Classically Trained: May Mahler's First not be your last

Such nature references are apt when describing the first movement of Mahler's Symphony No. 1, as they are for many composers who were righteously influenced by the birds and the seas, flowers and trees.

Or, as San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas so wonderfully put it in his 2001 recording of the masterpiece, Mahler through this work "makes an enormous symphony out of the sonic stuff we all know from our lives. He uses bird calls, the sounds of military bands, folk, salon and cabaret music. He evokes the sound of voices singing, whispering, humming and shrieking — all things we recognize as part of the range of human experience."

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The Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO) is having a fundraiser concert in Fountain Valley on April 2 for its upcoming tour to Bulgaria this June. Tickets are $50.

The 4 p.m. performance at Dr. Import, 10900 Kalama River Ave., will help the Irvine-based group's 78 musicians be American musical ambassadors in the European home country of PSYO conductor Maxim Eshkenazy. The tickets also include $50 credit to the host car repair shop for services.

Attendees are encouraged to RSVP to Poita Cernius at (949) 294-4101.

BRADLEY ZINT is a copy editor for the Daily Pilot and a classically trained musician. E-mail him story ideas at bradley.zint@latimes.com.

If You Go

What: The Pacific Symphony performs Mahler's Symphony No. 1 and other works

Where: Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa

When: 8 p.m., April 31, March 1 and 2

Cost: Tickets start at $25

Information: Visit http://www.pacificsymphony.org or call (714) 755-5799