SYMPHONY HITS HIGH NOTE WITH SOLD-OUT SHOW.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

When the first bars of Grieg's beloved Piano Concerto resound Saturday night from the Symphony of the Canyons, just one glance at the audience will testify to the ensemble's startling appeal.

Fewer than four years after playing its first concert, the symphony once again will be playing to a packed, standing-room-only hall, even if it only seats several hundred.

"We are blooming like you can't believe," said music director Bob Lawson, proudly. "I am sure we could play to 600 people. We are turning away 60 to 80 for every performance."

Composed of local players, college students and outside invited "guests," the symphony is an outgrowth of a former community orchestra that spent much of its time accompanying a valley choir, he said.

After affiliating itself with the College of the Canyons and starting with just 40 players in 1993, it has grown to a full-size symphony that will feature some 65 players at this weekend's concert.

That is despite a shoestring budget of $2,000 per concert, that forces players to pay all their own expenses and limits what can be paid to guest performers, he said.

Despite the budget limitations, the orchestra not only has grown in size, but in musical maturity, said Lawson, who also directs the valley's youth symphony.

Beside the Grieg piano concerto, Saturday night's program will include Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2 and the premier of a work called Danzon No. 2 by Arturo Marquez, a Mexican composer.

The danzon, or dance, was written in 1994, and the performance will mark the work's American premier. Peppered with a salsa flavor and an abundance of percussion, the work will be an accessible treat for the audience, Lawson said.

"About the only thing they will have a hard time doing is staying in their seats," he said, jokingly. 'It's a phenomenal work, but it's a stretch for a community orchestra."

Pianist Julia Green, who will be the featured soloist in Grieg's work, said that from what she has witnessed, the ensemble has the potential to be a top community orchestra in Los Angeles.

"They are a marvelous orchestra. I feel like there is real drive behind what they are doing," said Green, an Ojai resident who has soloed with other community orchestras in the state.

The growth also has come despite the symphony's lack of a true home. They play in the college's dining hall, which has been converted - as best as it can be - into a concert hall for each performance.

While Saturday night's concert is sold out, standing-room-only tickets are available for the 8 p.m. performance. They can be purchased at the door, or call [phone] for more information.

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Photo (1--Color) "We are blooming like you can't believe," said Symphony of the Canyons music director Bob Lawson of his orchestra that will feature 65 musicians Saturday. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News (2--color) Violinists rehearse Thursday prior to a presentation of Grieg's Piano Conceto. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News