On Saturday, the Butler County Symphony Orchestra performed its concert, "March Jubilee."

Under the direction of Elisabeth Heath-Charles, the program included the winner of the Young Artists Competition, the photographs of Charles Martin, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2.

The concert was preceded by Civil War re-enactor groups, which paraded into the hall. Some, but not all, of the members are descendants of Union veterans who served in Pennsylvania regiments. They were led by a fife played by Sharon Tinkey with the 41st Pennsylvania Infantry of Greensburg.

The fife, although it is blown like a flute and piccolo, is a completely open-holed instrument and was played during Civil War times. The re-enactors also appeared in the lobby during intermission and after the concert.

Their appearance was in keeping with the "Gettysburg Suite" by Randy Edelman, who composed the music originally for the film.

A showing of Charles Martin's slides accompanied the orchestra. Martin photographed re-enactments of battles at Gettysburg, Antietam and Cedar Creek for his presentation. Especially effective were early morning fog shots at the battlefield at Antietam, Md.

George Whitefleld Chadwick's "Jubilee" is not quite modern. A leader of the New England School of American composers, he was influential in his day as a composer and teacher of music during the late 19th century until his death in 1931.

Glenna Marie Cypher, the winner of the Young Artists Competition for 2004, sang two arias: Puccini's "Si, mi chiamano Mimi" from La Boheme and Donizetti's "Cavatina" from Don Pasquale.

Cypher is already a fine musician and was a wonderful addition to the concert. She is a student of Colleen Neubert at Slippery Rock University and expects to graduate this spring.

The concert concluded with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2, "Little Russian." This work prompted some listeners to ask why it is not performed more often. Concertgoers are used to hearing the fourth, fifth, and sixth symphonies, but the second is seldom heard.

Each movement contains memorable themes. Like Tchaikovsky's later symphonies, this one contains challenging wind parts not usually written before the late 19th century. The first movement begins with a horn solo, which was perfectly executed Saturday night. The theme is then repeated by bassoon and pizzicato strings.

The second movement opens with a melody played by clarinet and bassoon with tympani accompaniment.

Each of the four movements holds the attention of listeners, not only because of the folk-based themes, but because of their development, expertly written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The concert was especially enjoyable for the variety and the musicianship of the performers.

The Butler County Symphony Orchestra is now on CD. Duquesne University's Guitar Ensemble played with the orchestra and included one of the selections from that performance on the CD, "Sly of Life."