Thompson, known for teaching mostly brass ensembles, comes to the Bay Area from Illinois.

An evening made up of pieces by Kabalevsky, Hummel, Wagner, Bach and Hindemith didn't lend itself to a clever, catchall theme. So, symphony director Andrew Bales kept it simple.

"We can come up with academic themes and create program notes to explain it to an audience, but this time we just decided to put a lot of different themes together," said Bales. "It's just entertainment, and it's fun to do something a little different."

Audiences will be comforted by a stage filled with the typical 75 musicians during the first act. Local trumpet player James Dooley performs a real treat--Hummel's Trumpet Concerto in E flat--which was written in E major. Dooley updates this piece by taking on a challenge, bringing brightness to a piece that was originally meant for a chamber orchestra, rather than a full symphony.

The second half brings only 11 musicians back to the stage to complete the performance with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 followed by Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes."

Despite some empty seats, Bales is encouraged by audience behavior and feedback to this initial season.

"There are still seats to sell, but we're seeing nice-sized crowds and they're staying in the lobby after the performances to talk about the show," said Bales. "People know that they lost a symphony once and they don't want it to happen again."

The symphony also performs "Something for Everyone" at Fox Theatre in Redwood City on Feb. 1. Symphony Silicon Valley welcomes guest conductor David Amado and double bass soloist Bill Everett March 6.

Tickets for the Jan. 31 performance are $28 to $68. Call 408.286.2600 or go to www.symphonysiliconvalley.org for tickets or additional information .