Gilberto Munguia World renown cellist and Kingsville native Gilberto Munguia will return to his alma mater, the H.M. King High School, on Sunday, February 7, to perform at the next concert of the Kingsville Symphony Orchestra. Part of the regular season program, the rich and innovative concert will be given at 3 p.m. in the H.M. King High School Auditorium, 2210 S. Brahma Blvd.

A 1955 graduate, Munguia has received acclaim in major concert halls around the globe as someone “who plays with great virtuosity and extraordinary beauty.” At Sunday’s concert Mr. Munguia will play Sir Edward Elgar’s “Cello Concerto in E Minor.” The work, a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire, reflects the deep feelings with which World War I left the English composer.

The concert will be under the direction of guest conductor Brendan Townsend, the music director for the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra. This will be the second time the Irishborn musician has been invited to lead a KSO program. H.M. King Band Director Rolando Molina will conduct “The Star Spangled Banner” at the opening.

Rolando Molina Other pieces on the program are J.S. Bach’s “Fantasia and Fugue in C minor,” Robert Schumann’s “Symphony in D minor,” and Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra Fanfare.” Service Clubs of Kingsville and the surrounding area, to whom the entire concert is dedicated, will be recognized during this last piece. Service club members will be admitted free.

As part of KSO’s initiative to reach the area’s young folks, students from H.M. King, Bishop, Riviera, and Alice High School bands have been invited to join the orchestra for the fanfare.

Tickets for the concert are available at the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce, the Kingsville Visitors Center, and the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Music Department.

Brendan Townsend Individual tickets cost $30, $20, $10, and $5. Children 12 and under are admitted free. For more information call (361) 593-2804.