Tickets are going quickly for the Arts Council of Moore County's 2009-10 Classical Concert Series, according to a spokesman.

For over 26 years, CCS has presented stellar musicians in fulfilling its mission: Stimulate, support, and enrich our community's cultural life by presenting concerts featuring artists of national and international stature.

This season will definitely live up to that mission by opening the season with a performance by the American Chamber Players Monday, Sept. 21. The group was formed in 1985 by Miles Hoffman, violist and music commentator for NPR's "Morning Edition." Their repertoire ranges from familiar masterpieces to neglected gems to newly commissioned American works, and their extraordinary, dynamic performances with varied instrumental combinations have been as enthusiastically praised.

CCS' second concert will feature the pianist Wonny Song Monday, Nov. 2. Born in South Korea, Song grew up in Canada and began his piano studies at the age of eight. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Montreal University, and the University of Minnesota. Song also won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 2005, which garnered him debut recitals at Carnegie's Zankel Hall in New York and at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The New Century Saxophone Quartet will perform Monday, Feb. 22. A pioneering and versatile group, New Century is winning enthusiasm for the saxophone quartet as a chamber music ensemble. Although the saxophone is a relatively new instrument (invented in the mid-1800s), the group's repertoire ranges from the early Baroque to innovative contemporary works to imaginative transcriptions. The group has been heard in major concert venues all over the world, such as New York's Weill Recital Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall, and the Villa Schnberg in Switzerland.

The series will conclude Monday, March 22, with a performance by the incomparable Tokyo String Quartet, which has been captivating audiences and critics for 40 years. Regarded as one of the supreme chamber ensembles of the world, TSQ officially formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music, but traces its origins to the Toho School of Music in Tokyo, where the founding members were profoundly influenced by Hideo Saito. Soon after its formation, the quartet won First Prize at the Coleman Competition, the Munich Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. Performing over a hundred concerts worldwide each year, the group has a devoted international following that includes the major capitals of the world.

The subscription price to the 2009-10 Classical Concert Series is $80 per person for all four concerts for Arts Council members ($90 for nonmembers). All concerts will begin at 8 p.m. at the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines, with the doors opening at 7:30 p.m.

In addition to the concerts, The Jefferson Inn is offering a pre-concert dinner in its restaurant, One Fifty West, located less than a block from the Sunrise Theater at 150 W. New Hampshire Avenue. For $38 per person (tax and gratuity included), concertgoers will receive a delicious meal and likely a choice of the prime downtown parking places. Dinner reservations are required and can be made only by calling the Arts Council at 692-4356.

The 2009-10 series is sponsored by The Jefferson Inn and Yamaha Pianos. To purchase a subscription, pick up a brochure at the Arts Council offices at Campbell House (482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines) or call (910) 692-4356. For additional information and questions about the Arts Council or CCS, visit www.mooreart.org.