The Hope College Symphonette will perform its first concert of the 2002 season on Friday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

The public is invited. Admission is free. The first piece on the program is Joseph Haydn's "Symphony No. 8 in G major," otherwise known as "Le Soir." Composed early in Haydn's career, "the symphony nevertheless reflects Haydn's mature genius," says conductor Richard Piippo.

Following the Haydn is "Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op. 35" by Anton Arensky. Piippo describes Arensky's piece as an intense, passionate work built on Tchaikovsky's theme, and then played with in a series of variations.

The next work on the program is Emmanuel Chabrier's "Suite Pastorale." From the romantic French period, the piece is reminiscent of fellow French composers like Gabriel Faure and Camille Saint-Saens.

The final piece on the program is the "Introduction and Allegro for String Quartet and String Orchestra Op. 47" by Edward Elgar. Principal chairs from the Symphonette make up the quartet: violinists Jenny Walvoord and Emily Cronkite, violist Lauren Kruse, and cellist Chris Meyer, all from Holland.

Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located on College Avenue at 12th Street.