Submitted photo Violinist Peter McGuire, pianist Bethel Balge and cellist Richard Belcher

MANKATO — The Mankato Symphony Orchestra presents a Music on the Hill chamber music concert on Sunday, January 10, at 4:15pm. The virtual concert is free of charge on the symphony’s website MankatoSymphony.org, YouTube channel, and Facebook page. Presenting sponsors are KMSU and Madelia Optometric.

The concert, titled Mozart & Higdon, features violinist Peter McGuire, pianist Bethel Balge, and cellist Richard Belcher. The trio will perform Mozart’s sparkling Piano Trio in C Major, K. 548 and Jennifer Higdon’s passionate Pale Yellow Trio. Higdon, a Pulitzer Prize winning composer, stated, “My job is to communicate. I feel that you should be able to come to my music without having any kind of knowledge about classical music. I want to be able to speak to you on a kind of visceral level.”

The Mankato Symphony also communicates through musical offerings in its 2020/21 season even as it celebrates its 70th anniversary. MSO Executive Director Bethel Balge stated, “Communicating to one another through music, whether virtual or live, is incredibly sustaining in times of stress.”

For more information, including the latest updates on concerts, visit MankatoSymphony.org.