LA GRANDE, BAKER CITY — The Grande Ronde Symphony is back for its 74th season, and this month marks a return to in-person, live performances.

The first concert is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, at McKenzie Theatre on the Eastern Oregon University campus in La Grande.

Then the musicians travel east for a performance on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 1 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral in Baker City.

Masks will be required to attend all performances.

The featured artist will be oboist Molly Trindle, performing Concerto in C for Oboe and Orchestra by Mozart. The symphony, under the baton of music director Zachary Banks, will present two well-known pieces to welcome back patrons. These include Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the Academic Festival Overture by Brahms.

“We are very excited to work with this talented musician,” Banks said of Trindle. “The piece she is performing has a wonderful history and is comic and charming. Known as the Mozart Oboe Concerto, because only this one example, written by Mozart, survives today.”

Trindle is the 2021 “open” category winner of the Grande Ronde Symphony Association’s Concerto+Aria Competition. She currently is pursuing a graduate degree in oboe and ethnomusicology at Washington State University in Pullman.

Tickets

Season passes are $30 adults, $20 seniors, $2 for college students and $1 for high school students.

Tickets at the door for each concert are $12 adults, $10 seniors, $2 college students and $1 for high school and middle school students.

Purchase tickets online at www.granderondesymphony.org, at Betty’s Books in Baker City, or Direct Music Source in La Grande.

Student groups

In addition to the main symphony, GRSA has several programs for youth, including the student symphony for all ages, and Fiddle Club for grades 3-8.

This season will also see a renovation of the chamber series with CASES — Chamber & Small Ensemble Series.

For updates, visit the symphony’s website and Facebook page.