Our best bets for classical music this month

This month’s Triangle classical concerts mix familiar works with brand new pieces and traditional combinations of instruments with innovative groupings. Check out the possibilities.

Duke Symphony Orchestra

Benjamin Britten’s seemingly odd “Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings” turns out to be a lovely setting of poems about nighttime. Conductor Harry Davidson leads singer Timothy Culver and brass player Nicholas Kenney in the piece, along with Edward Elgar’s beloved “Enigma Variations.”

Details: 8 p.m. March 7. Baldwin Auditorium, Duke University, 1336 Campus Drive, Durham. Free. 919-660-3333 or music.duke.edu.

ETHEL with Robert Mirabal

For two decades, ETHEL has pushed the boundaries of string quartet programming by combining with other musical traditions. For the N.C. State LIVE series, the players joins three-time Grammy Award-winning Native American musician Robert Mirabal for an evening of new music inspired by water’s essential role in life.

Details: 8 p.m. March 15. Stewart Theatre, Talley Student Center, N.C. State University, 2610 Cates Ave., Raleigh. $27-$32. 919-515-1100 or live.arts.ncsu.edu.

Concert Singers of Cary

Choral works by three 20th century French masters fill this program with gorgeous melodies and heavenly moods. New artistic director Nathan Leaf leads soloists, chorale and Mallarmé Chamber Players in Faure’s Requiem and works by Durufle and Poulenc.

Details: 7:30 p.m. March 17. St. Francis United Methodist Church, 2965 Kildare Farm Road, Cary. $22-$25 (students free). 919-249-6421 or concertsingers.org.

American Chamber Players

Chamber Music Raleigh presents the renowned concert and recording ensemble formed in 1985 by a correspondent for National Public Radio on which the group is regularly heard. Their concert features new American works plus music by Bach, Brahms and Mahler.

Details: 2 p.m. March 18. N.C. Museum of Art Auditorium, East Building, 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh. $30-$35. 919-821-2030 or chambermusicraleigh.org.

North Carolina Symphony

Guest conductor Ben Gernon takes the orchestra on an Italian journey with Respighi’s popular “Fountains of Rome” and “Pines of Rome,” plus young American composer Nico Muhly’s 2015 “Mixed Messages.” Orchestra concertmaster Brian Reagin plays Bruch’s beautiful Violin Concerto No. 1.

Details: 8 p.m. March 23-24. Meymandi Concert Hall, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., Raleigh. $18-$79. 919-733-2750 or ncsymphony.org.

Lawrence Brownlee, tenor

Brownlee has risen to the top ranks of lyric tenors, specializing in the works of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini in the world’s leading opera houses. For his Carolina Performing Arts recital, he demonstrates his impressive range with arias, show tunes and spirituals.

Details: 7:30 p.m. March 25. Moeser Auditorium, University of North Carolina, 135 E. Cameron Ave., Chapel Hill. $25. 919-843-3333 or carolinaperformingarts.org.

This story was originally published March 3, 2018 at 1:02 PM with the headline "Our best bets for classical music this month."