POCATELLO — The Idaho State-Civic Symphony is ending its spring semester with a bang with four major concerts bookended by a large-scale outdoor performance on July 4.

All regular-season concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Jensen Grand Concert Hall in the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center, with pre-concert discussions beginning at 6:30 p.m. with Dr. Nell Flanders, director of orchestral activities and conductor of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony.

Ticket prices for most concerts are about $40, depending on seating. K-12 students can attend for $8, and Idaho State University students receive free admission to all symphony concerts.

The first program kicks off Feb. 20 with “American Classics,” which will highlight U.S. composer Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” an uncommonly heard orchestral work that features excerpts from Abraham Lincoln’s speeches. KISU General Manager Jamon Anderson will narrate the work.

String players from the Idaho State-Civic Symphony Youth Orchestra, composed of local junior and high school students, will join the professional ensemble on stage for this work, performing side by side.

The concert also features the winners of the symphony’s biennial Young Artist Competition, sponsored by Simplot and open to Idaho students and those studying in the state. Junior division winner violinist Ana Yang of Boise and senior division winner flutist Adriana Varn of the University of Idaho will both perform with the orchestra during the program.

An annual raffle in the rotunda will raise funds for the independent nonprofit Idaho State-Civic Symphony, with themed baskets donated by local individuals and businesses. Raffle tickets are expected to be $2 each or six for $10, with winners drawn after intermission.

A month later, on March 20, the symphony will shift into a more contemporary groove with its Pops Concert featuring producer, DJ, violinist and vocalist Bad Snacks.

Bad Snacks will play a set of original music with accompaniment from the symphony’s string section and the Idaho State University Commercial Music Ensemble, directed by Jon Armstrong and Jenna McLean.

”I’ve heard some of the original music that Bad Snacks is preparing, and it’s really beautiful, rich in texture and really lush music,” said Logan Anderson, executive director of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony. “She specializes in dance music, club music, but it’s not going to be a rave. Her music has this cozy aspect to it that I think is going to be really appealing to fans of the genre and also to people who may not have experienced this type of music before. It’s going to be a really special event.”

The March 20 concert will also include final bidding for the Painted Violin Project, a community art initiate featuring 26 violins painted by local artist and offered through a silent auction.

The symphony’s largest fundraiser of the year, its annual gala, will be held April 10 at the Stephens Performing Arts Center and features an “Enchanted Garden” theme.

The evening will include a dinner, live and silent auctions, a raffle and live entertainment. Gala tickets are $100 per person. A table for eight is available for $600 if purchased in advance by April 1.

The formal season finale arrives April 24 with the monumental work “A German Requiem” by Johannes Brahms.

The piece, written to German sacred texts rather than the traditional Latin mass, is scored for full orchestra, chorus and soloists. Joining the Idaho State-Civic Symphony are the ISU combined choirs and the Camerata Singers, led by Dr. Jeffrey Francom, ISU’s director of choirs.

Logan Anderson considers Brahms’ expansive score a bucket-list work for both audiences and performers, and the concert will serve as a major collaborative undertaking for the region’s choral and orchestral musicians.

In celebration of the upcoming America 250 events across the states and in tandem with Idaho State University’s 125th anniversary, the symphony will host a free outdoor patriotic concert July 4 at the Portneuf Health Trust Amphitheatre.

The performance will begin at 8 p.m. and feature patriotic music and a piano concerto before wrapping up in time for the annual community fireworks display, which attendees can watch from the amphitheater lawn.

New York guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel will perform “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue” by composer Peter Boyer, written in connection with the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

For tickets and more information on all events, visit ISCsymphony.org.