When Pete Townsend clangs on his guitar during the intro of “Pinball Wizard,” rockers are actually hearing the influence of Baroque composer Henry Purcell from the 17th century.

Purcell, along with Vivaldi and Bach, continue to find their way into pop music and into the lives of today’s youth whether they know it or not. This Sunday afternoon, the Youth Orchestra of Lewiston-Auburn  will combine the actual classic pieces of Baroque composers with a selection of recognizable tunes from the Baroque Pop genre.

The concert is free to the public. Doors open at 2:30 for the 3 p.m. performance at the Pathway Vineyard Church in Lewiston. As a nonprofit organization, YOLA welcomes donations. It is dedicated to giving young musicians opportunities to hone their talents, to experience ensemble performance, and to learn about the many eras and influences of music.

The roughly hour-long concert will take the audience through time from the Baroque period of the late 1600s and early 1700s into popular radio tunes of the modern era.

Side “A” of the performance will open with the lively “Allegro in D” by Antonio Vivaldi, one of the Baroque masters. Concert pieces also include a piece by Purcell, the English composer whose style reverberates in several The Who songs, and by Arcangelo Corelli, Jean-Marie Leclair, and of course Johann Sebastian Bach. For the “B” side, YOLA will play arrangements of “Eleanor Rigby,” “Norwegian Wood,” and “Yesterday” by the Beatles. Bringing the sounds of Baroque into the current downloadable age will be an arrangement of “Viva la Vida” from Coldplay’s 2008 album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.

“Young musicians often find pop music fun to play,” said YOLA Conductor Linda Vaillancourt. “They recognize it, and it strikes them as something new and fresh. They can have a lot of enthusiasm for it. They can also have a lot of enthusiasm for classical pieces as well, though, especially when they reach the point that they are playing well and communicating musical ideas across effectively. It is great for them to see how music of three hundred years ago still influences music written today.”

Now in its third season, YOLA has established a dedicated core of young string players and continues under the baton of Vaillancourt of Lewiston, who also teaches orchestra and band at North Yarmouth Academy and plays viola for the Bangor Symphony. Practicing every week as a group, in addition to individual hours and lessons, these musicians manage to juggle school, sports, and friends to make a commitment to music. Of course parental support and transportation also contribute to the success of the group.

“The experience of playing in a group is sometimes more challenging, and usually more enjoyable than playing on your own,” said double bass player Jon Tuttle of Minot. “The mix of classical and pop music makes for a pretty interesting concert, I think.”

But because youth is fleeting, some players have graduated, while new players have joined. YOLA finds itself in the unusual position this year of having a predominance of double bass and cellos while most groups carry a plethora of violins and lack the lower strings.

The concert will feature two professional-caliber guest violinists to balance the sound and to share their performance experience. Neil James of Fiddlehead Art and Science Center will join YOLA on Sunday as will Mary Hunter, who plays violin and serves as board president for Midcoast Orchestra. She wanted to support YOLA because of her own love for music.

“It says things that we can’t always get to in words,” said Hunter, who is also a professor of music at Bowdoin College. “It’s a wonderful way to connect with other people.”

Hunter noted that whether or not music makeskids smarter, she does believe that the discipline of practicing transfers to other areas of life like school, sports, and work.

“Music can keep kids attached to school during challenging times in their lives,” added Hunter. “It gives them a safe way of expressing emotions that may not be helpful to express more literally, and it provides glimpses of other worlds, other cultures, and other people’s minds that stimulate children’s imaginations and make them better citizens of the world.”

Members of YOLA are Ryan Spooner of Sabattus and junior at St. Dominic Academy, Lizzy Wilson of Minot and junior at Hebron Academy, Jon Tuttle of Minot and junior at Hebron Academy, Darby Tuttle of Minot and sophomore at Hebron Academy, Zane Dustin of Hebron and freshman at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, Abram Collete of Lewiston and freshman at Baxter Academy, Abbie Collette of Lewiston and freshman at Baxter Academy, Hannah Pullen of Turner and sophomore at Central Maine Christian Academy, Bradley Sperl of Minot and 8th-grader at Hebron Academy, and Emma vanKampen of Brunswick and sophomore at Brunswick High School.

If you go

What: Youth Orchestra of Lewiston-Auburn (YOLA) Fall Concert

When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24

Where: Pathway Vineyard Church, 10 Foss Rd., Lewiston

Tickets: Free to the public; Donations welcomed

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