IN CONCERT
What: Broadway & Bernstein
Where: Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St.
When: Saturday, 8 p.m..; Sunday, 2 p.m.
Tickets: $33-$83 at the Royal McPherson box office, by phone at 250-386-6121, or online at rmts.bc.ca.
New York native Sean O’Loughlin — the new principal pops conductor for the Victoria Symphony — has a resumé bursting with blue-ribbon credentials. That’s good news for fans heading to Broadway & Bernstein, which launches the symphony’s 2018-19 pops season at the Royal Theatre on Saturday and Sunday.
O’Loughlin, 46, takes over from Brian Jackson, who retired in 2012 after 17 seasons as principal pops conductor with the Victoria Symphony. The upstart conductor, who has served as guest conductor with the Victoria Symphony in the past, earned the post through his vast experience.
O’Loughlin studied at the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, the New England Conservatory in Boston and Syracuse University in New York, and has led performances with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Chicago Symphony and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
He has also written for and performed with Adele, Josh Groban, Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge, Diana Krall and Itzhak Perlman, among dozens of others.
Among the lofty accomplishments, however, are several left-field inclusions — the most interesting being O’Loughlin’s spot in the U.S. Specialty Sports Association Hall of Fame.
“I always tell people I’m an athlete trapped in a musician’s body,” O’Loughlin, on the phone from his home in Los Angeles, said with a laugh.
He played competitive softball in his early 20s, with the storied Parsons/McKenna team in Syracuse, which was inducted into the USSSA Hall of Fame in 2011. “I’ve got a plaque, and I don’t care what it is for — I’m going to take it with me to my grave. When people laugh at me, I say: ‘Where is your Hall of Fame plaque?’ ”
His skills on the ballfield came in handy, years later, when he was touring as the orchestra conductor for singer Josh Groban. During a crew party in St. Louis, Groban and Co. rented a baseball diamond for fun, to blow off some steam. “I kept my softball background to myself and just kind of played dumb the whole time. When I got up to bat, needless to say, I went 4-4 with three home runs, and I threw out Josh a couple of times when he hit ground balls to me, a short-stop.”
Was tagging Groban out a good idea? “There was no quarter for the boss. You’ve got to play the game.”
O’Loughlin grew up a huge fan of Steven Spielberg’s composer-of-choice, John Williams, spending a great deal of his childhood transcribing many of Williams’ film scores.
When he moved to Los Angeles to become a film composer, one of O’Loughlin’s first gigs was working for a publishing company that had Williams as a client. “I got to see first-hand how John did his thing,” O’Loughlin said.
As a pops conductor, O’Loughlin understands intimately what audiences want. In choosing the program for Broadway & Bernstein, which includes works from Williams, Leonard Bernstein and Richard Rodgers, he also has a long-term goal in mind.
“We have a wonderful loyal audience, but we’re also trying to foster the next generation. We’re trying to create an experience as well as a concert.”
