The Denver School of the Arts award-winning orchestra is billed as the featured entertainment at the Johnny Carson Arts Center in Norfolk, Neb., on Friday, March 15.

The event, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is part of the Norfolk Area Concert Association's 2001-2002 "The Magic of Music" Concert Season.

Composed of 51 6th -12th grade musicians, the orchestra will perform the works of Bruch, Handel, Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi. The orchestra also will present a special concert for Norfolk's young musicians the morning of March 15.

"We are delighted to be a part of the concert series," said DSA Orchestra Director Frank Fyock. "It provides an outstanding opportunity for our student musicians to experience what it's like to go on a road tour. Plus, it should be a fun evening for concert-goers, giving them a chance to hear some fine classical music."

The orchestra is the only amateur group in the concert series, which includes members of the New York Theater Ballet Company and three other professional musical groups. The concert association invited the orchestra to perform at the state-of-the-art Johnny Carson Arts Center several years ago after hearing the musicians' first compact disc. The concert association is paying for the orchestra's travel expenses.

Considered the Denver Public Schools' premiere student orchestra, the DSA orchestra was one of only four performing groups to be awarded a gold medal at the Midwest Festival of Music in Chicago in 2000.

Last year, the orchestra toured Montreal, Canada, where the students performed in the Basilique Notre Dame and took part in master classes at McGill University. The orchestra has released three CDs since 2000.

The Denver School of the Arts Orchestra was created in 1992 to provide talented young musicians from throughout metro Denver with the opportunity for artistic growth in a challenging orchestra environment. The Denver School of the Arts is a Denver Public Schools magnet schools founded in 1991.