If there was ever an ideal time to purchase season tickets to the Lompoc Pops Orchestra, this is the time. The first concert of the 2009-1010 season is at 7:30 p.m. Monday, at First United Methodist Church, 925 North F St.

Tickets cost $15 for adults, $5 for children 12 and younger, and $5 for students of all ages with ID shown at the door. Opening concert will feature the sounds from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. The Pops has been a lively part of the Lompoc cultural scene for 13 years with over 40 professional musicians, many of whom have been with the orchestra since its inception over a decade ago. In addition, the orchestra was most recently honored as Lompoc's "Best Musical Event."

Season ticket holders are admitted to four concerts - October, December, April and June. October's concert will take the listener back to the days before computers, cell phones and minivans. The Christmas concert will be offering two performances to accommodate overflow audiences for the festive holidays, and in the spring, the Pops will highlight "Big Band" music and 1950s favorites (including Elvis).

Later, in June, the audience will be tapping its feet to tunes from the 1960s, '70s and '80s. And this season, a fifth concert will be added as the Pops plays to the community a free event around Memorial Day composed of patriotic pieces.

The first concert of the season, entitled "Autumn Memories," will entice with "Ol' Man River," best-knowns of Irving Berlin, "Tribute to Bob Hope," "The Home Front - Music of World War II" and many of those old favorite football song hits.

The audience will also be treated to those soon-to-be-famous "Andrew Sisters Plus One," performing live and on stage singing "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Takin' A Chance On Love."

The quartet, members of the local chapter of "Sweet Adelines International" are composed of Gill O'Malley as lead, Lyndell Penney as bass, Cindy Pilios doing tenor, and Barbara Nigh singing baritone.

Later in the program, the wonderful sounds of the "FourGiven" Quartet will bring back memories doing their rendition of that very sentimental piece, "I'll Be Seeing You." This particular male quartet is composed of Bob McGee, lead, Gene Kai, tenor, Bob Carlton, bass and Robert Wilson, baritone. The group has more than 100 years of combined quartet singing experience.

Returning to the podium for his 13th year is that Silver Fox himself, Maestro Rodolfo Fernandez. He is the founding conductor for the Pops and brings an impressive portfolio of accomplishments, both nationally and internationally. A native of Chile, he graduated from the University of Santiago with a master's in Music Performance.

He went on to become a renowned cellist, having performed with Sir Nelson Cooke, Andre Previn, Richard Burgin and Simon Goldberg. He has been a guest artist for a number of different orchestras and symphonies including The North Carolina Symphony, the Topanga Symphony at Los Angeles and the National Symphony Orchestra of Columbia.

He is currently the conductor of the Nevada Chamber Orchestra, now celebrating its 25th season. Maestro Fernandez was featured in the promotional video "Only in Las Vegas," which aired worldwide on the Discovery Channel; and he completed a musical collaboration and commissioned orchestrations for a Zaretsky Productions series entitled "In Concert," which won national as well as international awards.

The Pops is pleased to have the Maestro bring his incredible background and talent to the people of Lompoc and its surrounding communities.

The guest artist donating her original artwork is Judith Grames-Lyra. She graduated with a bachelor's in Studio Art and History and is certified in commercial art at UCSB. She started her career as a journalist and photographer but spent her spare time painting, drawing and clay sculpting. She worked as a layout artist for several news media, had her own business as a graphics consultant and was the art director for an advertising firm in Santa Barbara.

She eventually returned to Lompoc and became a building engineering inspector for Santa Barbara County while simultaneously becoming involved in the Lompoc Mural Society, the Lompoc Valley Art Association and the National Watercolor Society.

When she paints, watercolor is her medium of choice. She has won many awards including "Best of Show," and is listed in "Who's Who of American Women," as well as "Who's Who in America."

The Lompoc Pops is looking for qualified soloists, groups or instrumentalists who have professional training and are capable of performing with a full orchestra. Anyone qualified and interested is invited to submit a resume and tape or CD/DVD for review. Live audition slots are also available.

For reservations, call Val at 735-6463. For more information, call Assistant Conductor Glen Newcomb at 733-3811, Vice-President Ben Contreras at 588-1522, Publicity Co-Chair Connie Barlow at 733-0431 or Concert Master Diane Siminski at 736-9365.