The Boston Civic Orchestra (BCO) is now in its 89th year, and this is the second appearance of this well-established orchestra for the Summer Music Series. The players are exceptionally talented students and amateur musicians who perform a wide variety of music from all musical genres – Baroque to Modern. A primary objective of the orchestra is to provide an orchestral setting to train young musicians who are pursuing professional careers.

The orchestra has a tradition of presenting young solo performers. Last year’s Summer Music Associates concertgoers will remember the truly remarkable performance by 12-year-old violinist Ilana Zaks. This summer’s symphony performance will feature the 13-year-old cellist Zlatomir Fung, first prizewinner in seven recent cello competitions in the Eastern US and second place winner in the cello division of the Seventh International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Montreux, Switzerland.

These remarkable young soloists must be seen to be believed. Children’s and student’s tickets for all the Summer Music Associates concerts are only $5, and we hope that many families will take advantage of this low price.

The Boston Civic Orchestra program will include the Beethoven Fidelio Overture, the Cesar Frank Symphony in D minor, and works by Kodaly and Prokofiev. Zlatomir Fung will perform the David Popper (1843) Hungarian Rhapsody, a piece that is not well known but which is very much in the Romantic tradition. This work was originally written for cello and piano, but the version we will hear is the subsequent score for cello and symphony.

Ticket prices are $25 for adults and $5 for students and are available online at SummerMusicAssociates.com; by phone at 526-8243; or at Tatewell Gallery, Morgan Hill Bookstore, or the Chamber of Commerce building on Main Street in New London.