Merced Symphony season set for ‘Auspicious Beginnings’

The Merced Symphony Association will open the 2015-16 season on Saturday with a performance called “Auspicious Beginnings.”

Music Director Ming Luke will lead the orchestra in performances of Johannes Brahms’ “Symphony No. 1 in C minor,” Gioachino Rossini’s “Overture to L’Italiana in Algeri” and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Piano Concerto, No. 20 in D minor.”

The performance, which marks the symphony’s 58th year, is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Merced Theatre, 301 W. Main St.

The cornerstone of the concert, according to a news release, is the piece by Brahms. The composer himself said the symphony took him 21 years, from 1855 to 1876, to develop from its earliest sketches to its finishing touches.

The concert also will feature soloist Jeffrey LaDeur, a San Francisco-based pianist.

LaDeur has performed around the world including at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Eastman Theater, Hochschule für Musik and Banff Centre for the Arts, according to his website.

He has taught master classes at the Dakota Sky International Piano Festival, San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, according to his website. A faculty member of Crowden Music Center, LaDeur works with gifted students through piano and chamber music programs in addition to his faculty positions at the center’s youth and adult chamber music workshops.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $39 for adults and $14 for full-time students with proper ID, and are available at Merced Theatre or at www.mercedtheatre.org.

Season tickets also are available at $125 for four shows, which includes the annual pops concert and other performances.

For more, go to www.mercedsymphony.org.

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Merced Symphony season set for ‘Auspicious Beginnings’."