Under conductor Kyle Wiley Pickett, the Topeka Symphony opened Saturday’s concert with the well-known strains of Alexander Borodin’s “Polovtsian Dances” from Prince Igor. The orchestra’s lush sound captured the exotic, bright tones of the piece, familiar to many audiences as music adapted by Robert Wright and George Forrest for Kismet.

The centerpiece of the first half of the concert was Chinese Folk Dance Suite by Chen Yi, who is on the faculty of the Conservatory at University of Missouri-Kansas City. Read more.