To see a performance by Ensemble Eclectica is to be totally immersed in the arts for two hours. On paper, the Ensemble itself is an 18-piece orchestra led by conductor and visionary Artistic Director Suzanna Pavlovsky, but it’s so much more than that. Ensemble Eclectica fuses art forms in such unexpected ways that an audience can easily get swept away.

Take the ensemble’s upcoming performance at the Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College this Saturday, Aug. 24. Ensemble Eclectica’s performances are virtually always themed, and this one, called “Once Upon a Time in the Land of Amóre,” is no exception.

Pavlovsky wants to keep some of the evening’s performances under wraps so as not to spoil the surprise, but we do know that the night kicks off with a pre-show performance by the popular group, Carolina Bluegrass Style, and then leads into an evening of song, dance and art, all centered around the theme of love. Not just romantic love, but love of friends, pets, nature and life itself.

In front of Pavlovsky’s orchestra, a parade of talented singers (most notably The Root Doctors’ Walter Hemingway fronting a new project called Nahi Gruv and powerful soprano vocalist Brittany Martin), dancers (including the Argentinian tango duo Roxana Marinoff and Cesar Davalos) and multimedia presentations will take the Harbison stage, with an artist creating a live painting as the show progresses.

Along the way, you’ll hear everything from Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” to the classic Dean Martin hit “That’s Amore” to a vocalese composition by Rachmaninoff with an arrangement created by Pavlovsky herself. It’s a dizzying and impressive fusion of styles, all centered around the idea of love. Heck, there’s even a song from the “Dirty Dancing” soundtrack in the mix.

This passion for artistic fusion is something that Pavlovsky has always aimed for with Ensemble Eclectica.

“Fusing things together is an opportunity to unite our community of audiences,” Pavlovsky said. “Because if you are a bluegrass lover, a pop-rock lover, a classical music lover, you want to come and experience that type of music. But you always will get something different when I do what I do. It is a fusion not only of genres and styles onstage but also a fusion of the audiences.”

Pavlovsky holds both herself and her programs to high artistic standards, meaning that each song, each dance, each multimedia moment and each part of “Once Upon A Time In The Land Of Amore” must satisfy both the Ensemble and the audience.

“I don’t want to repeat what I did last year or two years ago,” she said. “I always want to bring something new. What I'm after is high quality, because for me personally, it is not good enough to be just good enough, if you see what I'm saying. It is very important that I deliver a high-quality product. And that product is artistry.”

And she added that the Harbison Theatre is the perfect place for that artistry.

“It’s a beautiful concert hall,” she said. “And there is no bad seat in the house no matter where you sit.”