The Lake Charles Symphony Season Finale is Sunday, May 1, at 4:30 p.m. in the historical Cash & Carry Building. Chelsea Tipton II, Lake Charles Symphony artistic advisor will be conducting, and said the space is well-suited to the orchestra size – 34 – for the most significant piece on the program.

“For a chamber orchestra, the space is ideal,” Tipton said. “Lots of hard surfaces so it offers a little reverb that helps to warm the sound.”

He would know. Maestro Tipton has conducted from Brooklyn to Budapest. He is in his 13th season as The Symphony of Southeast Texas music director and seventh season as principal Pops conductor with New Haven Symphony Orchestra. He served as resident conductor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of the Savannah Orchestra for four seasons.

Ten years ago Tipton was chosen to accompany Sting on an extensive European tour and worked with 19 different European orchestras, as well as in the Canary Islands, Granada and Cap Roig, Spain.

“Just last November, I conducted the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra in my hometown, and the guest artist was Sting,” Tipton said. The fact that Sting was on the program made it so special for family and friends.”

Tipton will conduct the Lake Charles orchestra after only three rehearsals, something that attests to the depth of its quality.

“The Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra players are exceptional in so many ways,” he said.

The concert will begin with “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber, which Tipton describes as “stark, simplistic and emotionally infused.” Those who know the music from its use in the popular Oliver Stone movie “Platoon” might describe it as melancholy. Nevertheless, don’t expect the music to leave listeners feeling low.

“We like to have contrasting musical textures at any given concert,” Tipton said. “You should plan the musical evening like you plan a menu, in which the progression of the evening should be a natural direction. And the order of the program is essential.”

The next Barber on the symphony ticket is the one from Seville, “Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!” (or at least the music.) Gioachino Antonio Rossini’s composition teases with its suppressed energies, builds and swells, pauses and finally delivers the rousingingly satisfying finish. Rossini’s music has been described as playful, and use of his work in cartoons, commercials and sitcoms cemented his reputation as one of the opera world’s great comic minds, especially his “William Tell Overture.”

After the enveloping melancholy and the playful chase, the orchestra will conclude with Mozart’s “Symphony No. 41 in C major.”

“The summer of 1788 was a grim one for Mozart, marked by financial problems and the death of his 6-year-old daughter Theresia,” Tipton explained. “Despite these concerns, in the concise period of six weeks, Mozart wrote, among other works, three symphonies which were to be his last, and by common consent, his most extraordinary efforts in the genre. The last symphony, far from being mournful, often displays feelings of pomp and regal triumph and is written in the key of C major, a key often used in 18th-century music for festive occasions.”

It is a fitting finale for the Lake Charles Symphony’s 64th season. Pre-concert performance by Barbe High School “Buccaneer” Orchestra. Adult general admission is $65. Student tickets, $30. Go to lcsymphony.com for more information.