The Herald-Zeitung

The Mid-Texas Symphony opens its 32nd season on Sept. 13 at 4 p.m. at Jackson Auditorium on the campus of Texas Lutheran University in Seguin. The first concert will feature a performance by Di Wu, a finalist in the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She will play Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

Also on the program is Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” by Antonin Dvorak. The concert is being supported by a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The theme of this year’s season is “Passport to the World,” with each of the six concerts featuring music from different countries.

The 2009-2010 Mid-Texas Symphony concert season is sponsored by the Weston Family to honor Caroline Weston’s lifelong love of sharing symphonic music with the community.

The Cecilia Young Willard Helping Hand Fund has provided $20,000 annually for the past 21 years to support the Symphony’s youth concerts.

Each October, the Symphony invites fourth- and fifth-grade students from area school districts, including Seguin, New Braunfels, Comal, Navarro and Schertz-Cibolo to free concerts designed especially for them.

Local private schools, including Lifegate Christian School and St. James Catholic Schools in Seguin, and New Braunfels Christian Academy and Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School in New Braunfels, as well as home-schooled students, are invited to attend the special youth concerts performed in both New Braunfels and Seguin.

This year’s October concerts will feature performances by Nancy Zhou, the 16-year-old San Antonio violinist who won this year’s Johansen International Strings Competition.

Season tickets and individual concert tickets are available by calling (830) 629-0336.

Individual concert tickets may be purchased at the Symphony’s office in Seguin or at the chambers of commerce in both New Braunfels and Seguin, Cascades Gift Shop in Seguin and the Crossing in New Braunfels. Information is available on the Mid-Texas Symphony Web site at www.mtsymphony.org.