Herald in the holidays with music, and welcome yet another rarely-seen solo instrument to the front of the orchestra as guitarist, Alex Aldridge, brings Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s effervescent first Guitar Concerto to life in a display of shining virtuosity. The balance of the program features various classical takes on Christmas music, including an endearing work by Arnold Schoenberg and Alfred Reed’s stirring Russian Christmas Music.

Submission Deadline for this year’s Young Artists Competition is December 16, 2025. Please submit your video and pay the $25.00 entry fee by this date.

Up to 8 finalists will be chosen from the video submissions for live auditions in January 2026.

This season’s Young Artists concert is an unforgettable display of budding young talent. Not only will we celebrate the remarkable skills of our Young Artists competition winners, but we also join forces with the Gilbert High School Choir for a collaborative performance of Mozart’s powerful Coronation Mass. The celebratory program launches in jubilant fashion with Shostakovich’s Festive Overture.

Rich melodies and pyrotechnics abound as pianist Mei-Hsuan Huang performs one of the most beloved and challenging works in the repertoire, Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. This extraordinary display of virtuosity is perfectly matched with a trio of brilliant dance works by Mexican composers that bring our season to a dazzling conclusion.