University of Windsor instructors, alumni and students will be among the performers as the Windsor Symphony Orchestra presents a medley of seasonal concerts this weekend. The concerts will take place in three separate locations under the direction of Steven Jarvi, one of eight candidates to succeed John Morris Russell as the orchestra’s conductor.

Jarvi, described as an “eloquent and decisive” conductor by the Wall Street Journal, will begin the series with concerts at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 7, at Assumption University Chapel. The program will couple part one of Handel’s Messiah with Bach’s Symphony no. 6 in G minor.

Performances follow Saturday, December 8, at the Leamington United Mennonite Church, and Sunday, December 9, at St. Anne’s Chapel located in Tecumseh. Tickets cost $15 to $35, available at the door or in advance by phone at 519-973-1238, online at windsorsymphony.ca or in person at the WSO Box Office at 487 Ouellette Avenue.

Friday’s campus concerts also feature an optional meal— a buffet lunch following the morning concert and a three-course dinner prior to the evening concert— both in the Freed-Orman Centre. The meals require advanced reservations to be made by phoning the WSO office at 519-973-1238.

— by Irena Sziler