Listeners will love Bruch’s Violin Concerto, he said. “It’s one of the most popular violin concertos ever written,” said Udagawa. “We rehearsed it last night, and each of us was thrilled to see how beautiful and exciting this piece is.” He described Kwok as “an incredible virtuoso”.

The conductor will have more to say to the audience during the performance on Sunday, November 13, starting at 2:30 p.m. in Lloyd Hill Auditorium at Quincy High School, 100 Coddington St.

“As in all of our performances,” Udagawa said, “we will give a brief introduction to the piece illustrated with musical examples.” And it’s hard to beat the price. Admission is free, although the orchestra encourages donations.

Live music is also thriving in Plymouth and Duxbury. The Spire Center in Plymouth offers a regular series of popular music concerts at weekends and on some weeknights as well. The Spire was founded in 2010 by a non-profit organization to be “the mecca of the arts” featuring music, theater and dance. Singer-songwriter Sam Luke Chase of Scituate is scheduled to perform in the auditorium on Thursday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. Browning. They perform Thursday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m. The band employs double violins, guitar, electric bass, mandolin, and three-part vocal harmonies. Regional audiences may recognize Buchanan and Baldino for their performances with popular Celtic band Enter the Haggis.

Upcoming gigs also include Boston-based four-member indie band Darlingside on Friday, November 18, and singer-songwriter Chris Smither on Saturday, November 19. To view the full live concert schedule and purchase tickets for The Spire, go to spirecenter.org/events/

In Duxbury, the South Shore Folk Music Club continues its autumn season of coffeehouse and concert programs at the town’s First Parish Church with a concert by Berklee-trained blues and folk singer Racky Thomas on Saturday 12 November at 7 p.m. perform songs by the legendary Townes Van Zandt with acoustic blues in the Taj Mahal playbook. Tickets are $22; $20 for club members. For more information, visit southshorefolkmusicclub.org.

And is this the first breeze of the holiday season we hear? The Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a concert on Friday, November 18, the day before the town’s Thanksgiving Parade. The ambitious program includes works by American composers Aaron Copland (“Hoe Down” from “Rodeo”) and Samuel Barber (“Adagio for Strings”). Next, guest artist Grant Houston will join the orchestra for performances of Mozart’s “stellar” Violin Concerto No. 5 and Vittorio Monti’s “Czardas,” described by the orchestra as a “fiery showcase for solo violin and orchestra”.

The concert takes place at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at plymouthphil.org.

Among other free public programs in the area, the monthly “Poetry the Art of Words” series continues Sunday, November 13 at 2 p.m. at Books & Sundry, located at 150 Water St. in Plymouth. This month’s star readers are poet and translator Barbara Siegel Carlson of Carver and Mark Walsh, a professor at Massasoit Community College in Brockton and creator of the college’s “Writers at Work” television show. Reading is free. There will also be an open mic.

Area libraries are offering live public programs this month, sometimes with big-name speakers. “Only A Game” author and radio host Bill Littlefield, the creator of popular NPR sports reporting, will appear live at the Walpole Public Library (at 143 School St.) on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. talk about his new book. Her novel “Mercy” follows a career criminal and a cast of characters who interact in surprising ways. The book consists of overlapping stories about a group of people with ties to the same suburban neighborhood. It’s free, the library said, and “all are welcome.” For more information, visit walpolelibrary.org.

Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox2@gmail.com.