Time has flown by for Michael Gelfand.

He's about to lead the last concert of his first season as conductor and music director of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, but he's not ready for the season to be over.

"I think the orchestra has been keyed up," Gelfand said. "It feels like we're just getting into our groove here."

Looking back over the season, the orchestra had a "great crowd" for its first concert, a "huge crowd" for its second, and the children's concert had the kids "rolling in the aisles," he said.

Gelfand said he believes no one who enjoyed those earlier shows will be disappointed with the concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at Passavant Center, Thiel College, Greenville. It features classical show pieces and Broadway favorites.

The show opens with Mikhail Glinka's "Russlan and Ludmilla Overture" and slides into Gabriel Fauré's "Pavane."

The first Broadway selections will be songs from "Ragtime," including "Your Daddy's Son," "Buffalo Nickel" and "Wheels of a Dream."

While none of the pieces in Ralph Vaughan Williams' suite of English folk songs falls off the tip of the tongue, "It will sound very familiar to everybody," Gelfand said.

The Shenango Valley Chorale, 65 voices strong, will take the stage with the 65 instrumentalists for Richard Rodgers songs, including "The Sound of Music," "Surrey With the Fringe on Top" and "My Funny Valentine."

Mac Huff and Paul Murtha arranged the Rodgers' pieces.

"It's just hot off the press," Gelfand said. "No one around here has done it before."

The second half of the show features two pieces, "Les Toreadors" from Georges Bizet's "Carmen" suite, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Capriccio Espagnol."

"This is one of the big orchestral show pieces," Gelfand said of "Capriccio Espagnol." "It shows off every segment of the orchestra. It's hard, and there are a lot of solos. Every instrument will be featured."

Gelfand is making a habit of encores and playing pieces that aren't on the program. He promises the encore will have "the most unusual solo instrument you've ever heard."

Looking ahead to next year, Gelfand and the symphony board have set concerts for Nov. 8, Feb. 21 and April 17, with the Young Audience Concert Nov. 11.

Notable pieces include the finale to Beethoven's fifth symphony, George Gershwin's "An American in Paris," Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," tributes to Frank Sinatra and New York City, classics by Pachelbel, Bernstein, Mozart and Bizet, and popular songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Henry Mancini.

The season also will include a piece written by Greenville orchestra cellist and composer Jason Howard.

Programmers were mindful that the 2003-04 season will be the orchestra's 75th.

"I have put together a program that every concert will be a celebration," Gelfand said.

Tickets: Jerome's Flowers and Gift Boutique, Greenville, and at the door.