THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University will present a free symphony concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 26, in Samuelson Chapel.

“The Evolution of a Concert II” is the University Symphony’s final performance of this year’s project works, Claude Debussy’s “Petite Suite,” orchestrated by Henri Büsser, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, Opus 107. “Petite Suite” is a collection of four movements originally composed for two pianists at the same piano. It has been transcribed many times for differing instrumental ensembles but this is the most notable one. Symphony No. 5 or the “Reformation Symphony” was originally composed in 1830 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, a central document in the Protestant Reformation.

The program will open with Richard Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll.” Wagner composed the laid-back ode to domestic tranquility in 1869 as a present for his wife for her 33rd birthday. The private piece waswritten for a small ensemble of 17 players but was later expanded to full orchestra and sold to a music publisher due to lack of funds. It stands as a historic testament to the couple’s love and immortalizes the name of their only son, Siegfried.

The Honors String Quartet will perform Antonin Dvorak’s String Quartet in F Major, Opus 96, No. 12. The quartet features the following: Derek Andrzejewski, a biochemistry and molecular biology major from Thousand Oaks, on cello; Rebecca Cardone, a political science and global studies major from Katy, Texas, on viola; Antonio Foreman, a music major from Agoura Hills, on violin; and Melissa Walker, a biology major from Porterville, on violin. Music professor Daniel Geeting will conduct.

Dvorak’s String Quartet in F Major is sometimes referred to as “The American” due to its unmistakable American musical flair. The composer, who taught in New York for some time, wrote this piece and his most popular work, “The New World Symphony,” while on vacation in the Czech community of Spillville, Iowa. Both works were premiered at Carnegie Hall during the 1893-94 season.

Veteran faculty member Daniel Geeting will conduct.

The chapel is located south of Olsen Road near Campus Drive on the Thousand Oaks campus.

Donations will be accepted. For more information, call the Music Department at 805-493-3306 or visit callutheran.edu.