The Emmy award-winning Georgia Southern Symphony will be performing for the first time this semester with its opening concert, “Prelude.”

The performance will be held at the Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. and will feature pieces from various composers, including Handel and Rossini.

The Georgia Southern Symphony took home the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Award on June 8 for the southeast region. The Emmy was granted for “Best Live Audio” for the performance of Schumann’s “Concerto for Piano in A minor” performed by Dr. David Murray.

The symphony’s first performance, “Prelude,” will feature a variety of overtures and pieces.

“‘Prelude’ represents known composers and some unknown composers,” Maestro Adrian Gnam, conductor of the symphony, said.

“The pieces also represent 500 years of music from the Baroque period all the way to the contemporary period. Most orchestras forget to appreciate all the eras of music, something we take pride in doing,” Gnam said.

Among the pieces to be performed are two arrangements by Georgia Southern University’s Dr. Bill Schmid. Schmid has performed with many groups in the southeast and also teaches trumpet and jazz studies.

The arrangements selected are used to open a play or opera. In a way, “Prelude” gives the audience a preview of what to expect from the symphony in the upcoming semester, Gnam said.

The collection of music to be performed at the show features a wide variety of styles of music, Lillia Laura Sanchez, senior music performance major and principal cellist, said.

Every fall and spring semester, students who can play an orchestral instrument can audition. It is not required that students auditioning be involved in the music program at GSU.

The symphony has been hard at work to prepare for this performance, Grant Elliot, symphony member and freshman computer science major, said.

“It has been a great experience to learn from the other students and Maestro Gnam, we have all worked very hard to get all of the great music ready for Thursday,” Elliot said.

“Lately we have been playing more and more together, which is a big deal for orchestras. By doing so you learn more about the people you play with as well as how each conductor works,” Sanchez said. “The symphony has grown and I think it will continue to grow as the years go on.”

“This is like an opening football game for us, we are very excited to get out and perform,” Gnam said.

The event is free and the dress code is casual.