SALISBURY — Music lovers, get ready for the 20th annual Pops at the Post.

Held the first Saturday in June, this free community event will be June 1 in the 100 block of South Church Street with the orchestra seated behind the Salisbury Post building.

The concert will begin with the Salisbury Swing Band taking the stage from 5-6:30 p.m., followed by the Salisbury Symphony, led by Maestro David Hagy. The symphony’s performance will begin at 7:30 p.m., lasting approximately two hours with a 20 minute intermission.

The theme of this year’s Pops at the Post will be Hagy’s Favorites.

“They were kind enough to let me do the theme,” said Hagy. “I’m getting to choose things that I really love.”

The symphony’s first song will be a concert version of the “Star Spangled Banner,” and Hagy shared they hope to have color guards from both the Boy Scouts and veterans.

The second piece will be something from the orchestra’s classical season, he said. This year they will be performing two pieces, one from “The Planets,” subtitled “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity.” He said it is a “wonderful, boisterous, beautiful thing.” 

The second will be a Stephen Sondheim piece titled, “Comedy Tonight.”

Next will be a nod to jazz as they perform “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing” after which their three soloists take the stage – Vince Eury performing “The Very Thought of You;” Lauren Stephenson who will sing “Colors of the Wind” from the Disney movie “Pocahontas,” which Hagy said is one of his favorite Disney songs, because it deals with ecology; and Teresa Moore-Mitchell, who will be singing “Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess.” Hagy said she is “just the perfect operatic singer for that.”

Additional songs on the program will be a popular rock song “Uptown Funk” followed by Star Trek through the years as they will perform Star Trek themes from all of the various Star Trek television shows and movies and “Nimrod” from Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar.

The final piece for the first portion of the program will be the ending music from the movie, “E.T.” by John Williams.

Hagy said that the second half would be similar to what has been done previously with the exception of the opening piece which will be the trio of Moore-Mitchell, Eury and Stephenson performing “Wherever We Go.”

Peter Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” followed by two marches by John Phillip Sousa, “The Washington Post,” which Hagy said they call the Salisbury Post, and “Stars and Stripes Forever” will conclude the program.

Two encores have been prepared, the first being “America the Beautiful” and a second he said, “is something to show off the orchestra, but I won’t tell what that one is.”

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs or a blanket and sit in the Bell Tower Park to enjoy the concert. VIP seating for sponsors and special guests will be placed on South Church Street.

As noted on the Pops at the Post website, Church, West Fisher and Jackson streets surrounding the Bell Tower Green will be closed on the day of the event.

In the event of rain, the concert may be moved to the Keppel Auditorium at Catawba College. This decision will be made on Friday. Check www.salisburypost.com for updates.

Food vendors will be onsite the day of the event, and please note that only service dogs will be allowed at the concert.

For details on parking, tailgating and other questions, visit www.salisburysymphony.org/pops-at-the-post/