• Ticket Price
    Free
  • Duration
    1hr

Yankee Doodle Pops

Join us for the Des Moines Symphony’s 27th annual Yankee Doodle Pops! 

Each year, the Des Moines Symphony welcomes more than 100,000 Central Iowans to celebrate Independence Day at Yankee Doodle Pops, the largest single-day concert event in Iowa. This July, Music Director & Conductor Joseph Giunta and the musicians of the Des Moines Symphony are pleased to bring The Des Moines Symphony’s 27th Annual Yankee Doodle Pops to its largest-ever audience through a statewide broadcast in partnership with Iowa PBS and Iowa Public Radio.

As always, the Des Moines Symphony will perform time-honored patriotic favorites, including the 1812 Overture and Stars & Stripes Forever. Broadway’s Hugh Panaro (Phantom of the Opera) will join the Symphony for a return appearance, singing selections from Les Miserables, The Music Man and more.

The winner of the Des Moines Symphony’s annual "Oh Say, Can You Sing?" competition will open Yankee Doodle Pops with The Star-Spangled Banner. 

The television broadcast will be hosted by Kevin and Mollie Cooney and will feature all-new footage celebrating the sights and sounds of Yankee Doodle Pops. The Orchestra’s performance will be recorded in Hy-Vee’s Ron Pearson Center, allowing the musicians of the Des Moines Symphony to remain safely distanced thanks to more than 21,000 square feet of performance space.

Iowans can tune in to the television broadcast on Iowa PBS Friday, July 2 at 8:30PM or Sunday, July 4 at 6:00PM. Iowa Public Radio’s broadcast of the Symphony’s Yankee Doodle Pops will air on IPR Classical signals Sunday, July 4 at 12:00PM and again on Monday, July 5 at 11:00AM.

Event Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors

Program

  • KEY/Arr. Damrosch The Star Spangled Banner
  • COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man
  • COHAN/Arr. Holcombe Cohan Medley
  • HAMLISCH Ordinary Miracles
  • WILLSON "Trouble" from The Music Man
  • Peter HAMLIN Excerpts from Symphony on a Stick
  • Traditional/arr. Holcombe Armed Forces Salute
  • BOUBLIL/SCHONBERG/arr. Bob Krogsdad Bring Him Home
  • ROBINSON The House I Live In
  • WARD/Arr. Jim Kessler America the Beautiful
  • TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Overture
  • SOUSA Stars and Stripes Forever

Performers

  • Joseph Giunta Conductor Bio
  • Hugh Panaro Vocalist Bio
Joseph Giunta

Joseph Giunta Conductor

One of America’s most distinguished, versatile and dynamic conductors, Joseph Giunta is a musician of international acclaim. He is recognized as an important American conductor for his innovative programming and for his compelling interpretations of traditional and new music. His musical depth combined with his boundless energy and contagious enthusiasm makes him one of the most respected and successful orchestra leaders in the United States.

Learn More About Maestro Giunta

Hugh Panaro

Hugh Panaro Vocalist

Hugh Panaro is perhaps best known for having played the coveted role of the Phantom in Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera over 2,000 times, including the 25th Anniversary production. In fact, Hugh is one of the few actors to be cast by Harold Prince as both The Phantom and Raoul in the show's Broadway production and is currently starring as the titular role in the immersive Off-Broadway production of Sweeney Todd.

Hugh made his Broadway debut in the original production of Les Misérables as Marius, the role he originated in the First National Company. He also created the roles of Buddy in the original Side Show (Sony cast recording); Julian Craster in Jule Styne's last musical, The Red Shoes; and the title role in the American premiere of Cameron Mackintosh's Martin Guerre. Hugh was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in the title role of Elton John's Lestat, based on Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles.

He made his West End debut in the original London company of Harold Prince's Show Boat as Gaylord Ravenal, the role he previously played in the Broadway and Toronto productions.