Jersey Shore Pops Centennial Concerts are a Huge Hit

STONE HARBOR – The Jersey Shore Pops Orchestra Centennial Concert Series was a huge hit with residents and visitors this summer. Thousands of residents and visitors attended the 4 concert series with a variety of guest artists that were included with the orchestra. The concerts were directed by conductor and music director Linda Gentille and included the big band horn and rhythm section of the orchestra.
Conductor Gentille comments, “We were honored to be asked to be the designated orchestra for this special Centennial Celebration Concert Series. Many of our Middle Township Performing Arts Center season ticket subscribers are residents of Stone Harbor, so this was a natural step for us. We hope to be included in their summer concert plans for upcoming years as well.”
This year marked a five year anniversary for the popular summer orchestra here at the shore. The 4 concert Stone Harbor Centennial series was just part of the busy orchestra’s season. They had an additional 4 concerts at The Middle PAC and 2 debut concerts at The Ocean City Music Pier as well.
“We are absolutely thrilled that we included The Jersey Shore Pops Orchestra during our centennial celebration”, said Stone Harbor Mayor Suzanne Walters. “The Pops brought a wide variety of music to the Borough that spanned all generations and musical tastes as we celebrated our 100 years of being a premiere seashore destination along the East Coast”.
The Jersey Shore Pops Orchestra performed the four concerts on July 1, July 15, July 29, and Aug. 12. The Pops is scheduling guest artists to perform at all four concerts. Some of the guest artists who performed were Johnny Petillo, Jim Yester, lead singer of The Association, Dan Marro and a vocal group called YesterDaze. Although 2 concerts had to be rescheduled due to weather, the series still attracted huge crowds to the Borough.
The Jersey Shore Pops Orchestra is a professional orchestra that performs classical and popular music concerts with international guest artists. The Pops educates adults, young people, and special populations throughout southern New Jersey in the beauty and power of classical music. It is comprised of 25 New Jersey-based professional musicians. The Pops is the orchestra-in-residence at the Middle Township Performing Arts Center.
Linda Gentille is the conductor of the Jersey Shore Pops Orchestra. As a major headline act, Gentille has performed in over 30 states and 20 countries. She began her career with The Liberace Show as a teenager and quickly developed her own touring show. Gentille has performed on numerous television shows and became known as an international piano superstar in China. She currently holds the world record for performing more concerts in China than any foreign artist.
The Jersey Shore Pops 2015 Summer Concert Series will include 4 concerts at the Middle Township PAC next summer and 2 at The Ocean City Music Pier:
May 23 at 7:00 p.m. Music of The Glenn Miller Orchestra(OC Music Pier)
July 11 at 7:00 p.m. The True Voice of Elvis starring Doug Church( PAC)
July 16 at 7:00 p.m. Great Balls of Fire starring Linda Gentille ( OC Music Pier)
July 25 at 7:00 p.m. Twist & Shout (PAC)
Aug. 8, at 7:00 p.m. Back to Broadway starring Joseph Lustig (PAC)
Aug. 22 at 7:00 p.m. Vegas to Broadway starring Mark Preston formerly of The Lettermen (PAC)
The 2015 Summer Concert Season at both the Middle Township Performing Arts Center and The Ocean City Music Pier are now on sale by calling 1-800-838-3006 or visiting their website at www.JerseyShorePops.org.
The final Jersey Shore Pops concert for 2014 will be held at the Middle Township Performing Arts Series Dec. 13 at 2:00 p.m. The holiday concert is called Buglers Holiday and will star many of the orchestra regular guest artists including Linda Gentille, The Dueling Violins, Percussionist Ray Deeley, Trumpeter Clifford Buggs, Broadway singers Ron Baker, Jacklyn Buckingham and Michelle English.