AUBURN — The Augusta Symphony Orchestra will present the first concert of its 2012-2013 season at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, at High Street Congregational Church.

The ensemble will present pieces it has never performed — Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City,” Richard Strauss’ “Serenade” Opus 7 for Winds and Vaughan Williams’ “A London Symphony.”

Copland spent 1939-1941 creating “Quiet City.” While many are familiar with this fairly popular orchestral version, few know its origin. Just last year, a second version of “Quiet City” was discovered. This lesser-known version is, in fact, the original, a composition that was first created to accompany Irwin Shaw’s play of the same name.

However, Shaw’s show flopped and with it went the original creation of Copland’s “Quiet City.” The smaller-scored version written for the play morphed into the better-known version that will be performed by the ASO.

The melodious and simply written “Serenade” Opus 7 for Winds, may not seem like the work of a 17 year-old, but Strauss was already a rising star in the composition world when he wrote it in 1881. At that time, he already had composed a quartet, piano sonata, orchestral march and other pieces. “Serenade” Opus 7 for Winds was the first of his compositions to enjoy regular performances. The piece marked a shift in his life as he transitioned from a young prodigy into a mature composer.

Williams’ intent with “A London Symphony” was to create a piece that reflected the feel of certain locations and times of the year in London, as opposed to simply creating a musical mimicry of sounds one might encounter on the streets.

First performed in 1914, the symphony has undergone many edits by the composer. It wasn’t until 1936 that Williams finally published what he considered to be the definitive rendering of the symphony. The ASO will perform this version.

Concert tickets are $10 for adults. Children and students admitted free. For more about the ASO, visit www.asomaine.org or email [email protected].