Coming up in Philly music: Mozart and Mimi’s flute for free

James Freeman has a talent for thinking up attractive music organizations. His last creation, Orchestra 2001, became a major force in the contemporary music scene and it’s still going strong now that he’s retired. Now he’s devoting part of his retirement to an organization he calls Chamber Orchestra FIRST EDITIONS. Each FIRST EDITIONS program combines a youthful work by Mozart with new pieces by 21st-century composers. This weekend, flute star Mimi Stillman will solo in one of Mozart’s engaging flute concertos and follow it with Zhou Tian’s 2015 invocation of the Spanish hero El Cid. The rest of the program will premiere new pieces by three contemporary composers who have been building solid reputations: Robert Maggio, Ingrid Arauco, and Curt Cacioppo. And it’s all free.

Chamber Orchestra FIRST EDITIONS will present performances on Saturday, February 18, at 8pm at Haverford College’s Roberts Hall and on Sunday, February 19, at 8pm at Trinity Center, 22nd and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia. Both concerts are free and open to the public; no tickets needed.