PEACH WEEKENDER

Music: Symphony to open Mozart & More series

Guest conductor Sara Jobin will lead the Toledo Symphony on Saturday in the first concert of the Mozart & More series at the Franciscan Center.

The Toledo Symphony opens its Mozart & More concert series at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The symphony also will launch its exploration of J.S. Bach’s popular Brandenberg Concertos by performing two in the Franciscan Center at Lourdes University.

Guest conductor Sara Jobin will return to lead the program. Jobin was last in town to lead the Toledo Opera Gala last season.

Approaching 300 years old, the beloved concertos call for varied combinations of instruments. On the Saturday program will be No. 1 for horns, oboes, bassoon, and strings, and No. 3, for strings only — three violins, viola, and celli. Each subsequent series concert will include two more until the symphony completes the set.

Also programmed will be, yes, Mozart: The Overture to The Marriage of Figaro (which the Toledo Youth Orchestra’s intermediate group performed in lively manner at last Sunday’s concert) and Mozart’s Symphony No. 25, the Haffner, named for the wealthy Salzburg family who commissioned it to celebrate a wedding.

Tickets for the concert are $30-$35 at 419-246-8000 or www.toledosymphony.com.

The symphony will offer its popular Halloween Spooktacular in the ProMedica Family Series at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Valentine Theatre. It will feature resident conductor Jeffrey Pollock leading works from movies Star Wars, the Harry Potter franchise, and more.

Costumes are encouraged, with the annual costume parade and large-scale puppets by the Toledo School for the Arts also scheduled. Pre-concert activities start at 2 p.m. and will include crafts, a concert by students from Maumee Valley Country Day School, and an instrument petting zoo. Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for children, at 419-246-8000 or www.toledosymphony.com.

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The Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra also will jump on the Mozart bandwagon this weekend for a pair of concerts. The first performance will be at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Owens Community College Center for Fine and Performing Arts Theatre. A second concert will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday in Monroe Street United Methodist Church, 2613 Monroe St.

Robert Mirakian is to conduct the orchestra in a program opening with the Overture to Mozart’s early opera Abduction from the Seraglio. Pianist Michael Boyd will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 with the Perrysburg Symphony. Boyd is on the faculty at the University of Toledo and a visiting professor at Eastman School of Music, Rochester, N.Y., where he received his master’s and doctoral degrees.

Of special interest will be the world premiere of a work by David Farrell, an Indiana composer. Tickets for the Saturday show are $10-$12 with children and students free. Admission to the Sunday concert at the church is free.

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UT’s Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble will perform what’s billed as a Sousa-Palooza at 3 p.m. Sunday in Doermann Theatre. The next day, the regular UT Jazz Night is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. in Crystal’s Lounge at Ramada Inn, Westgate. Tickets are $3-$5 at the door.

The UT Latin Jazz Ensemble is set to perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall under the baton of Olman Piedra. Admission to both on-campus events is free.

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Bowling Green State University’s Hansen Musical Arts Series presents conductor Robert Bernhardt in residence next week. Bernhardt, a longtime conductor with the Louisville and Chattanooga symphonies, also has led the Boston Pops, Rochester Philharmonic, and Tucson Symphony.

He will offer insights into his career, conducting, music, and related topics in an 8 p.m. event Wednesday in the Donnell Theatre of the Wolfe Arts Center.

Before that, the BGSU Tuba-Euphonium will be playing at 8 p.m. Monday in Bryan Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center, a celebration of OctubaFest.

And on Nov. 1 and 3, the BGSU Opera Theatre will present Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in Kobacker Hall, with an 8 p.m. curtain for Friday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. For tickets and information call 419-372-2181.

Chihiro, a local group of musicians and dancers, will perform Sacred Visions: A Meditation on Autumn at 2 p.m. on Nov. 2 in an outdoor space in Whitehouse. Created to depict the journey of the seasons, the production will combine African and Asian music and dance around a bonfire and ash pit.

Performers will include Zeca Lacerda, Claire Bates, Emily Hall, Frank McElhannon, Hong-Da Chin, and organizer Jill Berkana. The event is at 11817 Doran Rd., Whitehouse. Visitors should dress warmly and bring seating. Rain date is Nov. 9.

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University Musical Society concerts of note include pianist Andras Schiff, performing J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations at 8 p.m. Friday in Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, the Manganiyar Seduction, a lively theatrical concert from India, will be presented in the Power Center, 121 Fletcher St., Ann Arbor. For tickets and information call 734-764-2538 or visit www.ums.org.

Send News of Music items to svallongo@theblade.com at least two weeks in advance.