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Cape Ann Symphony opens its 62nd concert season

Music director Yoichi Udagawa will lead the Cape Ann Symphony Saturday as it opens its 62d season with guest cellist Owen Young.Handout

A SYMPHONIC SEASON: Cape Ann Symphony launches its 62d concert season Saturday with “A Fantastic Program,” featuring a guest artist, Boston Symphony Orchestra cellist Owen Young .

Young, a member of the BSO since 1991, performs Dvorak’s “Cello Concerto” and Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique.”

Yoichi Udagawa, the symphony’s music director and conductor, said he is eager to open the new concert season. “The 2013-14 season of the Cape Ann Symphony will be full of great symphonic masterpieces, old and new,” he said.

It includes two commissioned world premieres. Robert Bradshaw, a Gloucester-based composer and member of the orchestra, debuts a holiday themed work during the annual Holiday Pops Concert Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

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The pops concert also features the return of the Cape Ann Symphony Singers, under the direction of Wendy Betts of Rockport.

The other premiere is “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,” composed by pianist Charles Floyd on March 23.

Following Floyd’s debut with the Cape Ann Symphony two seasons ago, he agreed to compose a piece for the symphony to premiere. Floyd has played with more than 500 orchestras around the world and has earned critical acclaim for his work as a pianist, composer, and conductor.

The March concert program also features the orchestra performing Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” and Brahms’s “Tragic Overture.”

Tessa Lark, a rising young violinist, performs in “A Most Mozartian Mother’s Day Concert” on May 10. Lark, who won the 2012 Naumburg International Violin Competition, plays “Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major.” And the orchestra performs “Overture to the Marriage of Figaro” and Mozart’s final symphony, “Jupiter.”

“The Cape Ann Symphony is sounding better than ever in our new home in Manchester, and I promise the audience they won’t regret coming to hear this great orchestra,” said Udagawa.

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The symphony performs in the Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Saturday’s concert begins at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $35, $30 for senior citizens, $20 for young adults, free for children 18 and younger.

Call 978-281-0543 or visit capeannsymphony.org.

AUTHOR’S CORNER: Tom Greene, an assistant professor of English at Northern Essex Community College, discusses “Why are Vampires Sexy?” 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Tewksbury Public Library. Greene outlines the evolution of the modern vampire legend and how vampires captivate us by addressing not only our deepest fears, but also our most secret desires. Greene, who received his master of fine arts degree in creative writing and his doctorate in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, specializes in Victorian literature and cultural studies. A Salem resident, he also works part time as a ghost tour guide. The presentation is part of Northern Essex’s Speakers Bureau.

IN LOCAL GALLERIES: “Refuge,” an exhibit of oil paintings by Heather Karp, is at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport through Sunday. Karp started painting in 2006 as a way to regain her sense of self after suffering a ruptured brain aneurysm several years before. “I knew the moment I picked up the brush, I was meant to paint,” Karp said. “It healed not only an injured brain, but also an injured spirit.” She added that “Refuge,” is “a visual walk through Plum Island through my eyes, my memories, and my imagination.” . . . Scenes of New England are displayed on the walls of the historic Hall-Haskell House in Ipswich Thursday through Sunday, in a show called “Northern Exposure.” Jeannette Steele Esposito of Ipswich and Anne Costello of Newburyport portray the brilliant colors of the region during the four seasons., both in studio work and plein air paintings. Both women are active members of Confetti, a group of artist friends who meet weekly to paint, critique, and travel to art-related events. Other members include Susan Guest-McPhail, Cynthia O’Grady, and Judy Stover, whose work is also represented in this show. A reception with the artists is 6 to 8 p.m. Friday.

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