St. Louis, Groban and Co. rented a baseball diamond for fun, to blow off some steam. 鈥淚 kept my softball background to myself and just kind of played dumb the whole time. When I got up to bat, needless to say, I went 4-4 with three home runs, and I threw out Josh a couple of times when he hit ground balls to me, a short-stop.鈥�
Was tagging Groban out a good idea? 鈥淭here was no quarter for the boss. You鈥檝e got to play the game.鈥�
O鈥橪oughlin grew up a huge fan of Steven Spielberg鈥檚 composer-of-choice, John Williams, spending a great deal of his childhood transcribing many of Williams鈥� film scores.
When he moved to Los Angeles to become a film composer, one of O鈥橪oughlin鈥檚 first gigs was working for a publishing company that had Williams as a client. 鈥淚 got to see first-hand how John did his thing,鈥� O鈥橪oughlin said.
As a pops conductor, O鈥橪oughlin understands intimately what audiences want. In choosing the program for Broadway & Bernstein, which includes works from Williams, Leonard Bernstein and Richard Rodgers, he also has a long-term goal in mind.
鈥淲e have a wonderful loyal audience, but we鈥檙e also trying to foster the next generation. We鈥檙e trying to create an experience as well as a concert.鈥�
