The Butler County Symphony Orchestra and its featured soloist both rose to the occasion Saturday for their "Gypsy Airs" concert, the last concert of the 2003-2004 season.

Alison Peters Fujito performed Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), a virtuoso violin composition by Pablo de Sarasate, with proficiency and ease.

The violin soloist originally scheduled for the concert was Maria Bachmann. Unfortunately, Bachmann became ill and could not come to Butler to perform.

On Monday, music director Elisabeth Heath-Charles contacted Fujito, who was happy to substitute. She rehearsed with the orchestra on Wednesday.

What the audience did not know until her part in the concert was over was that Fujito had not actually performed Zigeunerweisen previously. Yet she mastered and memorized the work for Saturday evening's concert.

"Betsy made it very easy," Fujito said of Heath-Charles. "She's a very gifted conductor."

After her performance, Fujito received a standing ovation from an appreciative audience.

In 1987, Fujito became a member of the first violin section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. No stranger to solo work, she has been a soloist with that orchestra on several occasions as well as with the North Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, and the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra.

She also performs in chamber groups and is a founding member of the Ionian Chamber Players.

Beginning her violin studies in the Chicago area, she went on to the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, where she earned her bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, and then to Juilliard School of Music for her master's degree.

The orchestra opened the concert with "The Gypsy Baron Overture" by Johann Strauss, Jr. Two of Dvorak's Slavonic dances and Bizet's "Carmen Suite" from the opera were substituted for two violin solos originally scheduled. The concert concluded with "Gayaneh Suite No. 1" by the Armenian composer, Aram Khachaturian.

The Bizet and Khachaturian music contains some beautiful, transparent passages for sparse instrumentation. In the "Carmen Suite," the Aragonaise features an oboe solo. The Intermezzo begins with a flute solo with harp accompaniment, later joined by clarinet. A bassoon solo with snare drum accompaniment begins the Les dragons d' Alcala. Les Toreadors is a bombastic tutti with an even beat of brass chords.

The Dawn movement of Khachaturian's "Gayeneh Suite No. 1" opens with high and low strings, which are joined by a rather long piccolo solo.

Piccolo solos are rare, so if you heard this one, you heard a real treat.

The Lullaby movement begins with oboe and flute solos accompanied by a single repeated harp note. When the violins take up the lovely melody, they are interrupted at intervals by two flutes, which remind us that the piece was written by Khachaturian.

It was a pleasure to listen to the various instruments of the orchestra, either singly or in small groups.