Here are some classical music facts as they relate to the abstract concept of 70 years.

• Mozart lived exactly half of 70 years.

• It’s been 70 years since Heitor Villa-Lobos composed his String Quartet No. 10.

• At the age of 70, Igor Stravinsky, experimenting with non-12-tone serial techniques, wrote the Cantata.

• And, perhaps most resonant in these parts, Victor Norman in 1946 founded the Eastern Connecticut Symphony.

As such, the impending 2016-17 season is Big Number 70 — and how great is that? It all starts Saturday in New London’s Garde Arts Center with “1001 Nights,” a program featuring works by Mily Balakirev, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Bela Bartók. Russian pianist Boris Berman is the evening’s guest soloist.

“It’s amazing to think it’s the 70th anniversary,” says Caleb Bailey, starting his second season as executive director of the ECSO. “In some ways, I guess, 70 years can be a blip on the radar but, in our context, the organization started with two concerts performed by volunteer musicians and now we have six annual concerts with superb professionals. I like to think with this anniversary that we’re not only honoring a great tradition but are propelling it into the future. It’s not an either/or situation but a blending together.”

Toshiyuki “Toshi” Shimada, the organization’s music director and conductor, is the personification of that philosophy. Since he took the creative reins of the orchestra seven years ago, Shimada has, through his programming and genuine charm, pleased longtime area classical music fans with nuanced presentations from the age-old repertoire. At the same time, Shimada — a “Star Wars” fan, iPod navigator and social media enthusiast — also has expanded the orchestra’s audience demographic through concerts featuring a variety of lesser-known works by post-20th-century and/or female composers. He’s also introduced the idea of “shuffle concerts” — programs that feature shorter pieces that appeal to the fast-paced attention spans of modern listeners — as well as thematic programs playfully flirting with iconic elements from popular culture.

“I was definitely thinking about the anniversary,” Shimada says of the new season’s roster of concerts. “There needs to be pageantry, and each program needs to speak to the anniversary. When we decided to do some of these pieces, we knew you might not hear some of them in traditional classical music programs, and that’s OK. There are plenty of established composers and works, too, but we’re trying to broaden our audience as well as please longtime ticket holders.”

In that spirit, the 2016-17 season is possibly Shimada’s most imaginative yet. Each concert will introduce at least one out-of-the-mainstream work, and the Dec. 3 “Philharmonic Feature” bill is comprised entirely of shorter pieces. And, during the Feb. 18 “Soundwaves” concert, the live performance will feature sound recordings to augment Alan Hovhaness’ “And God Created Great Whales” — a technological trend echoing last year’s rendition by the orchestra of “Concerto for Birds.”

These programming strategies speak to Shimada’s belief in the evolution of classical music presentation.

“I consciously think about these things in the context of a younger generation of kids being drawn to these concerts,” he says. “We need something besides pure music to enhance the experience for them. We try to use audio and video enhancement; that’s the 21st-century way. Music doesn’t exist by itself anymore — it’s either accompanied by something or it accompanies something else.

“I’m not being critical. One of our missions as a symphony is to give more knowledge to young people as to what we should be doing. I think, more and more, there is less and less knowledge of what music’s about, and there are also less opportunities for younger people to see or hear classical music whether onstage or on television or radio. But I do believe that, if they like something, younger people will stick with it.”

A particularly inspired bill takes place with “The Final Frontier” on March 25, which features the ECSO Women’s Chorus, an outfit Shimada is particularly proud of. Combining film and television scores (Jerry Goldsmith’s “Star Trek V: Main Theme and March of Klingons” and John Williams’ “Star Wars: Throne Room & Finale”) with associative works like György Ligeti’s “Atmospheres” and Gustav Holst’s “The Planets,” the program is emblematic of everything Shimada and Bailey are trying to do.

But fans of established repertoire needn’t worry. Bartok, Mozart, Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Schumann are all represented over the course of the campaign. Bela Bartok is represented in bookend fashion. His Piano Concerto No. 3, featuring guest soloist Boris Berman, is the centerpiece of Saturday’s “1001 Nights” program (along with Balakirev’s “Islamey” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s timeless favorite “Scheherazade.”) Then, during April 29’s “Ode to Joy” bill, Bartok’s Dance Suite (International Dance Day) will be performed alongside Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

“I never overlook one very important aspect of our programming,” Shimada adds. “I think very hard about our orchestra as well as our audience. I have a cautious system for coming up with a season program. If a person goes to one concert only, they should get something familiar and exciting but something new, as well. If you’re a season subscriber, you’ll get a pretty balanced diet of classical music from across the timeline and the composers. And our musicians will likewise be challenged and fulfilled.”

“Toshi has a tough job, but he’s incredibly good at it,” Bailey says. “We’re always trying to honor the years of history and he knows exactly when it’s time to break out a classic piece. At the same time, he has these amazing and otherwise unknown works, 20th-century composers and women composers that captivate all sorts of listeners.”

Bailey says working with Shimada was only one of several aspects that made his first year with the ECSO so rewarding and educational, and he’s enthusiastic when describing how expectations were fulfilled. He also admits he was nervous stepping into the shoes of the popular, longtime and newly retired executive director Isabelle Singer.

“I definitely felt her shadow looming large,” Bailey laughs. “So many people knew her and she could get so much done in a 20-second phone call. I’ve had to meet the region, so to speak, and it takes a while to do that and understand a lot of new things.

“The biggest reward was probably in terms of just the human capital — the pure amount of hours and love that are poured into this organization by so many people is truly wonderful to see. The sponsors and partners, the staff, the musicians do so much to make us better — and the citizens respond appropriately.”

Part of Bailey’s vision was to get the orchestra out into the public eye more, through chamber concerts and performances by the ECSO Trombones at Mystic Seaport and the Groton Community Center. He’s also focused on creative and new ways of marketing to a larger demographic.

“You’ve got to kill so many birds with one stone. We’re dipping our toes into social media. Right now, that impact is pretty low, but you have to package that element with program books and newsletters and emails. We reach out to classical radio. (On Jan. 29), we have our “Once Upon a Time” family concert and we’ll do special fliers for schools and presentations in the schools and churches. We genuinely want to reach out to and connect with the whole community.”

Shimada thinks Bailey stepped into his role with confidence and skill. “The transition actually went very smoothly,” Shimada says. “Isabelle was a great manager — no question. Caleb has a different way to operate — and it should be different. But the goal and the purpose stays the same. He’s proven himself as an able, enthusiastic and creative director.”

The 2016-17 ECSO season

All performances are at 8 p.m. on Saturdays at the Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London (except the Jan. 29 ECT Ballet Family Concert at 2 p.m.). Season subscriptions range from $225 to $340 and single-concert tickets range from $65 to $56, with a variety of discounts. Call (860) 443-2876 or visit www.ectsymphony.com for details. 

Oct. 22 — “1001 Nights” with soloist Boris Berman; Balakirev’s Islamey (arr. Lyapunov), Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade 

Dec. 3 — “Philharmonic Feature” with soloist Joseph Alessi; Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn, David’s Trombone Concerto, Kapralova’s Rustic Suite, Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Johan Strauss Jr.'s Emperor Waltzes 

Jan. 28, 2017 — “Storybook Suites” with soloist Julie Eskar; Tchaikovsky’s Selections from Sleeping Beauty Suite, Schumann’s Violin Concerto, Humperdinck’s Prelude to Hansel and Gretel, Prokofiev’s Selections from Cinderella 

Jan. 29, 2017 — “Once Upon a Time” Eastern Connecticut Ballet Family Concert; Tchaikovsky’s Selections from Sleeping Beauty Suite, Humperdinck’s Prelude to Hansel and Gretel, Prokofiev’s Selections from Cinderella 

Feb. 18, 2017 — “Soundwaves” with Joanna Wu, Instrumental Competition Winner; Massenet’s Meditation from Thais, Hovhaness’ And God Created Great Whales, Nielsen’s Flute Concerto, Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 

March 25, 2017 — “The Final Frontier” with the ECSC Woman’s Chorus; Goldsmith’s Star Trek V: Main Theme and March of the Klingons, Ligeti’s Atmospheres, Williams’ Star Wars: Throne Room & Finale, Holst’s The Planets 

April 29, 2017 — “Ode to Joy” with soloists Sarah Yanovitch, Shirin Eskandani, Brian Cheney, Steven Fredericks; Mozart’s The Magic Flute Overture, Bartok’s Dance Suite (International Dance Day), Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9

IF YOU GO

Who: Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra conducted by Toshi Shimada with pianist Boris Berman

What: “1001 Nights,” the inaugural concert of the 2016-17, 70th anniversary season

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London

How much: $36-$56, $16 students and military

For more information: (860) 443-2876, ectsymphony.com