Two veterans of musical performance will put their talents to the test tonight.

Violist Jonathan Sturm and violinist Mahlon Darlington will be featured in Mozart’s “Sinfonia Concertante” as a part of the Iowa State Symphony Orchestra’s “Weekend for Strings” opening concert.

Tonight’s concert isn’t the first time the two string players have performed together.

Sturm and Darlington make up half of the Ames Piano Quartet, which has performed all over North America and Europe.

“The Mozart is absolutely beautiful,” Sturm said. “It’s one of very few concertos with two solo instruments.”

Sturm, concertmaster for the Des Moines Symphony, said the concert will provide a variety of musical styles while showcasing the talents of ISU music students.

Violinist Ujjaini Mitra has been playing in the Des Moines Symphony with Sturm for three years and knows the importance of learning from experience.

“[Sturm and Darlington] have a lot to tell us about how to accompany a soloist and play better together,” Mitra commented.

Mitra said that even though the ISU Symphony has a lot of younger members, everyone works together toward a common goal.

The mastermind behind the group’s first full-length concert of the year was Director of Orchestral Activities Mark Laycock.

Laycock said he made musical selections that would challenge the soloists as well as the students, while providing entertainment for every kind of spectator.

“The crowd favorite is Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Capriccio Espagnol,’ which is loud and full of percussion,” Laycock said.

Laycock noted that the song features extended clarinet and violin solos.

“[Capriccio Espagnol] is the Dave Matthews Band of orchestral music,” Laycock related.

He stressed that the entire concert will appeal to a lot of people.

“The old saying, ‘No experience necessary,’ holds true for this program,” he said.

String bassist Adam Dickinson said this concert is one of the most diverse concerts the orchestra has performed since he has been at Iowa State.

“The music comes from a number of different periods,” Dickinson said.

“It makes for a good concert to take a date to. The imagery laid down by the Mendelssohn piece is amazing. It’s about the time of the show when the guy puts his arm around the girl.”

As a part of the “Weekend for Strings” event, students from six area high schools will perform a concert on Saturday.

The Symphony Orchestra will culminate the “Weekend for Strings” with a performance at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids Thursday night.