BUTLER TWP — The Butler County Symphony Orchestra strutted its pops moves at the Symphony Idol Concert Saturday night at the Butler Intermediate High School auditorium.

Stars from “American Idol” headlined a program filled with crowd-pleasing favorites. LaKisha Jones, Haley Scarnato and Matt Giraud wowed the audience with solo, duet and trio vocals that covered a wide range of popular tunes.

Appropriately, the orchestra led by Maestro Matthew Kraemer set the pace with the “American Idol Overture,” which incorporated tempo changes from jazz to country to soft rock. The musicians handled the stylistic contrasts with ease and seemed to enjoy the opportunity to break out of the classical mode.

The addition of electric guitar, electric bass guitar and trap set were a novelty for the orchestra, which appeared to be having a good time in their pops mode. Even the front-and-center position of Bryan Helsel at the grand piano left little to the imagination that this would not be a traditional symphony concert.

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” featured all three vocalists and introduced a touch of scat where the singers exuberantly sang instrumental lines by using nonsense sounds. Scarnato and Jones then teamed up for a powerful rendition of “River Deep Mountain High.” Their voices complimented each other wonderfully.

Giraud took the stage, accompanying himself on the piano for a bluesy interpretation of “Georgia On My Mind.” His playing was as good as his voice, adding new interest to the old standard.

Jones took the lead as the trio paid tribute to Whitney Houston in “I’m Every Woman.” The close harmony backup supplied by Scarnato and Giraud was impressive as well.

An instrumental medley of Beatles songs brought back memories and had most of the audience wanting to sing along with familiar favorites such as “Magical Mystery Tour,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Scarnato returned to the stage for an impressive rendition of “My Heart Will Go On.” The lovely melody allowed her to utilize her extensive vocal range and versatility. She was joined by Giraud to perform “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” to the delight of the listeners.

Closing the first half of the concert, Jones, Scarnato and Giraud pounded out a rousing rendition of “Proud Mary,” a la Tina Turner.

Concert master Tanya Satteson channeled her inner fiddler to open the second half dazzling the audience in Charlie Daniel’s “Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Quite a contrast to the Mendelssohn concerto she played at the last concert. Giraud provided the peppy singspiel story line.

“I Will Always Love You” gave Jones the opportunity to imbue the Dolly Parton hit with just a hint of soulful blues. It worked very well. Giraud and Scarnato joined Jones and the orchestra in a rocking version of the Bee Gees’ classic “Staying Alive” that had the audience clapping along to the rhythm.

The overture to “West Side Story” was an instrumental homage to the enduring melodies Leonard Bernstein wrote for that award-winning musical. Kraemer and the orchestra played with verve and even did their own “vocal” yelling “mambo!” at the appropriate moments. Staying in the Broadway vein, Scarnato provided a heart-rendingly beautiful performance of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”

The soft-rock ballad “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” was next on the program, allowing Giraud to display his ability to enchant. Jones countered with a high-powered version of “And I’m Telling You.”

Then Scarnato and Giraud brought home a strong rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing,” which had the audience on its feet. Everyone remained standing for the ovation, which was answered with Giraud’s encore pop anthem, “God Bless the USA,” a fitting tribute to an all-American pops evening.