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The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra with maestra Amy Mills and vocalist Tim Wilson will headline the Festival Foods Salute to the 4th on Sunday, June 29. This event will take place at the Onalaska High School soccer fields east of the Onalaska OmniCenter on Riders Club Road and is free and open to all.

This is the 19th annual Festival Foods’ Salute to the 4th and the ninth year the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra has appeared prior to the fireworks.

In addition to the orchestra, two other groups will perform. The Coulee Region High School Jazz All-Stars band will perform at 6 p.m., and bluegrass band String Ties follows at 7 p.m. The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert begins at 8:30 p.m. Fireworks at 10 p.m. will top off the celebration.

Food is available throughout the evening.

In conjunction with the Pops Concert, the LSO is sponsoring a Pops Conductor Contest, with contestants including Onalaska Fire Chief Donald Dominick, Onalaska Alderman Robert Muth, and Evelyn Pertzsch, longtime resident of Onalaska and celebrated volunteer.

Each contestant is soliciting votes, which cost $1 each. The contestant who obtains the most votes earns the opportunity to conduct the orchestra during the pops concert. Conductor contest voting envelopes are available through the LSO office. Funds raised from the conductor contest will support the symphony’s growth and community programs.

Amy Mills, music director of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, invites everyone to “relax, sing along, and dance if you wish! Enjoy the harmony of neighbors, friends, and family as we come together to share some of the world’s greatest music.”

The symphony will highlight a variety of music including selections from Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, a fiddlin’ tune by Leroy Anderson, Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” patriotic selections including John Phillip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” with guest artist Tim Wilson singing “This is America” and the conductor contest winner conducting Sousa’s “The Thunderer.”

Wilson served 22 years in the U.S. Air Force as a lead vocalist. A native of Georgia, his powerful voice and sparkling entertainment style have captured the hearts of listeners all across our country.

During his Air Force career, Wilson was the featured soloist on seven recordings and was requested by name by the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force. He has performed with various country and gospel artists such as Larry Gatlin, Babbie Mason and Luke Garrett.

He performed as the tenor soloist for Mozart’s Requiem with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, and performed the lead roles in Mozart’s “Le Nozze Di Figaro” and “Cosi Fan Tutte” Puccini’s “Il Tabarro” and Marschner’s “Der Vampyre.”

Wilson currently serves as the associate pastor in worship arts at First Baptist Church, Vancleave, Miss.