The Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra will launch its new season with a Nov. 7 concert that will focus on three groundbreaking works. The concert, which is sponsored by Friends of Music, will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. Music Director Jed Gaylin will conduct.

Dr. Gaylin says all of the concert’s featured works “teem with great spirit and energy.” The works, and Dr. Gaylin’s comments on each, are as follows:

“Last Round,” a work for double string quartet and bass by Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov. This work, first performed in 1996, launched the career of Golijov, who is now one of the most sought after modern composers. It is an homage to the last great Tango composer Astor Piazzolla. Dr. Gaylin says it combines “great drive” with “nostalgic yearning.’

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, with violinist Jorge vila. This is one of the most popular violin concertos of all time. Dr. Gaylin says in its day it represented “something of a velvet revolution for violin concertos, opening up so many possibilities for future works with its innovations and even more so with its sparkling expressive content.”

Beethoven’s Symphony No.1 in C Major, Op. 21. Although not among Beethoven’s most frequently performed works, Dr. Gaylin says it is highly regarded because it is “perhaps the most audacious, boisterous (and humorous) first symphony by any composer.”

Admission to the concert will be free for Friends of Music members. The ticket price for others will be $25 per person ($22.50 before October 25). Tickets and Friends’ memberships can be purchased on the Friends’ website at www.friendswv.org or by mail (FOM, PO Box 220, Shepherdstown, WV 25443) or, if space is available, at the church the evening of the performance. Visa and Master Card will be accepted.

In addition to on-street parking in the vicinity of the church, free parking will be available at the Bavarian Inn parking lot, with free shuttle bus service to and from the concert.

The Friends of Music is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1999 to support and promote musical excellence. The Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra was established by the Friends in 2007. Dr. Gaylin was named Music Director in 2012. He also serves as the Music Director of the Bay Atlantic Symphony, the Principal Guest Conductor of the National Radio and Film Philharmonic, the Principal Conductor of the Cape May Music Festival, and Music Director of the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra in Baltimore.

Full information about the Friends, the Orchestra, and the concert season is available at www.friendswv.org.