Deborah Rambo Sinn, a Sequim pianist with international experience both performing and teaching, joins the Port Angeles Chamber Orchestra for its first two concerts of 2017.

The two performances, which feature Dvorak’s “Serenade for Winds,” Ernest Bloch’s first piano Concerto Grosso, and George Walker’s “Lyric for Strings,” are set for:

• Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 E. Lopez Ave., Port Angeles, on Friday, Jan. 13, and

• The Sequim Worship Center, 640 N. Sequim Ave., on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Both concerts start at 7 p.m., with general admission tickets at $12.

The community chamber orchestra, a 26-piece ensemble that’s part of the Port Angeles Symphony, will celebrate the work of George Walker, a composer who won the Pulitzer Prize in music for his 1996 work “Lilacs.”

Jonathan Pasternack, the orchestra’s music director and conductor, corresponded with the 94-year-old Walker — an unusual thing, since many of the composers heard in local concert halls like Dvorak are no longer living.

Pasternack will conduct Walker’s “Lyric for Strings” and Bloch’s concerto, while the Dvorak serenade will be led by guest conductor James Ray, a Port Angeles School District music teacher.

The featured soloist in these chamber concerts is the world-traveling Rambo Sinn, a well-known music teacher in Sequim.

“The Bloch exudes joy and optimism,” Rambo Sinn said of the concerto she’s about to play. “I find myself smiling when working on it.”

Ray, who has taught many elementary school and middle school students how to play their first notes on a violin, cello or viola, also is an accomplished performing violinist and conductor, Pasternack noted.

Of these January concerts, Ray said he’s eager to “explore a piece that will feature some incredible musicians we have” in the local chamber ensemble.

The serenade has “an energy,” he said, “you can hardly help but be delighted by,” Ray said. “And it’s all being done by our friends and neighbors.”

Ray, for his part, added that there’s magic in the connection between players and listeners. “The fun of concert-going,” he said, “lies in the chance to revel in these musical moments together.”

Tickets are on sale at The Joyful Noise Music Center in downtown Sequim and at Port Book and News in downtown Port Angeles.

For details and to purchase tickets by phone, call the Port Angeles Symphony office at 457-5579.

For information about the rest of the concerts in the symphony’s season, visit portangelessymphony.org.