STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

A “gorgeous exploration of late Romantic lyricism” is on tap for the Wood River Orchestra’s Spring Concert on Sunday.

Music Director Brad Hershey says there’ll be “music that sings through every section of the orchestra” in the free concert, which will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at the Wood River High School Performing Arts Theater in Hailey’s Community Campus.

The concert will feature Wood River High School senior Fisher Hattula, who has played viola with the orchestra for a few years, as a soloist.

The program, which explores the expressive depth of music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, opens with “Academic Festival Overture” by Johannes Brahms.

Brahms wrote it to mark his receipt of an honorary doctorate from the University of Breslau. The work, which translates well-known student songs into a spirited orchestral work, celebrates the German composer’s unique blend of classical precision and romantic warmth, according to orchestral member Andrew Moffat.

Hattula, who plans to continue his musical studies after graduation, will be the soloist in Cecil Forsyth’s “Viola Concerto.” The concerto, composed in the early 1900s, draws on the viola’s deep resonant tone to create music of soulful beauty.

Samuel Barber’s 1936 “Adagio for Strings,” one of the most beloved works of the 20th century, will offer audiences a powerful meditation on loss and the expressive power of song without words.

Hershey said that the combination of a celebrated masterwork, a rarely performed concerto and one of the most cherished American compositions will make for a concert that’s compelling and moving.

The Thrasher Koffey Foundation’s support is helping to make the concert possible.