Press 

Welcome to the Firebird Pops Orchestra press hub. Here you’ll find our latest press releases, media coverage, downloadable assets, and key information about our concerts, collaborations, and mission.

For interview requests, images, or additional materials, please contact Kevin York at [email protected].

News & Announcements

Media Coverage

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The Firebird Pops Orchestra is pleased to participate in the Card to Culture program, a collaboration between Mass Cultural Council and the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Massachusetts Health Connector, and the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Nutrition Program by extending discounts to EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders. 

Born out of a desire to make music in a time of isolation, The Firebird Pops Orchestra emerged in 2020 as a virtual ensemble. Today, we are a thriving regional orchestra committed to redefining what orchestral music can be. Our performances blend the power of live music with synchronized multimedia design—delivering professional-caliber productions that are as accessible as they are extraordinary.

About the Music Director

Brendan J. Kenney, Founder/Music Director

Brendan J. Kenney (FPO Founder/Music Director) is a music director, conductor, and accompanist in the Greater Boston area with fifteen years’ experience, primarily in Musical Theatre. Brendan’s love of conducting surfaced in High School, particularly when he opted not to walk with his graduating class so he could “guest conduct” the wind ensemble’s performance of Pomp & Circumstance. Since then, he has had dozens of productions under his baton at educational, community, and community children’s levels – and had the honor of conducting the centennial season opener for The Concord Players in November, 2019.

In 2010, Brendan founded the “Call for Pit Orchestra Musicians” initiative to help raise awareness of the importance of budgeting for and utilizing the full orchestration for Musical Theatre. To date, the flagship Boston branch has over 3500 members with additional branches launched across the country and in Canada. The CFPOM initiative was also born of Brendan’s desire to start a summer/holiday community Pops orchestra, and the Firebird Pops is the result – ten years later!

For almost a decade, Brendan was a full-time Organist/Cantor/Choir Director for Catholic Churches, with a particular concentration on the Traditional Latin Mass and Gregorian Chant/Renaissance Polyphony. Between his church career and musical theatre career, he could be found playing, analyzing, coaching, and conducting music across the span of thousands of years in a single day. Despite a recent career change, he still occasionally substitutes as a cantor or organist alongside his full-time job as a web developer for a tech corporation headquartered in the Seaport District of Boston.

Outside of music direction and conducting, Brendan has been seen on stage in “The Secret Garden” (Captain Albert Lennox), “Grey Gardens” (Gould), and “Songs for a New World” (Man 2), as well as making guest appearances with the “MIT Artists Beyond the Desk” program. He studies voice with Kim Lamoureux out of Middleton, MA and competed in the 2019 NATS Adult Musical Theatre division with high marks.

News & Announcements

Our Leadership

Brendan J. Kenney, President/Executive Director
Tom Cox, Treasurer
Jeri Sykes, Secretary