Members of the Dover Symphony Orchestra certainly don’t expect audience members to start dancing in the aisles during their performance of the “Russian Sailors’ Dance,” but it’s almost a sure thing it will be among the most familiar of the offerings at the DSO’s fall concert.

    Titled “The Russians Are Coming!” the concert features this and many other Russian classics, beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12, at the Schwartz Center for the Arts, Dover.

    Presenting the “Sailors’ Dance” and other works by Russian and Soviet-era composers was an easy decision when it came to deciding the format for the DSO’s 2008-2009 season opener, said orchestra President Laura Rogers.

    “Most orchestras have a focal point in music for certain concerts,” she said. “But because we like Russian music, we wanted to have Russian composers be the focus of this concert.”

    Even for those who may never have seen Reinhold Glière’s 1927 ballet “The Red Poppy,” of which the sailors’ dance is part, just listening to the music creates a perfect mental picture of spirited Russian mariners performing on the docks of a foreign port.

    Other works planned for the season premiere include selections from the “Festive Overture” by Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev’s 1919 opera “Love for Three Oranges.”

    Although the names may not seem familiar, the melodies certainly will, Rogers said.

    “Once people hear the music, they will recognize all the pieces,” she said. “They may not recognize the titles, but everyone’s heard them.”

    The orchestra also will offer Alexander Borodin’s 1880 composition “Steppes of Central Asia,” which evokes scenes of caravans crossing semi-arid grasslands of Europe and Asia, and a suite by Dmitri Kabalevsky, who was best known for introducing young people to classical music.

    Not too surprisingly, the DSO counts a number of young people among its approximately 60 members. While the DSO is primarily made up of seasoned players, it also has recruited new members from area school orchestras.

    “That’s important,” said Harriett Davies, publicity chair for the orchestra. “Classical music is sometimes a tough sell and we have had some young folks join us who obviously are enjoying themselves. That helps carry on the traditions.”

    As the orchestra’s professional reputation has grown over the years, it has been able to attract more highly skilled players, which will be evident when audiences hear Modest Mussorgsky’s 1874 work, “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

    Originally composed only for piano, “Pictures” was later orchestrated by the legendary Maurice Ravel and has become one of the most familiar examples of Russian music.

    Evoking an exhibit of paintings displayed in different galleries of a museum, Rogers said the composition links the works of art with the “Promenade,” played as the observer walks from one exhibit hall to another. Some of the movements inspired by the paintings include a ballet of the chickens, where one can envision the birds dancing in a farmyard to one featuring a pair of old men swapping tall stories, she said.

    Mussorgsky’s work represents the evolution of the Dover Symphony over the years, Rogers said. It first was performed by the DSO as an arrangement approximately 20 years ago.

    “It was deliberately made easier,” she said. “The edition we’re playing now is the original version as scored by Ravel. It is some of the hardest music we’ve ever played. Twenty years ago, we could not have played the original version.”

    Other concerts planned for the DSO’s upcoming season include “Peter and the Wolf” for its Nov. 23 Young People’s Concert; a classics concert featuring works by Beethoven and Haydn, featuring guitarist Shawn Qaissannee on March 22, 2009; and a celebration of Cinco de Mayo for its annual Dover Days Concert on May 2.

    For information about Dover Symphony Orchestra concerts, call 270-1903, or go to the orchestra’s newly designed website, www.doversymphony.org.