(POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.) – The Hudson Valley Philharmonic will perform Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 – perhaps the best-known, most popular work in the classical repertory – at the Bardavon on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at 8pm. The concert will also include renditions of Comet, a new piece by Hudson Valley composer George Tsontakis, and Bloch’s Suite 1919 for Viola and Orchestra featuring HVP String Competition Winner Michael Casimir on viola.

Maestro Randall Fleischer will conduct the program and host a pre-concert talk with members of the orchestra one hour before curtain. All ticket-holders are invited.

This year, the HVP celebrates its 54th season. It was 79 years ago that the Dutchess Philharmonic Community Orchestra was founded by four local amateur musicians, and 54 years ago that conductor Claude Monteux elevated the orchestra to a fully professional ensemble, renaming it the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. This also represents the orchestra’s 15th year under Bardavon management and the 21st under the music direction of Maestro Fleischer.