\u201cLet\u2019s Groove Tonight\u201d<\/a> sees the return of an evening concert, set for 7:30 p.m., at Springfield Symphony Hall. The concert will feature three guest vocalists with extensive repertoires \u2014 Cherise Coaches, Brik Liam and Jeremy Keith \u2014 and the return of guest conductor William Waldrop.<\/p>\n\u201cI love coming back to Springfield to conduct the SSO. What keeps me coming back are the stellar people I get to work with and engage with\u2014the musicians and the orchestra staff, the team at Symphony Hall, and the patrons. The musicians at the Springfield Symphony Orchestra play with such heart, musicality and overall excellence. I always feel a great sense of trust from this orchestra and that allows us to really enjoy making music together,\u201d Waldrop said.<\/p>\n
” I also love the connection this orchestra has with its audiences \u2014 the concerts always feel celebratory, deeply appreciated, and connected to the community in a very special way. All that makes me want to come back many times,” he added. <\/p>\n
Heather Caisse-Roberts, president and CEO of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, called the Motown and Philly Sound \u201cfearless\u201d and \u201csoulful\u201d in a press statement. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is bold, energetic, music that changed culture and still hits just as hard today,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cWhat makes the night even more powerful is doing it alongside our partners at MLK, Jr. Family Services and the Young Professional Society. This concert is about sound, soul, and community coming together in a way that only live music can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Motown and the Philly Sound are iconic soul and R&B genres from the 1960s and \u201970s that garnered legendary hit songs, both emphasizing smooth vocals and catchy melodies. Motown, which originated in Detroit, focused on polished pop-soul with artists like The Supremes, The Temptations, and Marvin Gaye, while the Philly Sound, originated in Philadelphia. was spearheaded by groups like <\/i>Gamble & Huff and MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother). <\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s concert will feature hits by The Spinners, The Stylistics, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Lou Rawls, Diana Ross, Gamble & Huff, Percy Sledge and more.<\/p>\n
Famous hits from the Philly Sound will include \u201c<\/i>Ain\u2019t No Stopping Us Now,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ll Never Find A Love Like Mine,\u201d \u201cRock The Boat\u201d and \u201d \u201cLove Train,\u201d joined by Motown staples including \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On,\u201d \u201cI Heard It Through the Grapevine,\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Coming Out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waldrop said he agreed to come back to conduct \u201cLet\u2019s Groove Tonight\u201d because the music is \u201cirresistible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese songs that came out of the Philly Sound and Motown are all about joy, rhythm, good songwriting and fantastic arranging \u2014 all that translates so well to an orchestra. I love that this program celebrates music that is sophisticated and deeply crafted but always makes you want to dance and have a great time,\u201d Waldrop said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like Motown perfected the art of the song. These songs were about unforgettable melodies, economic but impactful structures, and dynamite performances. The Philly sound took a soul foundation and expanded it, adding lush string and horn arrangements, rich harmonies, and grooves that eventually led to disco. The arrangements and orchestrations really elevated the songs. I think both Motown and the Philly sound helped pave the way for the pop, R&B, and dance music that we know and love today,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
As for the disco movement, Waldrop noted he was always drawn to the epic nature of the genre.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the sweeping melodies, the strings, the singers, all added to grooves that were so satisfying. Some of my favorites are Anita Ward\u2019s \u2018Ring My Bell,\u2019 \u2018Don\u2019t Leave Me This Way,\u2019 which is on our concert, and, of course, \u2018Last Dance\u2019 by Donna Summer. As for Motown, l love the Temptations and the Supremes\u2026 such artistry and musicality all around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In order to create the familiar sounds of both genres, the orchestra is augmented with a rhythm section, which Waldrop said is a crucial component for any of the songs on the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe show travels with a drummer and bass guitar player, then a pianist and guitarist from SSO will round out the section. This core group really helps to anchor the arrangements and create the authentic feel for so many of these charts. Of course, the Philly charts were already built for a big orchestra \u2014 so that aligns perfectly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The SSO is hosting the pops concert during the weekend of the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday and the Springfield-based community organization, MLK Jr. Family Services, will be the SSO\u2019s nonprofit partner for the event. MLK Jr. Family Services will have a table set up in the lobby promoting their annual MLK Day event and the programs and services they provide throughout the year. Concertgoers can also stop by their table to sign up for door prizes that will include items from the SSO, MLK Jr. Family Services, and the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS).<\/p>\n
Upstairs in the Mahogany Room, there will be a vendor market featuring the YPS and a variety of Black-owned businesses in the spirit of MLK weekend. There also will be a photobooth <\/b>for concertgoers to enjoy.<\/p>\n
Tickets for \u201cLet\u2019s Groove Tonight\u201d are now on sale, starting at $25, online at SpringfieldSymphony.org<\/a>, or by calling the SSO Box Office at 413-733-2291.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.masslive.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPRINGFIELD \u2014 After bringing Latin flare to their last two concerts, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra turns its attention to Detroit and Philadelphia in a pops concert on Saturday devoted to Motown and the Philly Sound. \u201cLet\u2019s Groove Tonight\u201d sees the return of an evening concert, set for 7:30 p.m., at Springfield Symphony Hall. The concert […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2233652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2233652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2233653,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233652\/revisions\/2233653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2233652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2233652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2233652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}