BAY HARBOR – Rockin’ with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra Pops at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 19 at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts features internationally acclaimed vocal group Rockapella with their full contemporary a cappella sound.

Based in New York, Rockapella has become one of the most sophisticated, enduring and imitated vocal groups in the world today. They’ve toured the world, made appearances on the Today Show, The Tonight Show, and TV specials, and delivered a powerful, funky soundtrack to multiple generations of vocal music fans, keeping it fresh all the time. along the route.

Rockapella’s current lineup includes Scott Leonard (high tenor), Jeff Thacher (vocal percussionist), Calvin Jones (tenor), Bryant Vance (bass) and José Rodriguez (tenor).

The band’s performance will include collaborations with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra on favorites by Elton John, Three Dog Night, George Harrison and more.

“I met Scott during my tenure at the University of Tampa a few years ago. Scott is a UT alumnus and a former vocal student of a dear friend of mine who invited the band to join. produce. The guys were about to embark on their tour with Keith Lockhart and his Boston Pops Orchestra through cities in the Midwest and Northeast. I was mesmerized by the artistry of a pure human voice and the contagious energy that the guys were able to create in the house,” said the orchestra’s musical director Libor Ondras.

“I had the great pleasure of working with the band a few years later in Grand Rapids and am thrilled to bring them to our northern Michigan audience. You are in for a treat,” Ondras continues.

The concert includes two other exciting orchestral works based on Mexican dance music. José Pablo Moncayo’s “Huapango” is an enduring classic with thrilling, rhythmic percussion and brass. “Danzon 2” by Arturo Marquez is one of the most popular and performed contemporary Mexican classical pieces, with a dance form that originated in Cuba and became part of the folklore of Veracruz.

The Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra is a non-profit organization headquartered in downtown Petoskey. Concert tickets from $45 to $75 are available at www.glcorchestra.org. The concert is also free to veterans, active military, and students 18 and under by calling (231) 487-0010.