LEWISTON — Acclaimed classical pianist Frank Glazer opens a jam-packed season schedule at The Franco Center when he performs on Friday, Sept. 20.

His appearance launches The Franco Center’s piano series for 2013-14, which will feature five more pianists to be announced.

In coming months, The Franco Center brings a wide variety of entertainment to the Twin Cities. Executive director Louis Morin is delighted with a lineup that promises to keep both the performance hall and the lower level’s Heritage Hall humming just about every week through the year.

“It’s everything from symphony orchestra to comedy and rock music,” Morin said.

Glazer, 98,  is a favorite Franco Center performer with his appearances numerous times in recent years. He is a longtime Bates College artist-in-residence and has performed solo recitals in two dozen countries and has appeared all over the world with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras, the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

An Internet biography of the musician said Glazer embarked upon an effort to reinvent piano technique about 70 years ago, beginning with a study of anatomy and analyzing the most efficient way to create sound. It said Glazer believes this study is why he has remained able to play successfully into his 90s, when hand problems have forced many younger pianists out of the profession.

Glazer made his debut at Town Hall in New York City on Oct. 20, 1936, with a program of Bach, Brahms, Schubert and Chopin. He played this program again in 2006, to celebrate his 70th anniversary of public performance.

Glazer’s reputation for careful program design will be evident on Sept. 2o, when he will begin the recital with a Haydn sonata, followed by two pieces by Haydn’s pupil, Beethoven, including the Opus 109 Sonata, one of the last piano sonatas Beethoven wrote.  Following intermission, he continues his tradition of including pieces by more contemporary composers with a presentation of Samuel Barber’s delightful “Excursions for the Piano.”  Works by Franz Liszt follow, ending with Liszt’s playful paraphrase on Verdi’s “Rigoletto.”

Morin outlined a season schedule that has “One Hip Night of Bellydancing!” following Glazer’s concert the next evening. It’s the center’s fifth annual bellydancing celebration with Imari and the Sahara Desert Dancers presenting colorful family entertainment. Tickets are $15 and children 10 and under are free.

“The Girls of L/A” return to the Franco Center on Sept. 28 with a show called “Diva Las Vegas.” Deb Morin, Bette Sanborn, Laurie Sidelinger, Jeannie Martin and Bonnie Edwards are all local residents and popular performers for years. They move effortlessly through rock-and-roll, country and pop music. In this presentation, the “Girls” take a trip down meory lane with songs from Elvis to Celine Dion and everyone in between.

As with previous shows, there’s an after-show party and reception downstairs in Heritage Hall.

Anna Lombard will make her first Franco Center appearance on Saturday, Oct. 5, less than two months after the release of her debut solo album, “Head Full of Bells.”

Morin said, “Her CD is burning up the airways. Anna is an up-and-coming talent who’s ready to break” to national stardom.

Maestro Rohan Smith conducts the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra in the Franco Center’s acoustically acclaimed Performance Hall on Oct. 19.

On Oct. 26, the Franco Center’s annual Gala Night will feature “The Broadway Dolls.” This is a “Best of Manhattan” award-winning concert experience featuring a roster of several dynamic women performing on Broadway today. The show is a celebration of Broadway music, rock-and-roll, and 60s girl groups. Tickets are $25 for the concert only; $35 gets you wine, hors d’oeuvres before the show and dessert afterward.

“Lazy Lightning,” a musical tribute to the Grateful Dead, performs in the Heritage Hall Nov. 1.

“Fiddle-licious” is a diverse group of fiddlers appearing Nov. 3, and on Nov. 8 and 9 the Franco Center presents its popular Medieval Feast.

“A Mighty Lion” is the new name of “Repeat Offenders,” and this band brings its original rock-reggae music to the Franco Center on Nov. 16.

Other November events are the Lenny Breau Tribute Concert with Denny Breau and Friends on Nov. 17, and Joëlle Morris and the Music of Edith Piaf on Nov. 22.

On Nov. 23, Rustic Overtones matches up its rock music with a four-piece string section and grand piano.

Concluding the 2013 calendar is the Portland Jazz Orchestra performing Duke Ellington’s arrangement of “The Nutcracker,” based on Tchaikovsky’s holiday masterwork.

More events are planned through the winter and spring including the center’s comedy series, the second Midcoast Symphony Orchestra concert, and a Phish tribute.

For information on all events and tickets call 689-2000. The Franco Center is located at 46 Cedar St., Lewiston.