What: The UNT Symphony Orchestra's first concert of the fall 2014 season includes performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, an orchestral work based on the tales in The Arabian Nights, and of Ginastera's Harp Concerto. Prior to the concert, there will be a Meet the Author event featuring Conductor David Itkin, whose book "Conducting Concerti" was released in August 2014. The Harp Concerto is one of the pieces highlighted in Itkin's book. There will also be a display of three harps from the 18th and 19th centuries, donated to the UNT harp program by alumnus David Williams.

When: 8 p.m. Sept. 26 (Friday)

Where: Winspear Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center, 2100 Interstate 35 Frontage Road, Denton. The concert will also be streamed online.

Tickets: $10 for adults; $8 for seniors, non-UNT students, children, UNT faculty, staff and retirees, and groups of 10 or more; free for UNT students with valid ID. UNT student tickets must be picked up in person at the Murchison Box Office. Purchase tickets onlineor by calling the Murchison Box Office at 940-369-7802.

More information: For a complete list of UNT College of Music events, including faculty and student recitals, visit the College of Music online calendar and the College of Music Facebook page.

DENTON (UNT), Texas – The UNT Symphony Orchestra's first concert of the fall season on Sept. 26 (Friday) includes one of the most famous works of Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and a concerto featured in College of Music conducting professor and Symphony Orchestra Director David Itkin's new book.

The 8 p.m. concert at Winspear Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center includes Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, an orchestral work based on the tales in One Thousand and One Nights (commonly known as The Arabian Nights). Also on the program is Ginastera's Harp Concerto, which includes College of Music harp professor Jaymee Haefner as the soloist.

"The talent of our students will be highlighted in Scheherazade, one of the greatest symphonic poems in the orchestral repertoire," said Itkin. "The composition includes beautiful and florid solo writing for many instruments including the violin, which serves as the narrator for this story about Scheherazade and her beguiling ways to avoid being killed by her king. The audience will also enjoy the Harp Concerto by Alberto Ginastera, an Argentinian composer whose sensitivity for harp writing is showcased in this piece. For the concerto, Ginastera made use of Argentinian folk music sounds and instrumentation, such as bongos, brass and the use of extended harp techniques, including pedal slides, nail glisses and string whistles."

Just prior to the concert, at 7:15 p.m., guests can view three harps from the 18th and 19th centuries recently donated to the UNT harp program by alumnus David Williams, of Fort Worth. Students from the harp program will be on hand to answer questions about the historic harps, which vary greatly in looks and capability from modern harps.

"We are grateful to David for his gift," said Haefner. "We want people to know about these harps and see them. There are very few harp studies program that own historic instruments in such good condition as these."

Also starting at 7:15 p.m. will be a Meet the Author event in the Murchison with Itkin, whose book Conducting Concerti published in August.

Two kinds of experiences influenced Itkin to write the book, which is a technical guide for conductors. The first was his own experiences as a young conductor realizing that conducting symphonies and large ensembles differed from conducting concerti. The second was seeing his own students at UNT struggle with the same experience.

"When I started teaching graduate students for the first time, here at UNT, I had a number of students who did well with symphonic conducting but who couldn't conduct as well with concerti," said Itkin, who has taught at UNT for seven years. "That's when I started thinking about this book. There are very fine conductors who are all thumbs during a concerto."

When conducting a symphony orchestra concert, all of the attention is given to the large ensemble, Itkin said, but conducting a concerto is different because a soloist is involved. A conductor has to be flexible in that situation, said Itkin, making conducting adjustments that address the needs of the soloist and translating those adjustments for the larger ensemble. Itkin said the tips in his book are of value to conductors. He is currently working with the Conductors Guild to organize a workshop for professional conductors that he will lead at UNT in February.

While finishing his book last summer, Itkin nearly lost years-worth of work when he accidentally left his laptop and the backup drive containing the only two copies of his book at a restaurant. Just outside of Texarkana on his way to Little Rock, Arkansas, Itkin remembered his bag and called the restaurant, only to be told it was gone.

"By an astonishing stroke of luck, the Texarkana police, working with the restaurant manager, were able to recover the laptop in the following days," said Itkin.

The hard drive had been wiped clean, but he was able to find a recovery expert in Dallas who painstakingly restored it.

Although the nearly-lost book is not intended for a mainstream audience, concert-goers will enjoy hearing Itkin conduct the Harp Concerto, a piece that is featured in Conducting Concerti and one that he and Haefner have talked about performing for some time.

The Murchison Performing Arts Center is at 2100 Interstate 35 Frontage Road, Denton. The concert will also be streamed online. Tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for seniors, non-UNT students, children, UNT faculty, staff and retirees, and groups of 10 or more; free for UNT students with valid ID. UNT student tickets must be picked up in person at the Murchison Box Office. Purchase tickets online or by calling the Murchison Box Office at 940-369-7802.

About the UNT College of Music

The UNT College of Music is one of the largest and most respected comprehensive music schools in the country. More than 1,600 music students attend UNT each year, participating in more than 50 widely varied ensembles and pursuing specialized studies in performance, composition, music education or music scholarship. UNT faculty members and students have made appearances on the world's finest stages and have produced numerous recordings, many receiving Grammy awards and nominations. Distinguished UNT alumni can be found around the globe, in top music ensembles, opera companies, universities and schools.