Singer-songwriter Ellie Williams performs at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood on Nov. 15, 2015. Williams will perform at the first-ever Ovation! talent show benefiting the Lawrence Schools Foundation, slated for 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive.

Fifteen-year-old singer-songwriter Ellie Williams has performed everywhere from Los Angeles’ storied Catalina Jazz Club — where Dizzy Gillespie, Joshua Redman and Wynton Marsalis have played — and Disney California Adventure Park to frequent appearances at downtown Lawrence’s Five Bar and Tables.

Still, even with her stacked resume, Williams says she’s a little nervous for her next gig, Sunday’s Ovation! USD 497 Talent Show. Slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive, the first-ever event will feature more than a dozen acts from Lawrence’s middle schools and high schools, with all proceeds from ticket sales benefiting the Lawrence Schools Foundation.

For Williams, a sophomore at Free State High School, it’s a chance to share her music with new audiences. It’s also, she says, a rare glimpse into the talents of her peers across the Lawrence school district.

“I love performing, and I still do shows downtown with my friends and stuff like that,” says Williams, who describes herself as a mainly straightforward pop act. “And I think this is just an opportunity for me to share my music and play for other people.”

You might say that Ovation! is for kids by kids. Graham Edmonds, a junior at Lawrence High School, originally devised the idea as a capstone project while interning at the Lied Center last summer. At first, the 16-year-old envisioned it as a small show in the Lied Center Pavilion to benefit the Lawrence Schools Foundation. It grew from there, obviously, and soon ended up in the Lied Center’s main auditorium, which seats just fewer than 2,000 people.

Now, Edmonds is juggling all the responsibilities a show of this size entails — including serving as executive producer and master of ceremonies, along with Brian Hanni, the voice of the Jayhawks, on Sunday. He says to expect a diverse lineup that runs the gamut from violinists and martial artists to aerial silk performers and Southwest Middle School’s Music Theatre Mondays.

“The level of talent was really just amazing,” Edmonds said of the audition process. “It goes to show how much talent is present in Lawrence. I think we’re pretty lucky to have an artistically inclined community, and I’d say that doing this show has helped to bring that out a little bit.”

The response from his fellow Lawrencians, Edmonds says, has been encouraging. It’s why he and fellow organizers decided to move Ovation! into the Lied Center’s main auditorium, and it’s why he’s optimistic about the show’s fundraising potential, too. Edmonds doesn’t have a specific goal in mind, but hopes his efforts will make a difference in local schools.

“I think it’s an important cause, especially since funding is kind of low right now in schools and the district,” says Edmonds, who hopes to someday pursue a career in the entertainment industry. “And I think that raising money toward our education is a great cause, especially since the performers are all students throughout USD 497.”

At Free State, there aren’t many opportunities to perform outside of school plays and concerts, says Williams. Weirdly enough, William admits, she hasn’t yet met any of her fellow Ovation! performers. She will soon enough, and she’s excited to see what they have in store.

Williams, who grew up in a musical household where her father would sing his daughters to sleep every night, aspires to make a name for herself in the industry. She spent her freshman year of high school in California, performing at Disney venues and dabbling in acting. Now that she’s back in Lawrence, she’d still like to apply for performing arts high schools out on the West Coast and eventually build a career there.

Right now, though, she’s focusing on a more immediate goal: nailing her performance, on vocals and piano, of Alicia Keys’ 2004 hit “If I Ain’t Got You.” She’s been practicing almost every day in the lead-up to Sunday’s show.

“My goal for myself is to definitely give it everything I got and leave the stage feeling good about my performance and feeling that I really did my best job,” she says.

Well, that and trying not to “get too freaked out that I forget the words,” Williams adds.

It’s not Disney, but it’s nerve-wracking just the same.

Tickets for Ovation! range from $5 for students and youth to $15 for adults. They can be purchased online at www.lied.ku.edu or by calling the Lied Center at 864-2787.