Buckeye fever takes hold during Pops season finale

This weekend at the Columbus Commons, don’t be surprised if you think you see Woody Hayes onstage.

On Friday and Saturday, for the finale of Picnic With the Pops, the Columbus Symphony will team up with the Ohio State University marching band.

Principal Pops Conductor Stuart Chafetz will lead the concert — and if his colleagues have anything to say about it, he will be outfitted to resemble the legendary OSU football coach.

“The principal percussionist has been trying to get me to dress up like Woody Hayes,” Chafetz said. “We’re trying to find the perfect hat, the glasses. Everything has to be right.”

The conductor, however, declined to make any promises about his wardrobe.

“I’m terrified if I don’t get it right,” he said. “I don’t want to disrespect anything associated with Woody Hayes.”

One thing is not in doubt:

Chafetz, who is concluding his second summer at the helm of the symphony’s pops programming, has learned the significance of all things OSU to many people in central Ohio.

A native of Connecticut, the conductor received his first taste of marching-band fandom while studying at the University of Cincinnati College-conservatory of Music.

“We had some students that came from OSU and talked about, ‘You dotted the ‘i’?’” Chafetz said. “People were flipping out over the person who dotted the ‘i.’”

Last summer, when preparing to lead the annual concert with the symphony and marching band for the first time, Chafetz gained an appreciation for the young musicians.

“I was blown away by their virtuosity,” he said, “and had realized, ‘These guys can play anything.’”

On Friday and Saturday, the symphony and marching band will combine to play selections from challenging works such as Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida” and Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird.”

When the two groups play as one, Chafetz said, “I’ve never heard anything quite like it on top of the Columbus Symphony.”

Christopher Hoch, the director of the marching band, said that the marchingband members appreciate the opportunity to perform such a repertoire — and in original arrangements.

“They’re not rearranged or changed to fit a marchingband style or to be put on the football field,” Hoch said.

“We have done some Stravinsky on the football field before,” he said, “but it’s nice to go back to the original.”

The symphony and marching band will also team for works such as the “William Tell” overture by Gioachino Rossini, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa and a selection from John Williams’ score to the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Both groups will also perform on their own. The symphony will play a set list to include excerpts from Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo,” and the marching band will offer an assortment of Osurelated standards, among other works. Hoch will conduct the band-only portions of the show.

Whether he's dressed as Hayes or not, Chafetz has become a believer in the abilities of the marching band.

“We have total respect for their musicianship, ... which just makes the CSO thrilled to be a part of this tradition,” he said.