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CORVALLIS - The Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra will present its annual Winter Concert on Sunday, March 4. The concert begins at 3 p.m. in the LaSells Stewart Center, 26th and Western Blvd., in Corvallis.

Guest soloist Erik Peterson, a member of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, will perform the Third Violin Concerto by French composer Camille Saint-Saens'. Peterson grew up in Corvallis, where he studied violin with orchestra conductor Marlan Carlson, and served as concertmaster of the Corvallis Youth Symphony under Charles Creighton. An avid teacher in the Denver area, Peterson returns home to Corvallis each August to coach the violinists of the CYS.

Composed in 1880, Saint Saens' Third Violin Concerto was written when he was 45 and at the height of his creative powers. According to Carlson the concerto is "replete with energetic themes, gorgeous melodies and manifold opportunities for our soloist to charm the audience with his expressive powers and to dazzle them with his technical virtuosity. This work is a joy to perform and has something for just about everyone."

The light-hearted overture from Donizetti's opera, "Don Pasquale" will open the concert. The performance of this work will offer Corvallis music lovers a preview of the production of the entire opera by Opera Theater Corvallis at the Majestic Theatre in April.

Concluding the program will be the monumental Fifth Symphony of Serge Prokofiev. On the occasion of its premiere in 1945, Prokofiev noted, "I regard this symphony as the culmination of my creative life. It was conceived to express the grandeur of the human spirit." Although the music of Prokofiev always has a "contemporary feel," Carlson is quick to point out that "its melodies, harmonies, rhythmic vitality and formal structure make this work readily enjoyable for most music lovers. It is one of the two or three most popular symphonies of the 20th century."

Tickets are $15 for adults and $6 for students; OSU students are admitted free with ID card. Tickets may be purchased in Corvallis at Gracewinds Music, Rice's Pharmacy, the Emporium, and the OSU Department of Music, and in Albany at Sid Stevens Jewelers. For information, call 737-4061.