Weeklong Showrun Preview - December 2001
""Holiday Pops: Very Merry Pops Concerts"
Featuring Michael Andrew,
The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
and
Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski

An upbeat approach to the holidays
JSO pops concert features singer with a thing for swing
By Nicole Johnson McGill
Times-Union staff writer

Back in the day, while other teens were listening to the latest hits of the '70s and '80s, Michael Andrew was going way back, dusting off his parents' albums -- albums by The Four Freshmen, Mel Torme and Frank Sinatra, among others.

"I was never attracted to rock 'n' roll to the degree that my friends were," said Andrew, who is in his mid-30s and grew up in Wisconsin. "It just didn't speak to me the way that the music from the '40s and '50s did."

Singer Michael Andrew rehearses for the "Holiday Pops" concerts with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. he will bring elements of swing to the performances. Photo: Stuart Tannehill

Swing music told him all he wanted to hear, and in college he formed a swing trio. He's been singing swing ever since.

In 1998, he formed his Orlando-based band, Swingerhead, and in 2000 he formed The Coconut Club Orchestra, which performed at the Coconut Club in Merv Griffin's Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

Today, Andrew brings his swing to Jacksonville as the guest vocalist for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra's "Holiday Pops: A Very Merry Pops Concert" at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the Times-Union Center for Performing Arts. The program will be repeated at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. tomorrow and will include traditional Christmas ballads and holiday songs. The symphony will be directed by Michael "Larry" Krajewski, now in his seventh season as the JSO's principal pops conductor.

Krajewski and Andrew, who both live in Orlando, have crossed paths before. After watching each other perform on several occasions, they found themselves stranded at the airport in San Antonio about two or three years ago on New Year's Eve. They had just performed together and had plenty of time to talk about collaborating on more projects.

It was their sense of humor that made them a good match on stage, said Andrew. "We both laughed at the same things," he said, so they came up with a performance that combined their love of music and comedy.

"He's real easy to work with musically while we're on stage," said Krajewski, who also serves as principal pops conductor of the Houston Symphony, the New Mexico Symphony and the Long Beach Symphony." Our heads are going in the same direction as far as humor and our approach to entertaining the audiences. We sort of speak the same language."

For the Holiday Pops concert, the two Michaels said they will turn down the shtick in favor of a more traditional tone, because that's what audiences want for the holidays. The program will include sing-alongs, too. Lyrics will be provided.

"[Audiences] come in with certain expectations, and we want to fulfill that," Krajewski said. "Virtually everything will be familiar. The reason they come is to hear familiar music played in a unique and wonderful way. We'll have traditional carols, everything from The First Noel to Silent Night and Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire. "

But Krajewski said he still has a few laughs up his sleeve, so expect the unexpected.