The Red Deer Symphony Orchestra is gearing up for a new season of offering local audiences first-rate classical fare.

Kicking things off for the Main Series is Masterworks, slated for Sept. 25 at the Red Deer College Arts Centre.

Performance time is 8 p.m.

Guest Phil Hansen, the Calgary Philharmonic’s principal cellist, will be joining the RDSO for the concert which will feature the first symphony ever conducted in Red Deer by Maestro Claude Lapalme.

He’s marking his 20th anniversary with the RDSO this season.

Highlights include Schumann’s Concerto for Cello in a minor, Op. 129 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21.

Meanwhile, Hansen

has been principal cellist of the Calgary Philharmonic since 2004.

A frequent soloist with orchestras across the continent, his collaborations on a recent solo tour of Russia included the Vladivostok Philharmonic under Mikhail Arkhadiev.

A tour of Japan and Russia is slated for next spring.

On Oct. 30, the RDSO presents Halloween! at the Art Centre, starting at 8 p.m.

Guest artists include Mandy McKee and Sharon Braun.

Themes will follow fairy tales, Hitchcock thrillers and tales of witchcraft featuring the two gifted Red Deer singers.

Musical highlights include Schafer’s Beauty and the Beast, Bernard Hermann’s Psycho Suite and Falla’s El Amor Brujo (Love the Sorcerer).

Wrapping up the concerts for 2010 is Christmas with Rosedale Valley Strings Dec. 11.

Highlights of the festive concert include the premiere of a new work by Claude Lapalme, Anderson’s Christmas Festival, Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves, Tchaikovsky’s Excerpts from The Nutcracker and Herbert’s Babes in Toyland: March of the Toys.

Another RDSO feature for audiences is the Chamber Series which gives audiences the chance to hear classical music in smaller, more intimate settings.

The first concert in this season’s series is Through the Looking Glass (The Looking Glass Duo) Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. at the First Christian Reformed Church.

Guests include Gianetta Baril on harp, Lucie Jones on flute and Dean O’Brien on viola.

Pieces include Debussy’s Three Movements from Children’s Corner and Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp and Bernard Andrès’ Narthex.

For ticket information, call Ticketmaster at 403-340-4455 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca.

For more information about the RDSO, including upcoming dates for both the Main Series and the Chamber Series, call 340-2948 or visit www.rdso.ca.