EVOC, as the group is known to fans, will kick things off by returning to Canada, where the band made a well received run in January, for a free performance July 25 at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.

The band will celebrate the release of Old School with another free show in New York City August 14 at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Guggenheim Bandshell.

Other upcoming stops on EVOC’s schedule include McCain Auditorium in Manhattan, Kan. (September 18), Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan, Utah (September 22-23), Porter Center for Performing Arts in Brevard, N.C. (October 11), Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, Calif. (November 19), Key City Theatre in Cranbrook, British Columbia (March 24), The Esplanade in Medicine Hat, Alberta (March 27) and the E.A. Rawlinson Centre for the Arts in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (March 29).

Old School, which is due August 12, is EVOC’s third release.

As with its previous albums, the group started with works by composers including Wagner, Handel, Puccini, Mozart and Bach and then reimagined them as pop songs filtered through Rock and Roll, R&B, 60s and 70s pop, surf, and soul, with nods to artists ranging from Led Zeppelin to Kool & the Gang.

The project took 12 months and 14 engineers to complete and features 65 musicians recorded in 10 studios around the world.

Fans who preorder the CD from EastVillageOperaCompany.com before August 12 will receive an autographed copy.

Two tracks from the disc, “The Ride” and “Help Me (Jove, in Pity),” are streaming on EVOC’s MySpace page.