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Your Austin Symphony is planning a special event for all music lovers — the first Chamber Concert in our history. It will occur on Feb. 16 and will start at 2 p.m. at First Untied Methodist Church.

Admission is free for all season ticket holders. Others may purchase tickets for $10 at Coffee House on Main, Hy-Vee or online at www.austinmnsymphony.org.

So, what is a Chamber Concert? Well, it is usually done by a smaller orchestra, in this case involving only the string players, in a more intimate setting like a church. It is a perfect opportunity to perform Baroque pieces that were originally written to be performed in the smaller halls and parlors of the rich aristocracy. Interestingly, this music is now very popular and is played all over the world every day. In fact the melodies are known to everyone, even if you do not know the name of the piece. We will be performing two of the most popular Baroque pieces — “Winter” from the Four Seasons by Vivaldi and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.

“Winter” is one of the earliest compositions that actually tells a story. It is a musical depiction of a walk through a wintry landscape, complete with “shivering” and “slipping on the ice and falling” among other scenes. Vivaldi uses ingenious techniques to make the strings paint pictures and elicit feelings.

Local violin virtuoso Brandon Lawhead will be the featured soloist. Brandon was born and raised in Austin and received his musical education from his father, Donaldson Lawhead, and his brother, Blair, in addition to instruction from Sue Radloff and myself. Lawhead graduated cum laude in 1993 from St. Olaf College where he performed as a soloist with the famous St. Olaf Orchestra.

He has performed as soloist with several orchestras, including the Chelsea Symphony in New York, as well as with Roger Daltry and The Who, The Moody Blues, Melissa Manchester, Amy Grant, Roberta Flack, Marvin Hamlisch and others.

No Chamber Concert would be complete with Bach. So, we will perform one of his favorite string pieces- the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. This is an unusual piece because Bach divides the strings into 10 separate parts, all of which take their turn playing the melody. String players love this piece, as do audiences.

But wait, there is more! We are doing two more pieces for string orchestra, both of which were written within the last 100 years  — the “Panamanian Dances” by Willam Grant Still and “St. Paul’s Suite” by Gustav Holst,  who is still is one of the most famous African American classical composers and his music is being performed around the world today. “The Dances” have a touch of Caribbean color. The first and last probably originated with the slaves imported into Canada. The second and third are of Spanish derivation.

“St. Paul’s Suite” is a popular work for string orchestra which was written for Holst’s students at the St. Paul School in England. Holst is best known for “The Planets” but string players really enjoy performing this piece. It has four movements and is filled with lively folk tunes and beautiful melodies.

As you can see, we chose this music to be fun and enjoyable for everyone. Join us on Feb. 16 at First United Methodist Church, 204 1st Avenue NW in Austin. For more information visit our website or call 507-460-3678.