July 4, 2020 — Live TV Broadcast with Internet Streaming
The annual Monterey County Pops! Independence Day concert “The POPS! Celebrates Freedom” was broadcast live on Saturday, July 4, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. on Comcast channel 24 (AMP 1) and streamed live here.
The Monterey County Pops! thanks York School for allowing us to use their amphitheater in reverse to create this socially distant 4th of July concert for the community.
The fully-professional 38-member orchestra will assemble and broadcast live from an outdoor location under strict COVID-19 safety protocols developed in consultation with the Monterey County Health Department and the American Federation of Musicians.
We are not able to invite a live audience to the concert. Therefore, we are not disclosing the location of the performance. Please tune-in on Comcast (channel 24) or join us online for the concert.

Jackie Craghead

Mia Pak
The one-hour program will be conducted and hosted bi-lingually by MCP! Music Director, Dr. Carl Christensen. Several vocal soloists will be featured including Jackie Craghead and Mia Pak.
The concert will include George M. Cohan’s You’re a Grand Old Flag, Irving Berlin’s God Bless America, Morton Gould’s American Salute, and Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag. Also featured will be the toe-tapping favorites Sabre Dance, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Bohemian Rhapsody, Tailgate Ramble, Lord of the Dance, and Jarabe Tapatio.
The program will conclude with the 1812 Overture Finale, and John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever both accompanied by multimedia videos traditionally featured in past MCP! patriotic performances in the Golden State Theatre.
EXCELLENT CONCERT!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!
Thanks for a great concert, and it came across AMP into our living room quite well. A few technical lapses, but the music and picture continued after a few seconds until the last longer lapse during Tchaikovsky. We got the conclusion during “Stars & Stripes Forever”
however. We’d like to donate $200. to Mty. Pops. We’ll send a check. Where to ? Also, thanks Scott Seward, who also helps our P.G. Pops orchestra. – – – – Dave Z. , cellist.
Thanks for joining us for part of your 4th celebration.
We greatly appreciate the donation offer. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 3352. Monterey, CA 93942
Happy 4th!
Awesome, Powerful concert. Thank you for going out of your ordinary and making the 4th its historical self.
Great Job!
Thank you very much! I enjoyed the concert. Mia Pak was wonderful. I’ve been missing live performances, and it was so moving to hear the orchestra play live. Thank you for your efforts to make this happen.
Will you make the video available on your website so those who missed the live-stream can watch it? I shared the link in advance with the Santa Cruz County Youth Symphony. I’d like to send a new link for those who missed it.
I played in the group. How can I see it?
We worked up our parts. Showed up and were happy to see each other after not playing live for what seemed like forever. Sat down and got to work on the morning rehearsal. Carl was Carl, gentle but precise. Then it was showtime. No crowd, no picnics, no colorful holiday wear. But it was just enough the same: classic Americana, listening to each others’ dynamics and phrasing, with gifted and caring soloists, and a conductor who knows what he’s doing and trusts us to do the same. Went from chills to tears when not stressing over the damn notes. One is not always aware of being in a historic moment. One most certainly was on July 4, 2020. Thank you for attending.
I wasn’t able to stream on the day. Has this been recorded and will it be on your website?