All three festivals will take place in 2006. The orchestra's celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, in January and February, will include the Mass in C minor and the Requiem. "Shostakovich Uncovered," marking the composer's centenary, is scheduled for March and April; highlights include a joint performance of the composer's Fifth Symphony with the Russian National Orchestra, conducted by both SSO music director Gerard Schwarz and the RNO's Mikhail Pletnev. In May, the orchestra will present the second half of its "Made in America" festival, focusing on contemporary composers (the first half, this year, features 20th-century music).

The SSO will perform three world premieres: a commissioned new work by Gabriela Lena Frank, a Tuba Concerto by composer in residence Samuel Jones, and Shafer Mahoney's Sparkle.

Guest soloists include pianists Radu Lupu, Andr_ Watts, Krystian Zimerman, and Garrick Ohlsson; violinists Vadim Repin, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and Sarah Chang; cellist Lynn Harrell; and soprano Jane Eaglen. Among the guest conductors on the schedule are Itzhak Perlman, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Vladimir Feltsman.

The Russian National Orchestra, Los Angles Philharmonic and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra will appear as part of the SSO's visiting orchestra series.