Owensboro Symphony's annual 'Concert on the Lawn' is Saturday

Aug. 26—The Owensboro Symphony will present its free annual outdoor "Concert on the Lawn" at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27 to Kentucky Wesleyan College.

This year's theme is "Adventures Under the Stars."

The event, sponsored by US Bank, will see the orchestra performing a number of selections from Disney favorites like "The Little Mermaid" and "Enchanted," while also including music from "Aladdin," "Hook," "Mulan," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and more.

Attendees can arrive early for family fun and activities that begin at 5:30 p.m.

" 'Concert on the Lawn' is our opportunity every year to offer this free concert to anyone and everyone in the community," said Gwyn Payne, chief executive officer of the Owensboro Symphony. "It's all about inclusion. We want everybody to be able to come and experience, and see, and hear and feel what we do."

"I love this concert," said music director and conductor Troy Quinn. "It's a tradition, and I hope everyone comes out in droves this year because the concert theme is really exciting ...."

Quinn said the music selection has a multi-generational appeal, with some of the pieces being from films that he grew up watching and are now "finding a new light with a younger generation."

"This is a perfect concert for the whole family — for the kids young and old. ...I'm just excited to conduct the soundtrack of our lives," he said.

The guest artist performing with the orchestra — which is sponsored by Riley and John Hess — will be Lauren Jelencovich, who Quinn said is "one of the great singers of all time."

Jelencovich has toured the world as the featured vocalist for Grammy-winning new-age musician Yanni and has been featured in his specials "Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico," "Yanni: World Without Borders" and "The Dream Concert: Live from the Great Pyramids of Egypt" and has been featured in People magazine's "Beauties on Your Block" section — a part of the publication's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2005.

Jelencovich looks forward to reuniting with Quinn, whom she hasn't worked with since their time together in college, and performing material she's very fond of.

"I pinch myself every time thinking about getting to perform Disney music with an orchestra specifically, so I'm super excited about that," Jelencovich said. "...I grew up on Disney — that's really my very first memory of singing is with Disney music."

Attendees are encouraged to pack food and lawn chairs to have their own picnic for the concert while enjoying the show.

Tables, chairs and dinner were able to be reserved beforehand.

Payne said this year's event features a new initiative in which people have been asked to sponsor tables for other nonprofit entities.

"It's been very well received," Payne said. "We will have other nonprofits in the community attending the concert, and they can bring their clients — or whomever their constituents are — (that) more than likely ... may never have been able to experience a concert or this type of event. I'm excited the reach is expanding in that direction ...."

Quinn said the concert is typically well-attended — with about 1,000 people coming out to watch. He hopes to see a similar turnout, if not more.

"I just love the freedom and the non-classical setting, to come and enjoy music in the beautiful nature," he said. "I think that's a great introduction to the orchestra."

"The main thing are the new faces we see at 'Concert on the Lawn' every year," Payne said. "There are always people that are coming out and experiencing the orchestra for the first time; and every year, you see the excitement. That right there is what makes it absolutely a must to continue this because we know it's working."

Payne said the organization hopes to continue to build it up to a more "festival atmosphere" by bringing in food trucks and other activities each year.

"We're trying to ... make it be an event in itself," Payne said. "We just want to encourage people to come as you are. We want to make it as comfortable for everybody as (we) can."

For more information, visit owensborosymphony.org/concert-on-the-lawn/ or call 270-684-0661.