“It should be a very exciting, very creative and unusual season with a silent film presentation that the community has responded to in the past,” said BJSO President Larry Arft. “Everything is something special.”

Arft said the Janesville Performing Arts Center (JPAC) box office will open on June 1 and people are encouraged to book early tickets for the holiday show, which will be marketed outside the region.

BJSO’s total budget is $ 184,000 from June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022. In a previous interview, Arft explained how BJSO has drawn funds from its endowment over the past 15-20 years. At its peak, about 20 years ago, the endowment was $ 900,000. In December, there was $ 50,000 left in the endowment. Through some grants, Arft said the endowment was $ 70,000 during Thursday’s interview.

BJSO is still looking for an executive director after Edie Baran resigned in December. Arft said anyone interested in the position is encouraged to contact the organization.

Tomaro said that when Baran left, Arft stepped forward putting hundreds of hours into the next season, acting as a volunteer manager.

“We’ve worked really hard on this and luckily a lot of that was put in place for last season,” said Arft.

BJSO will kick off its season with its summer Pops concerts. The Janesville Patriotic Concert will be held on Tuesday, June 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Roth Community Pavilion, 51. S. Main St., followed by her Patriotic Concert in Beloit on Sunday, July 4 at Pohlman Field, Telfer Park, 2101 Cranston Route, at dusk . Reservations with tickets will be required at Beloit to ensure social distancing due to COVID-19 with more details to come.

The second big event will be the “Missed Birthdays” concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment and Beethoven’s 250th anniversary with guest soprano artist Sarah Lemen. The event was scheduled for 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re doing a split where half will be a tribute to female songwriters, and half will be a tribute to Beethoven’s birthday,” Arft said.

It will be held on Saturday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the CCPM and on Sunday, October 24 at 2 p.m. at the auditorium of Beloit Memorial High School (BMHS), 1225 Fourth St.

BJSO will then propose a unique offer of its kind: “BJSO Holiday Pops: The Nutcracker Ballet”. All performances will take place at JPAC as follows: Friday, December 17 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, December 18 at 2 p.m. Saturday December 18 at 7:30 p.m .; and Sunday, December 19 at 2 p.m.

It will be a full symphonic presentation with music with semi-professional dancers. BJSO signed a contract with Britton Dorsey of the Stoughton Center for the Arts. Tomaro maps parts of the musical score and the performance is expected to last about an hour and a half with intermission.

“Britton Dorsey offered to organize auditions open to all dancers wishing to perform. It will be a very eclectic event. I think it will be a wonderful opportunity, ”said Tomaro.

Company director and dance instructor for the Stoughton Center for the Arts and BJSO dance director and choreographer Britton Dorsey said she is holding open auditions for people in the Rock County area, but that it was open to all dancers outside the region.

The cast can range from 40 to 100 years old and is open to ages 8 and up. There will be hearings at 5 p.m. on July 7 and 1 p.m. on July 11 at JPAC and on July 28 by appointment only from 5 p.m.

“We’ll have open trials and auditions to get the best talent in the area, and we’ll have a wonderful cast,” Dorsey said.

The tutus, made in Russian over 20 years ago, are secure and available to dancers in the show. The costumes used in the scene with the Snow Queen are under construction, and the Nutcracker head and costume will be built soon.

The Las Obras Maestra Latinos concert with guest guitarist Thomas Aquino will take place on Saturday March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the CCPM and on Sunday March 27 at 2 p.m. at the BMHS auditorium.

The season will end with “Silent Film: The Phantom of the Opera with BJSO” on Saturday April 30 at 7:30 pm at the Eclipse Center in Beloit.

“The Eclipse Center has raised cinema screens, wonderful acoustics and is an ideal venue for this type of presentation,” Arft added.