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The Boston Pops zeroes in on its Independence Day idol
BY LIZA WEISSTUCH
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There are drum rolls all the time at Symphony Hall. But last Saturday night, when conductor Keith Lockhart called on the percussionist to rumble at the conclusion of the evening’s Boston Pops concert, it wasn’t part of a musical arrangement. It was a cue for Lockhart to whip out not a baton but an envelope, in Miss America high-suspense fashion, as the three POPSearch 2004 semifinalists who had performed with the Pops earlier that evening stood surrounded by the orchestra before a sold-out audience. When her name was read, 59-year-old Kathy Porter, who works for a home-inspection company in Braintree, dropped her jaw and tossed her hands onto her head in disbelief. When I found her backstage after the show, she was still in shock. "Oh my God, I won!" was pretty much all she could manage to articulate. POPSearch 2004, the American Idol–style talent contest to find a soloist to sing the song of his or her choice with the Boston Pops during the Fourth of July bonanza on the Esplanade next weekend, was down to nine semifinalists at the beginning of last week. They’ve been deemed the cream of a crop of 730 hopeful amateurs who showed up over two days of open auditions earlier this month. When we last left our tuneful heroes and heroines, the nine had been winnowed from the 16 who’d performed for a celebrity panel of judges in Copley Square. Now they’re singing three at a time over the course of three Pops concerts, with one performer chosen each night to advance to the final round, which takes place this Tuesday, June 29. On June 15, 36-year-old Tracy Silva, who drives a van for special-needs children in Taunton, was the winner. Porter was the second finalist chosen; the third and final finalist will be determined at the Pops concert tonight (June 24). Given that the Pops refers to itself as "America’s Orchestra," it’s only fitting that it’s conducting its search for a singer for Independence Day on the Esplanade, the definitive American celebration, by means of a proper American democratic forum: popular vote. On Saturday, each audience and orchestra member cast a ballot after Porter turned out her dazzling, Judy Garland–esque (even more than Liza-esque) rendition of "Maybe This Time," from Cabaret; 29-year-old Roxbury native Terrance Gresham cooed Leon Russell’s "A Song for You" with soulful seduction; and South Easton’s 37-year-old Lisa Yves channeled both Abbey Lincoln and Alicia Keys with George Gershwin’s "I’ve Got Rhythm." A few weeks ago, Porter was singing in a senior-citizens’ home; on Saturday, she made her Symphony Hall debut. I caught up with a pack of her family and friends (read: fans) in the lobby after the show. "This has always been a dream of hers," said her son Stephen Szecskas, who flew up from Florida to watch his mom. He now plans to stay in town at least for the next performance. "At some point, everyone gets a break. She’s riding hers pretty well," he said as his mom waved coquettishly to yet another camera. POPSearch 2004 continues at the Boston Pops concerts tonight (June 24) and next Tuesday, June 29, both at 8 p.m. at Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston; call (617) 266-1200.
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