When the North Carolina Symphony launches its 2011-12 season next month, it will bring the same masterful programming and compelling guest artists that concertgoers have come to expect from the state's premier orchestra. On 10 dates between September and May, it brings them right to Southern Pines.

"Performing in communities around the state continues to be one of the North Carolina Symphony's most central missions," says Grant Llewellyn, the orchestra's music director and conductor, fresh off leading the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at The Grand Scottish Prom on July 30. "I am delighted that our relationship with these communities continues to grow. Meeting our audiences around the state is one of the things we most look forward each season."

Discount subscriptions are currently available at www.ncsymphony.org and by calling Audience Services at (919) 733-2750 or toll free (877) 627-6724. Single concert tickets range from $27 to $42.

All of the concerts in Southern Pines begin at 8:00 p.m.

The series opens Thursday, Sept. 15, with the symphony's resident conductor William Henry Curry presenting Schubert's finest work for orchestra, the "Great" Symphony. Also on the program are two all-time classical music favorites: Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" and music from Grieg's "Peer Gynt," including "In the Hall of the Mountain King."

The Southern Pines Series continues with six more concerts at Pinecrest, presenting some of the most renowned soloists and composers in the classical music world. Featured works include Beethoven's "Symphony No. 8"; Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite"; Tchaikovsky's "Symphony No. 5"; Sibelius' touching "Violin Concerto" performed by Augustin Hadelich, hailed as "a brilliant violinist" by The New York Times; and a very rare treat in Mozart's "Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos," performed by twins Christina and Michelle Naughton.

Renowned conductors Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Joana Carneiro and Andrew Grams lead the orchestra throughout the Southern Pines season, but that does not take the symphony's own conductors off the hook. On Thursday, Nov. 3, associate conductor Sarah Hicks takes Southern Pines concertgoers straight into the intersection of neighboring cultures with a fresh look at how Spanish flavors inspired French music, and vice versa. The program is headlined by music from Bizet's spicy Spanish-flavored opera "Carmen."

In the series finale in May, Curry offers a visit to Italy through captivating music by Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Wolf, Strauss Jr. and Tchaikovsky.

Pinecrest High School's Lee Auditorium is located at 100 Pinecrest School Road in Southern Pines.