Welcome to your Columbus Symphony's 2025/26 Pops series! We are so glad you are here to experience these magical evenings with us! Please make sure to share your photos and tag us at @columbussymphony on all socials and use our hashtag #ColumbusSymphonyPops

Dear Friends,

I am thrilled to have joined the Columbus Symphony team as its new CEO in July. I’ve spent my first months getting to know our wonderful musicians, staff, and board and connecting with arts and community leaders. As our season kicks off, I am so looking forward to meeting and hearing from you, our valued patrons and donors. Just as what we do is not possible without music and musicians at the heart, it also isn’t possible without an audience. The magical exchange of energy that circulates between the musicians onstage and your receptive ears and eyes in the hall is generative and unique to each concert. In today’s increasingly fractured and distracted world and in the midst of what has been dubbed a “loneliness crisis,” the transformative power of live symphonic musical experiences is more relevant than ever. Our concerts provide places to be in community, whether you’re on a date, new to town and looking to meet people, creating a special evening for your colleagues or clients, or spending quality time with your family. We invite you to give the gift of presence – to yourself and to your loved ones. We hope our concert experiences will lead you to choose the Columbus Symphony time and time again for those special moments of social spark, intellectual inspiration and family fun. Please feel free to approach me at concerts and introduce yourself – I would love to hear about your favorite Columbus Symphony, musical memory to date or anything else on your mind. Most importantly, thank you for your presence, for your support, and for your investment in our mission. Enjoy the season!

With gratitude,

Maureen O'Brien,
Chief Executive Officer

Stuart Chafetz is the Principal Pops Conductor of the Columbus Symphony and Principal Pops Conductor of the Chautauqua and Marin Symphonies. Chafetz, a conductor celebrated for his dynamic and engaging podium presence, is increasingly in demand with orchestras across the continent and this season Chafetz will be on the podium in Detroit, Ft Worth, Naples, Buffalo, North Carolina and Seattle. He enjoys a special relationship with The Phoenix Symphony where he leads multiple programs annually

He’s had the privilege to work with renowned artists including Ne-Yo, Ben Folds, Natalie Merchant, Leslie Odom Jr., En Vogue, Kenny G, David Foster w/Catherine McPhee, The O’Jays, Chris Botti, 2 Cellos, Hanson, Rick Springfield, Michael Bolton, Kool & The Gang, Jefferson Starship, America, Little River Band, Brian McKnight, Roberta Flack, George Benson, Richard Chamberlain, The Chieftains, Jennifer Holliday, John Denver, Marvin Hamlisch, Thomas Hampson, Wynonna Judd, Jim Nabors, Randy Newman, Jon Kimura Parker and Bernadette Peters.

He previously held posts as resident conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of the Louisville Orchestra. As principal timpanist of the Honolulu Symphony for twenty years, Chafetz would also conduct the annual Nutcracker performances with Ballet Hawaii and principals from the American Ballet Theatre. It was during that time that Chafetz led numerous concerts with the Maui Symphony and Pops. He’s led numerous Spring Ballet productions at the world-renowned Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

When not on the podium, Chafetz makes his home near San Francisco, CA, with his wife Ann Krinitsky. Chafetz holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and a master’s from the Eastman School of Music