The composer was amazingly prolific and wrote in every genre. "He has a tremendous list of repertoire, but his music is rarely heard. The only works that you do hear occasionally are his piano concertos. These are really quite virtuosic and require phenomenal dexterity."

Besides the Wallace and Hummel, two other works will be on the program — Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony for String Orchestra and the "Valse" and "Elegia" movements from Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings. Rosenberg will conduct the orchestra in these two works.

The Simple Symphony is based on music that Britten wrote when he was a boy. "The movements of the symphony use excerpts from four different works for piano that he wrote when he was 12 or 13."

Next weekend's concerts are benefits for Crossroads Urban Center, a not-for-profit organization that the Paradigm Series has supported in the past.

A week after the concerts, Rosenberg flies to Bratislava, Slovakia, to record the Wallace Concertino for Viola with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra for Albany Records. "The CD will contain several of Bill's orchestral works," Rosenberg said. (Wallace has had a number of works recorded in Eastern Europe; a few years ago, the Slovak Radio Symphony recorded his Piano Concerto No. 2.)

The recording session is scheduled for Sept. 7. Two days later, Rosenberg will play the Concertino in concert with the same orchestra. Afterward, the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava will hold a reception for Rosenberg and Wallace.

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If you go. . .

What: Paradigm Chamber Orchestra, Joel Rosenberg

Where: First United Methodist Church, 203 S. 200 East

When: Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.

How much: $8 suggested donation (to benefit Crossroads Urban Center)

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E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com