The Cascade Symphony Orchestra (CSO) will present its annual Children’s Concert at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA), 410 4th Ave. N., in Edmonds.

Rito Imaoka, who recently was selected by Cascade Symphony music director Michael Miropolsky as the orchestra’s “Rising Star” for 2025, will be the concert’s soloist. She will perform the first movement of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3. Rito is a 12-year-old who resides in Woodinville and is in the seventh grade at Skyview Middle School in the Northshore School District.

The Children’s Concert is suitable for kids of all ages, but is created especially for youth ages 5-12, according to Ruth McFadden, president of the orchestra’s board of directors. The theme of the event is “Peter and the Wolf.”

The orchestra, led by Miropolsky, will provide the musical accompaniment for “Peter and the Wolf,” written in 1936 by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. It is a symphonic fairy tale about a young boy in the Soviet Union wilderness who meets a variety of animals, including a duck, a cat, and a bird, later encountering a wolf. The Cascade Symphony’s performance will be further enriched by the story narration of longtime Seattle radio personality Dave Dolacky.

The concert will also feature a performance by the Cascade Brass Quartet.

Along with her winning the CSO’s “Rising Star” competition, Rito has achieved much success in her young musical career. She earned second place at the 66th Annual Kocian International Violin Competition in the Czech Republic, first prize at the Nouvelles Etoiles Competition, and second prize at the Olympia Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. The young soloist also has participated in the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Center Stage Strings program at the University of Michigan, and the Seattle Chamber Music Society Academy.

Rito also has attended master classes with renowned musicians such as James Ehnes, Fabiola Kim and Jiri Fiser from the Prague Conservatory. She also volunteers with Project CliKK, playing violin for communities facing economic and social barriers.

Admission to the Children’s Concert is $15 for adults and $5 for youngsters 12 and younger.

The Edmonds-based Cascade Symphony Orchestra has been promoting young musicians and encouraging music education in the schools for many years, according to Holly Sullivan, longtime orchestra member and chair of its “Rising Star” program. The competition is for pianists and violinists age 12 and younger on the day of the concert, and musicians 15 and younger of other symphonic instruments.

Further information and updates about the Cascade Symphony Orchestra can be found online at www.cascadesymphony.org.