Stars Spangled Salute to the Movies: A Tribute to John Williams [photo credit: Visit Pasadena]
The June 20 concert, “Star Spangled Salute to the Movies: A Tribute to John Williams,” launches the orchestra’s 2026 Rusnak Summer Concert Series. The program pairs Williams’s film scores with a tribute to the late Marvin Hamlisch, who served as the Pasadena POPS’ Principal Pops Conductor at the time of his death in 2012. It is the first summer-season opener fully led by Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank, with Broadway vocalist Morgan James as soloist.
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
According to the Pasadena POPS, the program features scores from Superman, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Arc, and Star Wars, along with Hamlisch selections including “Nobody Does It Better” and “The Way We Were” — and more Hollywood blockbusters across the evening. Hamlisch composed the Bond theme and the Streisand–Redford ballad as part of a catalog that also included A Chorus Line and They’re Playing Our Song.
The Williams–Hamlisch pairing carries an in-house resonance. Hamlisch launched the POPS’ Arboretum summer series in 2012, weeks before his death at 68. Michael Feinstein took over the pops podium that fall and led the series for more than a decade. The Pasadena Symphony Association has since named Feinstein Emeritus Pops Conductor, with Blank — a three-time Tony Award nominee and three-time Drama Desk nominee for his Broadway orchestrations — now leading the summer concerts. Morgan James is a Juilliard-trained singer who has appeared in five original Broadway companies, including The Addams Family, Wonderland, Godspell, and Motown: The Musical, according to her published biography.
The timing is built for a family night out. With Father’s Day falling on Sunday, June 21, the Saturday-evening concert offers Pasadena and Altadena families a way to celebrate Dad under the stars — picnic blankets on the lawn, a bottle of wine on the table, and a program of the film music many fathers grew up on.
The Arboretum is at 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. Table and lawn seating are both available; patrons may bring their own food and beverages, and food trucks scheduled for the evening include 8E8 Thai, Tropic Truck, and Pie ‘n Burger, the POPS’ visitor page states. Lawn tickets for children under 12 are $15, and children under 2 are free on the lawn. General parking is available at Santa Anita Park Gate 5 for $20, with free shuttle service to the Arboretum’s main gate. Performances take place rain or shine.
Tickets are available through the Pasadena POPS box office at 626-793-7172 or at pasadenasymphony-pops.org. The 2026 series continues with “Dancing in the Street: Music of Motown” on July 11, “A Toast to the Rat Pack” on July 25, “Remember When Rock Was Young: The Elton John Tribute” on Aug. 15, and the season finale “Music of the Night: Andrew Lloyd Webber & Friends” on Aug. 29.
When Hamlisch died, the Williams scores and the Hamlisch ballads in the June 20 program were already part of the same American songbook. On Saturday night in Arcadia, with the POPS’ Pasadena musicians under a new baton — and many fathers in the audience — the two catalogs will share a stage again.
Pasadena POPS — Star Spangled Salute to the Movies: A Tribute to John Williams — LA County Arboretum, gates 5:30 p.m., concert 7:30 p.m. |🔗 https://www.visitpasadena.com/events/stars-spangled-salute-to-the-movies-a-tribute-to-john-williams/ visitpasadena
