ROCKFORD (WIFR) -- The Rockford Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Steven Larsen welcome returning guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel to Opening Night of the RSO’s 2010/11 Season at the Coronado Performing Arts Center on Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. This season marks Maestro Larsen’s 20th Anniversary as the RSO’s music director. This concert is part of the ComEd Classics Series, and is graciously sponsored by Savant Capital Management.

In tribute to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frédéric Chopin, Mr. Biegel will perform the Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise, op. 22. Mr. Biegel will also play a Piano Concerto written by Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. The performance also features Johannes Brahms’ moving and beloved Symphony No. 1 and the Overture to Bedřich Smetana’s comic opera The Bartered Bride.

All RSO Classics Series concerts include a pre-concert lecture by Steven Larsen at 6:30 p.m. Pre-concert lectures are a great way to prepare for the concert program by gaining insight from the music director’s perspective on the pieces performed by the orchestra.

Tickets for this concert are available at www.rockfordsymphony.com, by calling 815-965-0049, or visiting the Coronado Performing Arts Center Box Office at 314 N. Main Street. Ticket prices range from $18 to $56. Student tickets are only $6.

Under the artistic leadership of Music Director Steven Larsen, the Rockford Symphony Orchestra is a leading arts organization in the Rockford Region and the third largest symphony orchestra in the state of Illinois. The RSO is made up of 85 professional musicians who perform 17 concerts per year--including classics, pops, ballet, and opera--for an estimated annual audience of 30,000.