DAILY LEADER / JUSTIN VICORY / Leroy Smith (above) wields the baton as conductor at Tuesday night’s rehearsal of the Ole Brook Wind Symphony in the Alexander Junior High School band hall.

It’s that special time of year again. As the weather cools down and the leaves begin their transformation to an autumn collage, the Ole Brook Wind Symphony will be performing again at the Easthaven Baptist Church.

The final rehearsal is over and symphony organizer and performer, Steve Edge, looks forward to the group’s 23rd fall performance at the church this Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m.

“We are beginning to get into the groove now and want to get the word out to as many people as possible about the show,” said Edge at the group’s last rehearsal last Tuesday night.

The wind symphony has been practicing in the band room of Alexander Junior High School every Tuesday between 7 and 9 p.m. for the last couple of months.

Just about every piece that the symphony will perform will be led by a different conductor, and the show will include narration by Charley Evans of Brookhaven. Evans, retired from law enforcement, will provide a brief description and history of the musical selections the symphony will be playing.

Despite the “Ole Brook” name, the symphony includes members from various communities. Edge notes that the symphony consists of residents from all over Southwest Mississippi including Pike, Franklin, Rankin and Copiah counties.

A number of the performers are retired band directors from some of these counties, and some, such as Leroy Smith from North Pike, started the band programs within some of these schools. Smith was leading Tuesday night’s rehearsal. During a short break, he said, “This is a lot of fun for us. The symphony represents a great diversity. We have performers that are high-school aged all the way to retirement age, all playing together.”

The show will feature the honed skills of Smith, as well as D.P. and Joy Hawkins, as conductors, both retired band directors from Pearl.

At this year’s show, the symphony plans to perform “His Honor,” “They Led My Lord Away,” “The Belle of Chicago,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “White Christmas,” “God Bless America” and “All Shook up,” just to name a few of the selections on the program.

Besides former or current members of area band programs, the symphony includes a radiation technician, retail salesperson and an interior designer, to mention some of the professions represented.

“All are united by their love of music,” says Edge.

Besides a fall performance, the symphony performs a spring performance and a Fourth of July performance every year.