Page 2 - NYE 2020 Program online

History of the Pops

Colin Harper AM MBE first put an orchestra together in 1980 when posted to the now
called Australian Army Band Brisbane from Western Australia. The 19th Lord Mayor’s
Command Performance saw the orchestra become the 4BH Queensland Pops
Orchestra. Colin saw the need in Brisbane for a full time professional orchestra which
is able to cater for the vast middle-of-the-road public who like some well-known
opera, well-tried classics, sentimental old melodies, modern musicals and a little not-
[1]
too-loud “Pop”. These sentiments continue to hold today under the baton of LTCOL
Patrick Pickett CSM (Retd). Patrick was also the CO of the Army Band Brisbane from
2001-2004 and was promoted on to become the Head of Corp as did his predecessor
and mentor Colin Harper.

1. This transcript is
taken from The Lord
Mayor’s 19th Command
Performance program
October 10, 1985 which
was the first concert in
the QPAC Concert Hall.