Lockhart and Boston Pops bring British Invasion to Sarasota

The original British Invasion sparked a revolution led by people in Boston.

Now people from Boston are bringing the second British Invasion, one that revolutionized popular culture, to Sarasota.

The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, directed by famed conductor Keith Lockhart, will be at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota Thursday with a concert they’re calling “A British Invasion: The Boston Pops Plays the Beatles.”

The concert isn’t an all-Beatles program, though. The second half of the program will concentrate on Lennon and McCartney songs (with perhaps a smattering of Harrison and maybe even a Starkey composition included), all arranged and performed with the lush orchestrations that have made the Boston Pops “America’s Orchestra.” But before intermission, the Pops will perform a more classically oriented program.

It’s still all about the Brits, though. The first part of the concert will include favorite classical compositions from the British Isles, including music by Handel and Elgar. (Handel was of course German by birth, but lived the last half of his life in England.) The first half also features a new version of Britten’s classic “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.”

The Boston Pops tour Florida almost every year, and they’re so popular they can pack large venues year after year. In fact, the concert at Van Wezel was listed as sold out earlier in the week, but it’s always worth calling the box office to see is any tickets have become available.

Details: 8 p.m. Feb. 2, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $36 -$146. 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Lockhart and Boston Pops bring British Invasion to Sarasota."