The Bloomington Symphony Orchestra launches its 52nd season at Switchyard Park Aug. 29, playing favorite selections from past concerts. Guest star Mayor John Hamilton will take a turn with the conductor’s baton.

The concert will feature the BSO 2020 Youth Concerto Competition winner, Cooper Olsen, who has played violin for 11 years. He studies with professor Mimi Zweig in the String Academy at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. In addition to his weekly lessons, he has participated in chamber music coachings with Susan Moses, performed in a chamber orchestra led by Brenda Brenner, and was invited to perform in masterclasses taught by Mauricio Fuks, Luke Hsu and Paul Kantor.

Olsen’s awards include the 2019 Carmel Symphony Orchestra Competition and the junior division of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra Competition in 2020.

“Cooper is so joyful in his playing,” said Donna Lafferty, the orchestra’s executive director. “Just watch his face, and you can see how he lights up as each phrase develops. “We are absolutely delighted that, despite the delays imposed on us by COVID, he will finally be able to perform with us.”

Lafferty said coming back in person is a little frightening, but gleeful.

“Some of us have been with the group for decades, I joined in 1998, and my fellow musicians are some of my dearest friends,” she said. “To be in a position to start back up again, to share this beautiful musical journey with these amazing people, it’s worth every bit of nerves.”

Lafferty said Hamilton had been scheduled pre-pandemic for another BSO event.

“Once we decided it would be safe to have a live concert again, I remembered how disappointed he was in not being part of that concert, so I just said, ‘Hey, mayor! What are you doing on Aug. 29?’ and he seemed delighted to be asked” to be the guest conductor for a piece.

Alejandro Gómez Guillén, who has been BSO’ artistic director and conductor of Bloomington Symphony Orchestra since 2016, will conduct the majority of the Aug. 29 concert. A highly trained modern and baroque violinist, Guillén leads Mozart and Haydn concertos. Among his numerous credits are concertmaster of Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble, with which he toured Germany and Italy and performed at Rheingau Music Festival and Berlin Philharmonie. He recently returned to Oregon Bach Festival as a member of the Berwick Academy for Historical Performance.

“That’s why it’s a good idea to mix a bit of old and new, open with something from a living composer, or have a soloist perform something unusual as the second piece, then end with a big, familiar, joyous closer.”

“The latter was very experimental in nature. We invited two members of (Indiana University’s) astronomy department to provide commentary and a slide show of each planet between movements. They were delightfully science-nerdy, super playful (think Abbott and Costello), and added so much.”

That, in fact, was BSO’s first sold-out performance in which Lafferty had been involved. They’re going to do “Planets” again to close this season, with the added attraction of encouraging cosplay attendees. They hope to see a lot of Darth Vader impersonators honoring the “Star Wars” movies character, Dr. Beverly Crushers (character in the TV show “Star Trek: Next Generation”) and the like in the audience, Lafferty said.

The Mahler performance was an example of BSO overcoming hardship to achieve something remarkable.

“We thought we had a performance space lined up, but it fell through so we ended up playing in a much smaller venue than we’d planned, meaning some of the violins were sitting practically knee-to-knee with the audience.”

“I’m pretty sure the audience was in tears when we finished to a standing ovation, and I know, looking at my fellow musicians through my own tears, that they were all crying, too.”

The orchestra thanks Baird Wealth Management (formerly Hilliard Lyons) for its partnership, as well as Jeff Main, son of former long-time BSO cellist Steve Main, and husband of violinist Joy Main. They receive much support, too, from the community, grants, corporation sponsors and the performing musicians.

If you go

• WHAT: Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, outdoor live concert.
• WHEN: 7-9 p.m. Aug. 29.
• WHERE: Switchyard Park, 1601 S. Rogers St.
• TICKETS: Free.
• MORE: Find Bloomington Symphony Orchestra at bloomingtonsymphony.com.