Get ready to blast off for a night of rhythm, rockets and a bit of rock 'n' roll. The Elizabethtown Area High School orchestra invites the community to its annual Pops Concert on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium, 600 E. High St., Elizabethtown. Admission is free, and so is the fun.

With the theme "Mr. Winey's InterGalactic Dance Party!" the concert will be an experience that's truly out of this world, said Rich Winey, director of the high school and middle school orchestras.

"The students generate the title," he explained. "Every student has an assignment to create a concert title and a piece of music they would like to perform that connects with this theme. From there I collect the song ideas, and the students complete several rounds of voting until we have a favorite theme. Almost all of the music performed in this concert was suggested by students."

The 83-member high school orchestra and the 29-member middle school Allegro Ensemble will take audiences on a musical journey through space and across dance floors of every era. The concert will feature a wide variety of music from the high school students and the middle school group, made up of players from grades six, seven and eight who auditioned for the ensemble.

The performance will include a stirring rendition of Mars and Jupiter themes from Holst's suite "The Planets." Broadway choreography will be represented with a medley of dance numbers from the musical "Chicago." Classic rock fans will enjoy a high-energy performance of Van Halen hits, with the addition of lead guitar and electric bass to the mix. The strings will perform two recent singles from current artists: Laufey's "From the Start," a bossa nova-inspired tune, and Hozier's "Too Sweet," complete with bass and drum set. Several other space- and dance-themed surprises are in store.

Thanks to a grant from the Elizabethtown Area School District Music Club - the music booster club - the orchestra will amplify its sound with four- and five-string electric violins, an electric viola and an electric cello. Soloists from the high school orchestra will perform on these instruments.

As Winey explained, the concert is a long-standing event in the district.

"The high school orchestra Pops Concert tradition was started by a former orchestra director in 1982 and has been an annual tradition ever since," he shared. "It has been performed in the fall now for many years."

In true Pops Concert fashion, musicians will lean into the fun, donning space-inspired costumes to match the theme.

"Students are really enjoying the theme and the music," Winey said. "They like the variety and are excited that we are performing music that they helped to select."

Winey added that the Pops Concert has three goals. It gives students ownership of the concert planning while engaging them in the learning process at a higher level. It also teaches students what quality sounds like in styles and genres that they already understand, and it shows audience members that an orchestra concert doesn't need to be stiff and stuffy, but can be fun, entertaining and still high quality.

After the concert, guests are invited to enjoy refreshments and conversation, celebrating an evening of creativity, community and cosmic music-making.