International violinist Aisha Syed Castro will headline the second concert of the Central Ohio Symphony’s 44th season on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Delaware. Music Director Jaime Morales-Matos and the orchestra will perform a program featuring both contemporary and classical works that evening in Gray Chapel auditorium on the Ohio Wesleyan University campus.

Castro is a Latina violinist of growing international acclaim. She debuted with the Dominican Symphony Orchestra at age 10, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. From that early start, she has gone on to establish a virtuosic reputation in South America, the United States, and Europe, most recently performing in Switzerland and Spain. Castro is looking forward to performing with the Symphony as she is eager to build more performances in the US. She will be playing an Antonio Pelizon violin, made in the early 1800s, for this concert.

The orchestra will perform “Symphony No. 4” by Johannes Brahms, “Pulse” by Brian Raphael Nabors, and Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto,” with Castro as soloist. The Nabors work is part of the Symphony’s ongoing Play It Again project, now in its second year.

Symphony Executive Director Warren W. Hyer characterized this concert as a mix of genres and experiences. “The Brahms is a major work in classical music,” he said. “You will also hear a work by Nabors, who studied in Cincinnati and is in high demand as a composer right now. This way our audience will hear both the old and the new as we continue to stretch our repertoire from traditional to present-time compositions.”

As for the violin concert by Tchaikovsky, Hyer noted that it is considered “the ultimate violin concerto” by many and that Morales-Matos is excited to conduct Castro in the work.

“We are closing the concert with the violin concerto,” said Hyer. “We want audience’s last impression to be what should be a stunning performance both by Aisha and our musicians.”

Masks for the audience continue to be optional but are encouraged. The musicians will be masked. The Symphony asks concertgoers to stay home if they are not feeling well.

This will be the second concert since the Symphony partnered with the Delaware County District, Sunbury Community, and Ashley libraries to provide tickets to young people. Any youth 17 and under can present their library card and get free admission to the concert, as well as a half-price ticket for an accompanying adult.

“We saw a lot of youth in our audience at the debut concert,” said Hyer. “Our music director was especially thrilled, saying afterwards that those young people are the future of orchestra audiences.”

There will again be free shuttle service from the parking lots on S. Henry Street at Selby Stadium to the rear lower door of Gray Chapel. The shuttle service, funded by a grant from SourcePoint, will begin one hour before the performance and end one hour after.

More information about the concert and ticket availability is available on the Symphony website, www.centralohiosymphony.org, at the Symphony office at 24 E. Winter St., or by calling the Symphony at 740-362-1799.