FEINSTEIN

appearance in central Ohio, Feinstein will find a more vibrant classical-music scene. On Sunday, he will commemorate the 10th season of the New Albany Symphony Orchestra with a performance at the McCoy Center for the Arts.

Seeking a guest artist worthy of the milestone, symphony leaders contacted Feinstein about adding the engagement to his active performance schedule.

“We wanted to feature a hometown celebrity,” said Heather Garner, executive director of the orchestra. “We also wanted it to be a show that would feature the orchestra. Michael has the perfect combination of that — it’s the Great American Songbook with a Columbus celebrity.”

For his part, Feinstein was eager to learn about — and lend his support to — a central Ohio arts organization that is flourishing.

“I wasn’t aware of the (New Albany) symphony until somebody had approached my management about doing a concert,” he Pianist and vocalist Michael Feinstein: “I am very impressed by the might and success of this orchestra.”

said. “I am very impressed by the might and success of this orchestra and wanted to have the opportunity to perform with them.”

The group’s “might” and “success” weren't always easily foreseeable.

More than a decade ago, Garner, a longtime violist with the Columbus Symphony who lives in New Albany, hatched plans for the orchestra after learning of the development of the McCoy Center, a performing-arts venue that opened in 2008 in the heart of the city.

“I felt like a small community like New Albany would really enjoy having their own homegrown orchestra,” Garner said. “I grew up in New Concord,

Ohio, and I grew up playing in an orchestra — the Southeastern Ohio Symphony was a small community orchestra.”

Garner approached the McCoy Center board with her concept.

“They kind of gave me their blessing,” she said. “(They said), ‘We don’t want to take this on ourselves, but we’re really interested in you doing it!’ I thought about it for a few minutes and thought, ‘OK, I can probably do this.’”

Lacking seed money, Garner relied on volunteers and in-kind contributions to establish the orchestra, which in the spring of 2008 began performing in schools as a 26-member ensemble.

Music Director Luis Biava

— also the principal cellist of the Columbus Symphony — led the full orchestra’s first official performance in October of that year. The concert began with Aaron Copland’s “Hoedown” — but, after the first note, the conductor requested a do-over.

“We started it, and we didn’t all start together,” Garner recalled. “Luis turned around to the audience — and it was such a great icebreaker for everyone — and he said, ‘You guys deserve to hear this exactly how it’s supposed to be. We didn’t start out very well, so we’re going to start again.’”

Today, about 90 musicians, including both professionals and those with day jobs, play in the nonprofit orchestra, which operates on an annual budget of about $250,000 (raised through fundraisers, donations, corporate sponsorships and grants).

In addition to traditional Sunday afternoon concerts, the orchestra sets itself apart with Saturday morning “sensory-friendly” concerts, geared toward patrons who have autism, Alzheimer’s disease or other conditions. Performances are modified by allowing audience members to wear headphones or change seating; the houselights are not dimmed, either.

“I wanted to create something where these families felt confident to attend,” Garner said, “and not like they were going to be asked to leave because they were making a noise or their child needed to stand up and maybe twirl in the aisle.”

The concert Sunday will feature Feinstein performing Great American Songbook standards — including music by George Gershwin and Frank Sinatra — as well as contemporary pieces. Requests from the audience might also be taken.

At this event, Garner promises no false starts.

“We don’t ever start over again,” she said. “We never have to restart.”