Michigan Pops

Sunday April 3 at 7 PM at the Michigan Theater!
(Yes, this is a shameless plug, but it's going to be such a fun show!)

This post is less about a place I will miss in Ann Arbor and more a significant part of my college career that will be hard to leave behind. In September 2007, I auditioned and got in to the Michigan Pops Orchestra, the oldest collegiate pops orchestra and the only entirely student-run, student-directed orchestra on campus. It was much more than I expected - in addition to putting on fantastic concerts, complete with light saber battles and funny movies projected behind the stage, Pops also organized social events for its members to get to know each other and develop Pops Love within the group. In many ways, Pops became an extra family for me and a group of friends that shaped my four years at U of M.

I've performed in seven Pops concerts: Pops Goes Wild, Victors & Villains, Pops: Forward to the Past, Epic Pops, aPOPScalypse, Pops in Love, Where in the World is Michigan Pops?, and tomorrow will be number eight, Pops Lock and Drop It: A Dance Concert in Two Acts.

Poster painting!

It's amazing to look back on these past few years and realize how lucky I've been. I've gotten to work with incredible musicians and composers, and I've met some of my best friends through Pops. It's weird and a little difficult to think ahead to next November when I'm not painting posters or handbilling on the Diag for the fall concert. As I leave and watch my younger friends get ready for next year, I'm happy to know that more U of M students will have the chance to experience Pops, Pops concerts, and Pops Love. Even if you're not in the orchestra, I think our concerts are so fun that you can feel the spirit of the group and the enthusiasm everyone has for the music we create together. So tomorrow! 7 PM at the Michigan Theater! It's a night full of dance music, from Swan Lake to Michael Jackson, that I hope everyone will love.