When the Cincinnati Symphony Regional Pops Orchestra opens the Batesville Music and Arts Festival at Liberty Park Wednesday, June 24, its concert will be the perfect antidote to the recession.

“Hope and optimism – so much of this music taps into that,” reports Pops assistant conductor Vince Lee by phone June 17. The 50 musicians will open with Aaron Copland's “Fanfare for the Common Man.”

Two showstoppers will conclude the evening. Principal trumpeter Robert Sullivan will be featured on “Ode to Doc,” written for Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” band leader Doc Severinsen and based on “Ode to Joy,” “a dazzling piece.” Sullivan, formerly an associate principal trumpeter for the New York Philharmonic and Charleston Symphony Orchestra and U.S. Air Force Band and Orchestra member, has recorded movie soundtracks and performed at the Grammy Awards show.

Then soprano Lauren Ringel, 17, a Cincinnati high school prodigy, will sing “Defying Gravity” from the musical “Wicked,” “an incredible tune and she just sings the stuffing out of it!” says the conductor, who made his professional debut leading the orchestra when he was just 13.

In between, listeners will hear music that fits the theme “An American Mosaic,” ranging from the “Star Wars” movie to the fast and fanciful “Flight of the Bumblebee,” says public relations manager Chris Pinelo. Tunes by Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael and John Philip Sousa also will delight.

“I love to make music,” reports Lee, who earned a master’s degree in conducting from Indiana University, then was on the faculty at NYC’s Juilliard School, where he was principal pianist for its orchestras. In March 2008, Lee made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut with the New York Youth Symphony.

“Be prepared to come and have a fantastic time,” he urges.

Some seating at the outdoor concert next to the pavilion is available; attendees may want to bring folding chairs or blankets. (The concert will be in the Batesville High School gym if weather is poor.)

Pros’t (“Cheers!” in German, www.prostband.com), a Cincinnati-based German-American party band, will entertain Thursday, June 25, in the park pavilion. How do the four musicians decide what to play? “We go with the flow, read the crowd. We play a variety of music to satisfy everybody,” says bass player Terry Duncan, Batesville, who blends in with a saxophone, drums, accordian and vocals.

To get the crowd moving, the “Chicken Dance” and “Hokey Pokey” are mandatory at every gig. Listeners also will hear rock and roll, perhaps some Doors or Jimmy Buffett, and tunes with an German flavor, like the “Beer Barrel” and Pennsylvania polkas.

The Colgate Country Showdown, hosted by Batesville radio station WRBI and sponsored by Jim True Ford, Brookville, is slated for Friday, June 26, in the pavilion.

To determine which acts would compete, each band and single had to submit a CD with two songs and judges chose the best. “It looks like a fantastic lineup ... some really talented individuals,” says WRBI general manager Ronald Green.

The lineup: Jeni Vonderheide, Indianapo-lis; B.J. Briscoe, Greenwood; Meg Baker, Jamestown; Amanda Riffe, Rockville; Carl Bentley, Morristown; Kendall Phillips, Zionville; Stephanie Foster, East Peoria, Ill.; Allison Bankieris, Sandusky, Ohio; Tom Giusti, Fairfield, Ohio; and Zach Rebel, West Chester, Ohio. The two alternates are Kayla Bishop, Sunman, and Victoria Carlisle, Batesville.

The local winner of this 28th round of America’s largest country music talent search advances to the state contest.

The city-sponsored fest is organized by a committee chaired by George Brinkmoeller and Jim Sturges. A freewill offering will be collected at each of the programs to help defray expenses. The fest also is funded by the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation, City of Batesville, Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce and many businesses.