Jasper Chamber Concerts will open its ninth season of local chamber music recitals at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 24, at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, 20 E. Mermaid Lane. The season will feature music by Katherine Batch, Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonin Dvorak, Franz Joseph Haydn, Maddalena Laura, Gabrielle Smith and more. 

 The principal work to be performed at the Oct. 24 recital is Dvorak’s String Quartet No. 15 in A-flat major, Opus 105. The performers are members of the Jasper String Quartet: violinists J Freivogel & Karen Kim, violist Andrew Gonzalez, and cellist Rachel Henderson Freivogel.

 Future concerts are scheduled for Dec. 10, and Feb. 6 and April 10 in 2025. For more information, visit jasperquartet.com.

 Mendelssohn Chorus

 Dominick DiOrio and Heather Mitchell will jointly conduct the Mendelssohn Chorus in its first concert of the 2024-25 season. The program is entitled “Mass for the Endangered” and will be performed Saturday, Oct. 26, at 4 p.m. in the Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity in Center City.

 The program features Antonio Caldara’s “Missa dolorosa in E minor” and Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “Mass for the Endangered.” For more information visit mcchorus.org.

 AVA at The Met

 New York City’s Metropolitan Opera is not only one of the world’s greatest opera companies, it’s also the largest performing arts ensemble in the United States. Its budget, the number of its performances, the size of its Opera House (3,850 seats) and its international profile put it head-and-shoulders above every other classical music ensemble in the country.

 This season, three recent graduates of Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts will be featured in starring roles at The Met. Tenor Stephen Costello (of Northeast Philadelphia) is singing the role of the Duke in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” through Jan. 24, 2025. Tenor Michael Fabiano will star in the title role in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” opening Oct. 26. And soprano Ailyn Perez will sing the role of Mimi in Puccini’s “La Boheme” opening Nov. 13. 

 For more information call 212-362-6000 or visit metopera.org.

 The Met will hold its annual auditions for young singers Sunday, Nov. 10, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the historic Mary Louise Branch of Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St., in the Queen Village section of Philadelphia. 

 The MLC Branch will also be the site of this year’s concert featuring winners of the annual Mario Lanza Voice Competition Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m. There’s free parking in a guarded lot. For information, call 215-320-2600 or visit settlementmusic.org.

 Piffaro on The Hill

 Piffaro, the Renaissance Band, was joined by TENET Vocal Arts in concert Saturday evening, Oct. 12, in The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill for a program entitled “Triomphi.” The engaging moniker promised exuberant renditions of music based on the poetry of Francesco Petrarch, the leading poet of the Italian Renaissance. That promise was fulfilled Saturday evening, both tonally and visually.

 A plethora of composers of the era were enlisted to proffer “The Triumph of Love,” “The Triumph of Chastity,” “The Triumph of Death,” “The Triumph of Fame,” “The Triumph of Time” and “The Triumph of Eternity.” Along the way, projections supplied visual support for the music so successfully that a concert was transformed into a multimedia event. 

 The players and the singers delivered interpretations that were triumphant and beguiling, dazzling and provocative. They provided the large audience on hand to hear and enthusiastically applaud memorable renditions. 

 Piffaro will return to Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church for “Nova! Nova!” Saturday, Dec. 21, at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 215-235-8469 or visit piffaro.org.

 Saint-Saens’ ‘Organ’ Symphony

 Guest conductor Roderick Cox led the Philadelphia Orchestra in a Sunday afternoon concert in Marian Anderson Hall that gave its large audience a delightful slice of the standard classical music repertoire. The concert opened with Bela Bartok’s Suite from his ballet, “The Miraculous Mandarin.” Then the Orchestra’s own principal violist, Choong-Jin Chang, was the soloist in Bohuslav Martinu’s Rhapsody-Concerto for Viola & Orchestra. After intermission, Cox led a thrilling performance of Camille Saint-Saens’ “Organ” Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Opus 78, with Raphael Attila Vogl as organ soloist.

 Cox caught the edgy astringency of the Bartok, provided sensitive yet secure support for Chang, who played magnificently, and marshaled the mighty forces of the Saint-Saens with the aplomb of a Roman general.

 Riccardo Muti will return to the Orchestra’s podium Oct. 24, 25 and 26 to conduct Giuseppe Verdi’s “Manzoni” Requiem Mass. For more information, visit philorch.org.

 You can contact NOTEWORTHY at Michael-caruso@comcast.net.