You have to hand it to David Commanday and the Peoria Symphony Orchestra.

When this group puts on a pops concert, it really puts on a pops concert.

Instead of a loping parade of tired tunes trotted out once again for the hard of hearing, the musicians presented a fabulous evening of familiar melodies that sung with renewed splendor.

Of course, I'm talking about "Bravo Broadway," which strutted across the Civic Center Theater stage Saturday night and featured not only Commanday and the orchestra but also a trio of visiting Broadway stars - including Ron Raines, who plays the villain Alan Spaulding on "Guiding Light" - and a string of musical pearls ranging from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Cole Porter, from George Gershwin to Leonard Bernstein.

"Bravo Broadway" is the creation of John Such, a New York publicist and producer, who saw a need in the mid- 1990s for an affordable Broad way revue-show specially designed for orchestras. Besides Raines - who has extensive stage experience - Such also Jan Horvath and Doug LaBrecque, both of whom live up to their billing as seasoned performers.

Horvath's credits include "Phantom of the Opera," "Sweet Charity" and "Oliver!" She also has starred with Marvin Hamlisch at the Ravinia Festival. LaBrecque starred in the title role in the Hal Prince production of "Phantom of the Opera." He also has appeared with many major symphonies, including the National Symphony, the Israel Philharmonic, the Milwaukee Symphony and the Oregon Symphony.

All three have performed "Bravo Broadway" with music conductor David Commanday (most recently in Israel), and I must say that it shows. There was a wonderful ensemble spirit among both the principal singers as well as the conduc tor and the orchestra. Here was a whole that was truly larger than the sum of its parts.

The show's success - measured by a steadily more intense applause and cheers from the 1,500 patrons in attendance - was in no small part due to these singers. It was such a relief and a joy to hear so many songs so well-phrased with no notes missed, with no words garbled. It was such a shock to hear so many songs delivered with style, wit and art: the selections from the "Phantom of the Opera," for instance, that deservedly created so much excitement in the crowd at the close of show; the beautifully harmonized rendition of "Singular Sensation" from "A Chorus Line," which closed Act I; LaBrecque's magnificent solo work in "Bring Him Home" from "Les Miserables"; Raine's moving and catchy rendition of Cole Porter's "Begin The Beguine."

The orchestra, too, under Commanday's direction really rose to the occasion, swinging in numbers such as "I Got Rhythm," and even earning some laughs with some well- placed comic glissandos in an all-orchestra version of "Comedy Tonight." (Among the sound effects here: a well- placed rubber duck.)

In short, "Bravo Broadway" was a first-rate effort that really should have had more than half the Civic Center's seats filled. If you weren't there and you love Broadway music, you really missed something.