Wed. Aug. 18

 Summer is the season of free stuff outdoors. Granted, some of it may be dubious. Eddie Money, anyone? Anyone? But the Longwood Symphony Orchestra's "In the Mood" concert on the Esplanade shows much more promise. Sure, the music they're doing - like Beethove's Fourth Symphony - is even older than Money's music, but it has, y'know, a bit more of a timeless quality. The orchestra will also be playing On Eagle's Wings by Bill Boston and the George Gershwin's classic "Rhapsody in Blue." It takes place Wed. Aug. 18 at 7 with Jonathan McPhee leading the LSO, which you may know as the award-winning orchestra of Boston’s medical community. This concert marks its twenty-fifth annual performance on the Esplanade. It will feature a young soloist from the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts Summer Music program. It's the  joined by the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts for the 15th annual season. This is the 15th year of collaboration with the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, an organization that every summer brings young talent from Taiwan, China and the U.S. to Boston to work with outstanding faculty.
And, as they say on late night TV ads, wait, there's more! Esplanade audience members will also will hold a raffle to allow a lucky winner to join the orchestra onstage during the performance - perhaps you should only enter the raffle if you can play something - as well as free tickets to LSO concerts, and free tickets to the hot Christmas show of forever, Boston's Ballet's 2010 "The Nutcracker." Giving away those tickets is The Nutcracker himself.

Hatch Shell, Storrow Drive, 617-667-1527 www.longwoodsymphony.org