TOPSHAM

The Midcoast Symphony Orchestra will present “Pops at the Opera” at Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham on Sunday afternoon.

The MSO consists of more than 100 classical musicians, from violinists to oboists to harpists — the majority of whom live in the Midcoast. The orchestra has seen a steady rise in membership since its origins in 1990, and according to Executive Director John Teller, is likely to grow even more in the coming years.

Teller said that MSO’s membership isn’t as large as the Portland Symphony Orchestra or the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, but they are seeing top talent come in at a high rate.

All of MSO’s players are volunteers.

“These guys just want to play, and they’re really good players,” said Teller of his fellow symphony-members. “We screen them, and the conductor is the final judge. He always makes the final decision. He’s a very good violinist, so he always knows what he’s looking for.”

Australian Conductor Rohan Smith has been with MSO since 2003, but is taking some time off and will not conduct “Pops at the Opera.” Instead, his friend and colleague Eric Hewitt has stepped in.

“Each year we bring in a guest conductor, and we are happy to have Eric here with us,” said violinist Kate Gray. “As soon as he did a rehearsal with us we knew he would be a good fit.”

Hewitt, who teaches music performance at Boston Conservatory and has been commuting to the Midcoast for weekly practices, said he is “honored to be filling in for Rohan for this performance.”

“Pops at the Opera” will consist of pieces from various operas, but without the vocal accompaniment.

“The idea is that it is opera-based without the singers,” said Gray. “A lot of the songs will sound quite familiar, and have been used in familiar settings like Bugs Bunny and other cartoons.”

Pops is defined as the use of popular music within a classical setting. Teller said that it takes talent to pull off a pops show, and that the folks at MSO are up to the challenge.

While MSO consists of a wide variety of instruments and players now, that wasn’t always the case.

“MSO started out basically with just strings in the ‘90s,” said Teller. “They had good players but not a lot of them. They were playing mostly chamber music.”

The current edition of the orchestra is made up of various levels of players, but Teller said that that sort of mix is a good thing.

“One of the reasons I think we are doing so well is we have a smattering of really good players, Julliard-trained players, and the others play better by osmosis,” Teller said. “You’re sitting there and you feel confident because you know they’ll be coming in at the right place. It all works better when you have those key people.”

Carol Peterson — who has been playing violin with the symphony for 17 years — is one of those key players, Teller said.

“I like the camaraderie here. It’s something you can do that’s not in your everyday work week. You get to hang out with musicians and complain about conductors and tell viola jokes.”

Peterson has also set up Meet the Instruments, a meet-and-greet with six orchestra members and their instruments an hour before Sunday’s show to be more in touch with the community.

“Kids and parents can come and see the instruments, and we’ll play a little bit and then let them try the instruments out themselves,” said Peterson. “They can touch them, hold them and play them. It’s meant for kids, but adults can play them, too. A lot of adults say, ‘I wish I’d played music,’ so this is their chance.”

Some of the instruments on hand for Meet the Instruments this weekend are the violin, harp and trumpet.

Midcoast Symphony Orchestra’s “Pops at the Opera” will begin on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are free for children under 18 and students and $20 for all others, and can be purchased at the door or online at midcoastsymphony.org.

bgoodridge@timesrecord.com

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