The Pasadena POPS Orchestra has been a lively part of the Pasadena Arts scene for more than 15 years. Conceived with commitment, The Pasadena POPS Orchestra was founded in 1987 by a group of Pasadena Rotarians and other community music lovers as a nonprofit organization dedicated to the finest musical entertainment. Their first event, a combined chamber orchestra concert and fund-raiser, was held in a private home in 1988. Coinciding with the first performance, the Volunteer Guild and a board of directors were established to assist The POPS in raising money and putting on concerts.

The first POPS' concerts were held in 1988 at the International Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel and the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Pasadena. During the orchestra's fledgling years, 1988-1990, The POPS was awarded City of Pasadena Parks and Recreation Department and the Mayor of Pasadena grants for City Hall concerts.

The POPS has received several grants from the Pasadena Arts Commission. And through the years the orchestra has performed for such auspicious occasions as the rollout celebration for the first MD-11 jet airplane at McDonald Douglas in Long Beach, the 60th Anniversary celebration of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the Centennial Celebration of California Institute of Technology and the grand opening of the Burbank Media City Center.

In 1991 The POPS offered its first outdoor summer picnic concert at The Rose Bowl Courtyard of Champions in Pasadena, expanding to a three-concert series in 1992 and moving to the incomparable Descanso Gardens in 1994 which has become the summer home of superior pops outdoor entertainment.

Many members of The Pasadena POPS Orchestra have been playing together since its inception in 1987. In addition to lending their considerable talents to POPS concerts, these fine musicians are members of other prestigious Southern California orchestras and are often busy recording scores for motion pictures and television.

Maestra Rachael Worby took The POPS' leadership reins as music director and principal conductor in 2000, adding a new dimension of quality to the ever-evolving orchestra. Under her baton and through her energetic leadership, The POPS has retained and recruited many of the best of Los Angeles' musicians to an orchestra acclaimed by many as comparable in talent and quality to the Boston POPS. Ms. Worby's loyal following of enthusiastic listeners has seen the season's performances double from four to eight, performed on Friday and Saturday evenings in the enchanting setting of Descanso Gardens.

The newly expanded POPS became active in the education arena as well as in the cultural community. Ms. Worby initiated the orchestra's unique outreach programs reaching both under-served and gifted youths. In addition, each summer the orchestra has played free concerts on the steps of Pasadena City Hall, which attracts people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to hear live orchestral music. This signature POPS event has quickly become an annual tradition enjoyed by all who attend.

Today's POPS educates thousands of children and entertains tens of thousands of others. The orchestra's budget has doubled to well over a million dollars in just two short years. The orchestra embraces music from Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, and Ludwig van Beethoven to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, B.B. King, and J.S. Bach. Musical nights are filled with classics, jazz, new music, popular music, traditional music, ethnic music, and much more.

Having served as the Music Director of The Young Peoples' Concerts at Carnegie Hall for twelve years, Ms. Worby is uniquely qualified to lead our Adventures in Music initiative, which is modeled after those programs she introduced at Carnegie Hall. Our audiences always include students from each of the agencies we serve through Adventures in Music. In addition, prior to the events themselves, Ms. Worby and musicians from the orchestra visit the classrooms of those young people. These hands-on labor intensive programs have proven to be powerful tools in expanding and enhancing the lives of the children they touch. For instance, where initially only five children came from south central Los Angeles' John Adams Middle School, we now have over fifty students who want to attend and their parents want to join them!