BUTLER TWP - Jim Pugh's performance at the Butler County Symphony Orchestra concert on Saturday was nothing short of triumphal.

In the days leading up to the concert, many residents recalled fondly having known him in school. A native son, Pugh has gone on to have many musical experiences and is known not only as a performer, but as a composer, arranger, and teacher of trombone. He began the study of trombone in Butler when he was 10 years old.

This final concert of this season was entitled "Sliding Home" in honor of Pugh's return. It was dedicated to the memory of Maurice Horwitz, a long-time friend of the orchestra.

Before the concert, three long-time members of the orchestra were honored: Charles Getze, who has played violin with the orchestra since 1976 and who is chairman of the bowing committee; Virginia Netchi, who has played flute with the orchestra since 1966 and is the orchestra manager; and Charles Norton, who has been a mainstay of the orchestra since 1949.

Under the direction of Elisabeth Heath-Charles, the concert opened with the Overture to Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro." Opening with a buzz in the violins, it is standard fare for orchestras but never becomes stale.

This was followed by Beethoven's "Symphony No. 1."

Although it was his first symphony effort, the music is unmistakably Beethoven. All of the movements are sprightly, including the usually slower second movement which is in 3/8 time.

The final movement begins with a loud G followed by tentative fragments of an ascending scale which introduces a final allegro movement.

Pugh played Nathaniel Shilkret's "Concerto for Trombone," a work first performed in 1945 with Tommy Dorsey as soloist. Its mid-20th century swing quality would not be part of an early 21st century work any more than Mozart's or Beethoven's music be composed today.

The middle movement, Andante piu mosso, has a Gershwin quality.

Pugh said at the 1945 premiere, enthusiastic young fans made so much noise that it interfered with the performance.

The applause Pugh received after his performance was thunderous and was capped by a standing ovation. He played the lovely "Reflective Mood" by Sammie Nestico as an encore.

In Meredith Willson's "

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Trombones" the orchestra was joined by two dozen young student trombonists. It was a fitting end to the concert, which featured a former Butler student trombonist as soloist.