The Saratoga Orchestra of Whidbey Island is gearing up for the second concert of the 2013-2014 season with finalist conductor Chao Li.

The concert, “Brahms #1,” is part of the Season of Discovery series as the orchestra continues its search for a new conductor. Three finalists were chosen for the position of music director and conductor for the orchestra — Julia Tai, Chao Li and Anna Edwards. The first three concerts of the season feature a finalist for the position as the conductor.

The program will also feature violin soloist Gloria Ferry-Brennan and Giacomo Puccini’s Sinfonico Preludio, Ernest Chausson’s Poème for violin and orchestra and Symphony #1, Op.68 in C minor by Johannes Brahms.

Li has worked as an assistant conductor for the Lewisville Lake Symphony Orchestra in Lewisville, Texas along with the position of music director of the Dallas Asian-American Youth Orchestra. He began studying clarinet, piano and trombone at a young age and continued his studies at the China Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He is finishing his doctor of musical arts degree at the University of Texas.

Ferry-Brennan is an award-winning violinist who has performed as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Saratoga Orchestra and many others. She began playing the violin at the age of 4 and is a student of Simon James of the Seattle Symphony.

The performance begins at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26 at South Whidbey High School, Langley. A preview lecture with the conductor candidate will be open to the public from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Freeland Library, 5495 Harbor Ave., Freeland.

Tickets for “Brahms #1” cost $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and military, and students ages 18 and under are admitted free. For more information visit www.sowhidbey.com